Thelma and Louise were just schoolgirls compared to the "Bandidas." This south-of-the-border dynamic duo embarks on a bank-robbing spree across the Mexican frontier of the 1800s, fighting injustice even as they break the law. Forget Robin Hood, Butch and Sundance, and Josey Wales. These gun-slingin' girls are anti-heroes for a new era--or for 2005, at least.

Headlining this modern western are Salma Hayek and Penelope Cruz, two of movieland's hottest female imports, working together for the first time. They're good friends offscreen, but will female bonding turn to all-out catfighting when they meet on celluloid? After all, Salma's a vampire-stripper who danced with a snake; Penelope makes her living playing nuns and fragile damsels. Salma is the biggest star to emerge from Mexico since ... well, ever. And Penelope is the most famous European actress since the likes of Lauren, Garbo, Dietrich, Bergman. Here's how these two outlaw babes compare:

Pix of Salma Hayek		Pix of Penelope Cruz
Salma Hayek Vital Statistics:    Real Name: Salma Hayek-Jiminez    Birthplace: Cotzacoalcos, Veracruz,                         Mexico    Birth date: September 2, 1966		Penelope Cruz Vital Statistics:    Real Name: Penelope Cruz Sanchez    Birthplace: Madrid, Spain    Birth date: April 28, 1974
Family: She gets her exotic looks from her Lebanese-born father, a businessman, and her Mexican mom, an opera singer ("Salma" is an Arabic word meaning "peace"). Growing up in Mexico's oil-rich region, she and her younger brother Sami were "spoiled rotten" by their wealthy parents, she says.		Family: Her merchant father and hairdresser mom encouraged her to perform since she was a tyke, when Penelope would re-enact TV commercials and shows in the living room. Brother Eduardo is an auto mechanic; sister Monica Cruz is a flamenco dancer.
School Days: In her teens, Salma was sent to a Catholic boarding school in New Orleans, but she was kicked out after pulling repeated pranks on the nuns--like setting their clocks back three hours.		School Days: She thought her true calling was dance, so she studied classical ballet for nine years at the Conservatorio Nacional of Spain, under the tutelage of world-class dancers. She also studied dance in New York.
Big Break: In 1989, she was cast as the title character in "Teresa," a popular Mexican novela (soap opera), catapulting her to stardom. Two years later she left the show and headed for Hollywood; her fans were so crushed, they spread rumors that Salma had been having an affair with Mexico's president and had to flee the country.		Big Break: She was a star at 17, when "Jamon Jamon" (1992, a/k/a "A Tale of Ham and Passion") became a huge hit and instantly made her a sex symbol. By the mid-nineties she was the leading lady of Spanish cinema.
Good Direction: She went from big star in Mexico to bit parts in America, until she was discovered by director Robert Rodriguez, who cast Salma opposite Antonio Banderas in "Desperado" and made her a bonafide star.		Good Direction: Penelope's first big international hit was "All About My Mother" (1999) by the famed (and funny-haired) director Pedro Almodovar, who took her frail, fragile, and sexy screen presence and used it to amazing effect--casting her as a philandering nun. With newfound success, she did the obvious--she went to Hollywood.
Pretty boys: She made George Clooney her love slave and made Quentin Tarantino slurp Tequila off her feet in "From Dusk Til Dawn." She's also held her own opposite Matthew Perry, Russell Crowe, Matt Damon, Will Smith, Pierce Brosnan, Alfred Molina and more.		Pretty boys: She did rails with Johnny Depp in "Blow," rode bareback with Matt Damon in "All the Pretty Horses," played a figment in "Vanilla Sky," and pretended to be in love with Nic Cage in "Captain Corelli's Mandolin."
Significant Exes: Edward Norton, Josh Lucas. "I find feminine men unbelievably sexy," she says. "But most men are completely incapable of getting in touch with their feminine side."		Significant Exes: First she was linked with Damon. Then she was supposedly dating Cage. Then Tom Cruise for two years. She's now linked with Matthew McConaughey. Real-life loves included Spanish musician Nacho Cano and a guy named Faiz Ahmad (not the Pakistani poet, who died in 1984).
No Regrets: She reportedly turned down an offer to play Latina pop superstar Selena in the popular biopic. The role went instead to a neophyte Jennifer Lopez, who got $1 million and star billing. Salma thought the movie was made too soon after the singer's death.		No Turning Back: Her first attempt at a Hollywood career came when she auditioned for "A Walk in the Clouds" with Keanu Reeves back in 1995. She only spoke three words of English and blew the audition, but she was determined to learn the language and bounce back--which she did.
Ms. Mogul: Her production company, Ventanarosa, produced the 1999 Mexican feature "No One Writes to the Colonel," which was Mexico's official Oscar entry that year. In 2002 she produced her dream project, "Frida," which featured the disturbing sight of Salma wearing a mustache.		Ms. Humanitarian: In the 1990s, Penelope and other Spanish celebs formed the nonprofit Sabera Foundation, which assisted homeless girls in Calcutta (the foundation has since folded). She volunteered in Uganda for two months in 1997, and donated her "All the Pretty Horses" paycheck to Mother Teresa's foundation.
Accolades: "Frida" was a personal triumph, nominated for six Oscars including a Best Actress nod for Salma, making her just the second Latin actress to be nominated in that category. Back in 1988, she won the Best Newcomer trophy at the Novela awards for Mexican soaps.		Accolades: In 1998, Penelope won a Goya (the Spanish equivalent of an Academy Award) for best actress for her performance in "Nina de Tus Ojos" (a/k/a "The Girl of Your Dreams")