Penelope Cruz, 52, is contemplating obtaining her driver's license after receiving a car as a birthday gift from musician Bono. The actress shared on the web series "Hot Ones" that the gift from the U2 frontman provided a significant impetus to confront her long-standing phobia of driving.
Cruz disclosed that her "very deep fear of driving" originated in childhood after she witnessed her younger sister being struck by a vehicle. Despite her sister Monica Cruz making a full recovery, the traumatic event left the actress with a lasting aversion to cars and the act of driving.
"My friend Bono gave me a car for my last birthday," Cruz stated on the show, noting the irony of receiving a vehicle while still hesitant to drive. "He gave me a car and I think that is like the ultimate push to do it."
She described the persistent anxiety she experiences, even as a passenger. "Every time I get in a car, I feel like, 'OK, here we go. Are we going to make it or not?'" Cruz explained. She noted that even brief journeys of 10 to 15 minutes with a professional driver can induce this intense fear.
Clinically, an intense and persistent fear of driving or riding in vehicles is known as amaxophobia, while the specific fear of the act of driving is termed vehophobia. These are often triggered by past traumas, such as accidents or witnessing them, according to the Manhattan Center for Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.
In a previous conversation with Elle magazine in February 2024, Cruz recounted the childhood incident. "My sister was run over by a car in front of me when I was eight or nine," she recalled. "I remember she was wearing a red coat. And for me, time stopped." She described seeing her sister lose consciousness and feeling numb at the hospital. Cruz reflected that an adult reacting to such an event might be hysterical, but as a child, she was in shock.