Penelope Cruz happier than ever

Penelope Cruz is “the happiest she’s ever been” since becoming a mother. The star gave birth to son Leo, her first child with husband Javier Bardem, 11 months ago and her filmmaker friend Pedro Almodovar revealed motherhood has always been her goal.

“She’s the most happy. Better than always!” Pedro said.

“She’s with a man who she loves. She’s a really avocational mother. In all my movies she plays a mother. She always said, ‘I want to be a mother.’ ”

The proud mother loves showing off Leo and although their busy schedules mean Penelope and Pedro don’t see each other as often as they would like, the 37-year-old actress sends Pedro, 62, pictures of her son every 15 days.

“She wanted to really experience being a mother in a complete way. She sends me photos of the baby every 15 days. I see how he’s growing. He has an incredibly big smile, you cannot imagine. He’s beautiful, gorgeous and he’s big,” he added.

Penelope Cruz (Scanpix/ Niviere Lefloch Niko/ Sipa)