Filed under 'Penelope Cruz'

For Penelope Cruz, the birth of baby Leo earlier this year was a dream come true. So says her longtime friend Pedro Almodovar, who has directed the beautiful actress in several films.

Saying that Penelope is "the most happy" she's ever been, Pedro tells US, "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.'"

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Academy Award-winning actress Penélope Cruz was photographed at the park with her 9-month-old son Leo in Rome, Italy on Saturday (October 22).

Fellow Oscar-winner - papa Javier Bardem - was also seen enjoying the sunny afternoon. The proud new dad held Leo in his arms as they played with a cute pooch.

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It's baby Leo!

Penélope Cruz and hubby Javier Bardem were spotted out and about with their 7-month-old son last week. The group ate ice creams on a evening stroll in Sarajevo, Bosnia. This marks our first glimpse of the sweet tot!

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New mom Penélope Cruz graces the cover of Vogue magazine’s June 2011 issue, on newsstands Tuesday (May 24). The 37-year-old actress opens up about being "transformed forever" since welcoming her first child with hubby Javier Bardem in the early new year.

On motherhood: “From the first second, you feel so much love. It is a revolutionary experience. That’s the best way I can describe it. It transforms you completely, in a second. Nature is very wise and gives you nine months to prepare, but in that moment - when you see that face, you are transformed forever. Even if you have heard from all your friends and family, ‘This is what’s going to happen,’ until it happens to you, it’s hard to understand in your soul.”

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