NEW YORK 
During a tribute to her career at the Museum of Modern Art in New York (MoMA), Penelope Cruz recalled the Betamax videotape store that opened in her neighborhood, in a suburb of Madrid, when she was a child and that made her discover cinema.

It was there where she rented all the films of Spanish movie director Pedro Almodóvar, she said.

“I watched, and I laughed, I cried, and I learned,” she said at a star-studded benefit Tuesday evening at the museum. “I would not be here tonight, being honored by MoMa, if I had not had the privilege of working with brilliant directors who have inspired me, taught me, helped me grow as an artist and as a person. I want to thank them all tonight, and especially my Pedro.”

The recognition comes a decade after the museum paid the same tribute to Almodóvar, who has worked with Cruz in seven films. The latest movie by the director, “Parallel Mothers,” starring Cruz, opens in the United States on December 24. On Monday, it received two Golden Globe nominations.