Penélope Cruz is speaking carefully about the health scares that changed how she thinks about work, aging and the medical issues women are often expected to push through quietly.
Entertainment Weekly reported that Cruz discussed having “many” scares related to possible brain aneurysm concerns in a new interview with PORTER.
The actress said the most recent scare turned out to be a false alarm and that she is currently fine.
The Latest Scare Happened While Filming La Bola Negra
Cruz had already spoken publicly about one frightening moment from the set of La Bola Negra, her 2026 Spanish drama that premiered at Cannes. Reuters reported that Cruz was preparing to perform a song-and-dance scene when a doctor told her she might have a brain aneurysm.
She was later cleared to continue filming, and the concern proved to be a false alarm.
Reuters reported that Cruz did not tell the directors until the next day. She later described the moment as one she would remember for the rest of her life because of how surreal it felt to be performing while thinking she might have an aneurysm.
Cruz Said She Is Fine, but More Protective of Her Health
In the PORTER interview, Cruz said she has had “many scares like that,” but added that she is fine. She also described herself as careful about her health, saying she does not drink, smoke or party.
Cruz’s said “Without health, we have nothing.” She connected that thought to equality, arguing that women’s health should be treated as a central issue rather than an afterthought.
She said she was often asked in her twenties whether she feared getting older, but at 52, she feels the range of roles available to her has stayed strong and possibly become even more varied.
The Invite Helped Push the Conversation Further
Cruz also connected the subject to The Invite, the Olivia Wilde-directed A24 film in which she stars with Wilde, Seth Rogen and Edward Norton. In the movie, Cruz plays Pína, a therapist and sexologist whose scenes gave the actress a way to bring in material about women’s hormones and perimenopause.
Cruz said a perimenopause speech was not originally in the script, but she proposed adding it because the character’s profession made it natural. She argued that a woman speaking about sex should also be able to speak seriously about hormones, the brain and the physical changes women experience.
PORTER reported that Cruz developed the scene during long table work with the cast and writers Will McCormack and Rashida Jones. Her point was that Pína could not be credible as a therapist and sexologist if she ignored the medical and hormonal realities of women’s bodies.