Like Angelina Jolie, Charlize Theron, and Kate Beckinsale before her, Esquire magazine has announced the winner of 2014’s Sexiest Woman Alive, and she is Penelope Cruz.

The 40 year old mother of two appears on the cover this month in a low-cut one-piece swimsuit that perfectly underscores her worthiness of the title.

This is the first time Cruz has won the award since its inception in 2004, and writer Chris Jones explains why she was chosen in this month’s cover story.

“(Cruz) has no physical flaws. Her face contains no secrets, at least not about her. But her face tells you and the room plenty about you. If you want to feel like the world’s most judged man, sit down at a table in a restaurant with the Sexiest Woman Alive,” writes Jones. “When she walks into a room, men start walking into furniture.”

In the article, Cruz discusses everything from her 20 year career in films to marriage and parenthood to her own childhood in Madrid, Spain, where she would lie about her age just to see movies directed by her mentor, Pedro Almodovar, who she calls her “biggest source of inspiration”.

But her younger years were more than just about conning her way into the cinema, revealing that she used to be known as quite a drama queen.

“I’ve played a lot of tricks on myself,” said Cruz. “I’ve made it hard for me sometimes, especially in my teens and 20s. I had an attraction to drama. Most of us have that, especially if you are an artist – you feel like you are tempted to explore the darkness.”

Cruz’s married life – to actor Javier Bardem – as well as being a parent to her son Leo, 3, and daughter Luna, 1, has helped her mature now, though she was far from forthcoming about much of her personal life, as usual.

When asked to elaborate further, Cruz just coyly remarks: “That is for us.” Offering nothing more, but simply letting us wonder about the secrets she may indeed hold.