Spanish actress Penelope Cruz was honored by Queen Sofia of Spain for promoting Hispanic culture around the globe.

The multilingual star received her award at New York City’s Spanish Institute last week.

Former U.S. President Bill Clinton was also acknowledged by Queen Sofia for his “significant role as a world leader”.

“I was trying to figure out exactly why I would receive this award tonight. It may be because even though I’m not of Spanish descent, I’ve seen every one of Penelope Cruz’s movies - and I liked them all,” Contactmusic quoted Clinton, as saying.

The queen was also joined by the institute’s honorary president, designer Oscar de la Renta, in presenting the gold medal honors.

Penelope has earlier been nominated for Golden Globe and Academy Awards for her role in ‘Volver’ in 2006.