Penélope Cruz and Javier Bardem have made a conscious effort to keep their two children out of the public eye.

The Hollywood power couple, who have been married since 2010, are parents to two children: son Leo, 13, and daughter Luna, 11.

Speaking to Marie Claire in February 2019, Cruz shared that while she wasn’t in a rush to have kids, she always “really wanted to be a mother.”

“When I was 4 or 5, I was already performing, and the characters in my games were always mothers. I really wanted to be a mother, for as long as I can remember,” she explained. “But I did it when I felt the time was right — the right time, the right person.”

The Vicky Cristina Barcelona actress added that despite being often “surprised” by certain aspects of motherhood, it’s been “the thing that has made me happiest.”

Speaking to PEOPLE in May 2017, Bardem revealed that Leo and Luna didn’t fully understand their careers quite yet.

“They know that we do movies, but I don’t think they know what that means or what is that all about,” he said. “It’s fine. We don’t have anything in our house that reminds them that we are actors. We really don’t care about that.”

Although the actor’s job may keep him busy, he told Interview magazine in November 2024 that it’s a priority for him to be there for them. “Now today I have two kids, and we are more aware of how important it is to be present,” he shared. “Sometimes we are way too present in their lives.”

Here’s everything to know about Penélope Cruz and Javier Bardem’s children: Leo and Luna.

Leo Encinas Cruz, 13

Cruz and Bardem welcomed their first child, son Leo Encinas Cruz, on Jan. 22, 2011, in Los Angeles.

In a statement at the time, the couple’s reps told PEOPLE, “Penélope and Javier welcomed their first son into their family last week. Both parents and baby are doing great.”

Ahead of the birth, Bardem was the first to break the silence on Cruz’s pregnancy during an interview in September 2010. He confirmed that Cruz was expecting at the time, adding, “I am very happy.”

Cruz spoke briefly about her son during a May 2011 interview with Vogue. When asked how she changed after becoming a mother, the actress told the magazine, “From the first second, you feel so much love.”

“It is a revolutionary experience,” she added. “That’s the best way I can describe it. It transforms you completely, in a second. … 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.”

The actress also emphasized her desire to keep his life private, just as she has with her own.

Cruz explained, “I want my son — and my kids if I have more — to grow up in a way that is as anonymous as possible. The fact that his father and I have chosen to do the work that we do doesn’t give anybody the right to invade our privacy.”

Despite her busy schedule, Cruz has said that it’s important for her to be a hands-on mother.

During an interview with The Telegraph in July 2017, she said that she had taken a step back from her career, telling the outlet, “My priorities have really changed over the years. I want to raise my kids and I don’t want to be away from them.”

Bardem echoed his wife’s sentiment about prioritizing time with their kids during an interview with The Talks.

“I am getting older so the things I appreciate most now … To be a good dad, to be the best husband I can be, which is the hardest thing in the sense that you have to put your attention into it and give time and love to the people that you really love and care about,” he said. “Time is everything, time is quality. Especially for kids.”

Keeping their children off social media is important to the couple as well. “You will never see a picture of my kids on Instagram,” Cruz told The Telegraph.

The actress later told CBS Sunday Morning that she’s “very tough with technology” when it comes to her kids.

“We can watch movies sometimes or some cartoons. How can I not let them watch movies?” she said. “That has been some incredible moments of happiness since I was a little girl.”

Luna Encinas Cruz, 11

Cruz and Bardem welcomed their second child, daughter Luna Encinas Cruz, on July 22, 2013, in Madrid.

When her daughter was 5 months old, Cruz opened up about her postpartum routine in a December 2013 interview with Allure, including her decision to breastfeed again.

“I’m supposed to get extra calories because, breastfeeding, you burn, like, an extra 500 a day. I was breastfeeding my son for 13 months, and I plan to do the same with my daughter,” she told the outlet.

In a November 2021 with Vogue Arabia, the Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides actress discussed her desire to serve as a good role model for her children.

“I don’t think of myself as a role model for anyone other than my children, as they see me every day, and the actions of their mother and father are the most important to them,” she said. “This is a huge responsibility, and my biggest mission in life is to try to do that well.”

Cruz also shared a rare story about her daughter during the same interview, recalling Luna’s reaction to the news that she would be awarded the Volpi Cup for best actress for her role in Parallel Mothers at the 2021 Venice Film Festival.

“My daughter was with me and said, ‘Mom, why are you crying if you are getting a prize?’ I had to explain to her what this award meant to me,” she said.

Luna also had a sweet reaction when she found out her dad would be playing King Triton in Disney’s live-action adaption of The Little Mermaid, as Bardem explained during a January 2023, appearance on The Jess Cagle Show.

“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 said. “That is one of the reasons why I did [The Little Mermaid].”

This is not the first time Bardem’s children have influenced his career. In 2022, he starred in another musical, Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile.

Speaking to Metro.co.uk that October, he explained his reasoning for taking on the role: “For my kids to watch a movie with dad in it, so they’re finally proud of what I do — because they don’t care!”