The pair are the first married couple to both be nominated in top acting categories since Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton.
The 2022 Oscar nominations were announced on Tuesday -- and it was a big day for Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz!
The two were nominated for top acting awards, with Bardem earning his third career Best Actor nod for his performance as Dezi Arnaz in Being the Ricardos and Cruz garnering her second Best Actress nomination for her role in Pedro Almodóvar's Parallel Mothers.
The pair, who married in 2010 and share a son, Leo, and a daughter, Luna, are the first married couple to both be nominated for the Academy's top acting awards since Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton were nominated together in 1967 for Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (Taylor won, Burton didn't, and they would divorce a few years later.)
However, they're not the only acting couple to be nominated together this year. Jesse Plemons and Kirsten Dunst, who announced their engagement in 2017 and share two children together, both scored supporting nods for The Power of the Dog.
Bardem and Cruz are each one-time Oscar winners; Bardem won Best Supporting Actor in 2008 for his role as assassin Anton Chigurh in No Country for Old Men and Cruz won Best Supporting Actress the following year for Vicky Cristina Barcelona, in which Bardem was her co-star.
Following his nomination, Bardem released a statement to ET, which reads, "To embody Desi Arnaz’s spirit was a privilege and an honor and to be connected to his energy and legacy is something I will never forget. Thank you to his family for trusting me with the responsibility of bringing this larger-than-life entertainer and entrepreneur to screen. Thank you to the Academy for this acknowledgement, it is a very special moment for me to be recognized among the most talented actors of our time; Denzel Washington, Will Smith, Benedict Cumberbatch and Andrew Garfield."
Bardem also congratulated his co-stars and fellow nominees Nicole Kidman and J.K. Simmons and thanked Being the Ricardos writer and director Aaron Sorkin, before spending a special shout-out to his wife: "I couldn’t be happier to share this celebration with my talented wife, Penelope, for her work in Parallel Mothers. Thank you."
Cruz also released a statement to ET about her nomination, saying, "I'm eternally grateful to Pedro Almodóvar for his direction, his unique vision, his incredible talent and for trusting me once again. My experience working with him and the cast of Parallel Mothers was nothing short of extraordinary, and to be recognized for a film that is so close to my heart is truly special for me. What an honor to be nominated alongside this phenomenal group of actresses. Thank you to the members of the Academy, Sony Pictures Classics, El Deseo and our amazing cast and crew who gave so much to this film. And thank you, Pedro!!! I will never be able to thank you enough!"
Cruz spoke with ET at the Palm Springs International Film Awards earlier this year, where she raved about her husband's performance in his nominated role and shared that she'd love for them to collaborate on a musical together -- and has been especially inspired as he prepares for his role in the upcoming Little Mermaid live-action adaptation.
"There's a lot of music hanging around lately," she shared. "It would be great to be able to do movies that maybe the kids would be able to see. Because I cannot show them yet Parallel Mothers."
Following her nomination, Cruz shared her appreciation for Almodóvar and thanked the Academy for recognizing the film.
"I’m eternally grateful to Pedro Almodóvar for his direction, his unique vision, his incredible talent and for trusting me once again. My experience working with him and the cast of Parallel Mothers was nothing short of extraordinary, and to be recognized for a film that is so close to my heart is truly special for me," she said in a statement to ET.
Cruz also congratulated her fellow nominees and the film's cast and crew.
"What an honor to be nominated alongside this phenomenal group of actresses. Thank you to the members of the Academy, Sony Pictures Classics, El Deseo and our amazing cast and crew who gave so much to this film," she continued. "And thank you, Pedro!!! I will never be able to thank you enough!"
The 2022 Oscars air live on Sunday, March 27 at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on ABC. In the meantime, stay tuned to ETonline.com for complete Oscars coverage.
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