Penelope Cruz Calls ‘Ferrari’ Character A “Beautiful Homage” To Women Who “Continue to Live in the Shadows of Men”

Enzo Ferrari may have been the face of the popular car manufacturer Ferrari, but Michael Mann’s 2023 biographical thriller introduces audiences to his wife Laura Ferrari, played by Penélope Cruz.

During a press conference at the 61st New York Film Festival on Friday, October 13, 2023, Cruz opened up about her character’s emotional journey throughout the movie, calling it “a beautiful homage to all the women that continue to live in the shadows of men.”

Speaking about the script, written by Troy Kennedy Martin, Cruz shared, “He gave me such a great treasure with this character that represents so many women in history.”

In Ferrari, which takes place in 1957, Laura discovers that her husband Enzo (Adam Driver) has been having an affair with another woman, Lina Lardi (Shailene Woodley), with whom he shares a secret child. Despite this, Laura still advises her husband with the company and makes sacrifices along the way. 

“There are still women who are constantly invalidated about what they do, and work from the shadows and in hiding,” said Cruz. “In this case, Laura has a husband that loves her and respects her, even if they’re hating each other, and literally killing each other.”

The actor added that, in real life, Laura Ferrari was “more involved” in the company’s business than what’s shown in the movie. “I found out that she would sleep next to the tires before the races, so that nobody would damage them. I wish we had that here, but even if the scene isn’t here [in the movie], Michael found a way to transmit all of that, the importance that she had as a woman in those years.”

Acknowledging that the story “could’ve gone in many directions,” Cruz added, “She could have been a woman that is very sad… Again, they hate each other, but they love each other.” She added that she felt the character was “written and directed in a way that became a beautiful homage to all the women that continue to live in the shadows of men.”

Based on Brock Yates’s 1991 biography Enzo Ferrari: The Man and the Machine, Ferrari follows ex-racer Enzo Ferrari as he tries to save his and his wife’s business from bankruptcy by forming a team to compete on a dangerous 1,000-mile race across Italy.

Ferrari releases in theaters on December 25, 2023, and screens at the New York Film Festival on Friday, October 6 at Friday, October 13 at 6 pm, 6:15 pm, 6:30 pm, 6:45 pm, 9 pm, 9:15 pm, 9:30 pm, 9:45 pm and Sunday, October 15 at 2:45 pm.