In an age where celebrity children often become Instagram stars before they hit middle school, Luna Encinas Cruz represents something different. The 12-year-old daughter of Hollywood power couple Penélope Cruz and Javier Bardem has managed to grow up almost entirely away from the public eye, just as her parents want.
Luna Encinas Cruz Biography
Luna Encinas Cruz was born on July 22, 2013, at Ruber Internacional Hospital in Madrid, Spain. She’s the second child and only daughter of Spanish actress Penélope Cruz and Spanish actor Javier Bardem. Interestingly, she shares her birthday with Prince George of Cambridge, who was born on the same day.
At 12 years old, Luna doesn’t have a social media presence, cell phone, or public profile. There are no paparazzi shots plastered across tabloids, no carefully curated Instagram posts, and definitely no TikTok account. Her parents have successfully kept her childhood remarkably normal despite their combined net worth of approximately $115 million.
Luna has an older brother, Leo Encinas Cruz, born January 23, 2011, who’s now 14. The siblings were born on different continents: Leo in Los Angeles during their parents’ Hollywood period, and Luna in Madrid after the family relocated permanently to Spain.
Luna and Leo are fluent in both Spanish and English, raised with strong Spanish cultural values while maintaining a connection to their American heritage. Despite their parents’ combined wealth and A-list status, the children attend regular school in Madrid and experience normal childhood activities.
They’ve taken family vacations to Disneyland and Italy, but always with the emphasis on privacy and normalcy. Cruz has consistently stated since becoming a mother: “Motherhood is the priority of my life.” She told Vogue Spain: “The most radical change I have ever lived has been becoming a mother.”
Luna Encinas Cruz Parents
Luna’s mom needs little introduction. Penélope Cruz, with a net worth of $85 million as of 2024, has built one of the most impressive careers in international cinema. She’s the first Spanish actress to win an Academy Award, maintains lucrative partnerships with L’Oréal Paris (earning roughly $2 million annually), and has served as Chanel House Ambassador since 2018.
Her dad, Javier Bardem, isn’t doing too shabby either. With a net worth estimated at $30 million, he’s an Oscar winner who recently earned Emmy, Golden Globe, and SAG nominations for his portrayal of José Menendez in Netflix’s “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story.” He also appeared in the blockbuster “Dune: Part Two,” which raked in over $370 million worldwide.
Penélope and Javier’s relationship has serious staying power. They first met way back in 1992 on the set of the Spanish film “Jamón Jamón” when she was just 16 or 17 and he was 23. Bardem later admitted to GQ UK that there was “obvious chemistry between us,” but nothing happened because of her age. Smart move.
They went their separate ways for 15 years. Cruz famously dated Tom Cruise from 2001 to 2004, while Bardem had a long-term relationship with Cristina Pales. Then came 2007 and Woody Allen’s “Vicky Cristina Barcelona.”
Bardem told GQ how it finally happened: “Neither of us would make the first move. I don’t know if we were shy or trying to be too professional. Anyway, it got to the very last day of filming and nothing had happened. So I thought, ‘F***! We better get drunk!’ Luckily a friend of ours threw a wrap party and, well, the rest is history.”
They married on July 13, 2010, in an intimate beach ceremony in the Bahamas with only family present. Cruz wore a John Galliano gown. As of October 2025, they’ve been married for over 15 years.
The Technology Ban
If you’re looking for cute Instagram posts of Luna at birthday parties or family vacations, you won’t find them. Penélope Cruz has made it crystal clear where she stands on exposing her children to public life.
“I have a sacred rule and that is that we do not talk about them,” Cruz told Elle Spain in April 2024. “If one day they have a job facing the public, well, they will have to learn to deal with that. But right now it’s not time, they are just two children whom we absolutely protect.”
As of 2025, neither Luna nor her 14-year-old brother Leo has a cell phone or social media accounts. Cruz implemented a firm rule: no phones until they’re “much older” and absolutely no social media until at least age 16.
She’s not mincing words about why, either. In a February 2024 Elle Magazine interview, Cruz called social media “a cruel experiment on children, on teenagers.” She explained: “There is no protection for them, for brains that are still developing and how that affects the way they see themselves, how everything related to bullying, so many things that are not the childhood that we had.”
Cruz compared it to a worldwide experiment: “It’s almost as if the world was doing some kind of experiment on them. ‘Oh, let’s see what happens if you expose a 12-year-old to that much technology.'” She’s got a point there.
Both parents have turned down lucrative projects to be present for Luna and Leo’s childhood. Cruz told Elle Spain: “Sometimes they offer me something that’s set during the kids’ school year, or it’s not in our city, or not in the summer, and because of that I say no. And I’ll never regret that.”
She doesn’t do long trips and tries to work in Madrid whenever possible. “I want to raise my kids myself,” she told Harper’s Bazaar UK. Bardem echoed this commitment in a November 2024 Interview Magazine profile, though he joked: “Sometimes we are way too present in their lives.”
The couple deliberately works together only “once every four or five years” to protect their relationship and family dynamic. Their upcoming collaboration on “Bunker,” announced in May 2025, mirrors their own relationship timeline—it’s about a married couple after 17 years together.
What We Actually Know About Luna
Given her parents’ ironclad privacy rules, public information about Luna is refreshingly scarce. But there are a few sweet glimpses:
At the February 2023 Goya Awards, Penélope revealed that nine-year-old Luna did her mother’s makeup before the red carpet, specifically the blush. One of those adorable mom-daughter moments that Cruz rarely shares publicly.
When Javier was cast as King Triton, he told The Jess Cagle Show about Luna’s response in January 2023: “My daughter got so emotional, and I said, ‘But I am not playing Ariel, Luna,’ and she said, ‘Of course not, Dad, you will be Triton, right?'” Bardem admitted his children’s reactions now influence his project choices.
At the 2021 Venice Film Festival, when Cruz won the Volpi Cup for Best Actress for “Parallel Mothers,” Luna was present and asked: “Mom, why are you crying if you are getting a prize?”
It’s a perfect kid question that shows she’s still figuring out the complexity of adult emotions.
Multiple sources describe Luna as her mother’s “mini-me.” During family vacations captured by paparazzi, like their August 2022 trip to Italy, the resemblance is striking.
That’s pretty much it. And honestly? That’s exactly how it should be for a 12-year-old.
What’s Next for Luna?
At 12 years old, Luna’s future is entirely her own to decide. Her parents have made it clear they won’t push her toward or away from the entertainment industry.
“It’s for them to decide if they are going to have a job that is more exposed to the public or not,” Cruz told Elle Magazine. “They can talk about that when they’re ready.”