Penelope to receive Cesar award

Actress Penelope Cruz will receive an honorary prize from Frances Academy of Arts and Techniques of Cinema during the 43rd Cesar Awards ceremony, Frances equivalent of the Oscars, on 2 March in Paris.

"Penelope Cruz has the talent to shine in international productions as much as in (smaller) films, whether (she is working) for Ridley Scott, Rob Marshall, Kenneth Branagh, Sergio Castellitto, Fernando Trueba or Asghar Farhadi, with whom she has just wrapped ‘Everybody Knows', which will come out in May," Alain Terzian, the president of the Academy of Arts and Techniques of Cinema, said in a statement to variety.com.

Terzian also discussed the actress' relationship with director Alejandro Amenabar and especially filmmaker Pedro Almodovar, with whom she has done several films including "Live Flesh", "All About My Mother", "I'm So Excited!", "Broken Embraces" and "Volver", which earned her a best actress prize at Cannes in 2006 and an Oscar nomination.

Cruz eventually won the Oscar for best supporting actress for her performance in Woody Allen's "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" in 2008. She also won a BAFTA award for her role in the film.

The Spanish actress follows a string of American stars who have been honoured at France's Cesar Awards. Past recipients include George Clooney, Michael Douglas, Meryl Streep and Sean Penn.