After the bullet of Lady Gaga trying to inhabit the fabuloso essence of Donatella Versace got nixed because of her “busy schedule,” many in the Ryan Murphy fandom were left wondering who would step in to fill the role without someone so obvious to play the part in the next American Crime Story detailing the murder of fashion legend Gianni Versace.
Though very few could have guessed that Penelope Cruz would be the one to step up to the challenge, there’s a lot about her casting that makes sense. For one, she’s got the international appeal and look Lady Gaga does not and for another, her standing as a European woman very familiar with living in the world of haute couture is sure to lend empathy to her performance as Donatella.
And for those unfortunates who have still never seen Cruz in Pedro Almodóvar’s Broken Embraces, well, then, let everyone be reminded that the Spanish actress can carry off the look of wearing a blonde wig quite well. Now, Murphy’s just going to need to work on getting Cruz’s flawless olive skin to look a bit more on the leather and orange tinted side if we’re really going to buy into her imitation (poor Donatella, her skin description is starting to sound very similar to Donald Trump’s).
