PENELOPE CRUZ - CRUZ HONOURED BY SPANISH QUEEN

CRUZ HONOURED BY SPANISH QUEEN

Actress PENELOPE CRUZ has been honoured by QUEEN SOFIA of Spain for promoting Hispanic culture around the globe. The Spanish star was given her award at New York City's Spanish Institute last week (27Nov07). Queen Sofia also acknowledged former U.S. President Bill Clinton for his "significant role as a world leader". The institute's honorary president, designer Oscar de la Renta, joined the Queen in presenting the gold medal honours. Clinton joked, "I was trying to figure out exactly why I would receive this award tonight. It may be because even though I'm not of Spanish descent, I've seen every one of Penelope Cruz's movies - and I liked them all."