"Vanilla Sky" star Penelope Cruz has hired her first bodyguard after being attacked by two men who tried to steal her handbag.

Tom Cruise's former girlfriend was in the back of a Mercedes in Paris when the pair tried to shatter the passenger window to rob her, imdb.com reported, quoting the British newspaper The Sun.

The Spanish actress' chauffeur sped away from the men, while Cruz allegedly sobbed in the back seat.

"Penelope cried all the way back to the hotel. She was very frightened. One of the men had a large rock and was ramming it on the glass. How it didn't smash was a miracle," a source was quoted as saying.