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Salma Hayek Jiménez (born September 2, 1966) is an Academy
Award-nominated actor, Emmy-winning director, film producer and Golden
Globe-winning television producer. The most successful Latin-American actress in
Hollywood since Carmen Miranda, Hayek has appeared in more than thirty films and
worked as an actress outside of Hollywood in Mexico and Spain.
Hayek's charitable work includes increasing awareness on violence against women
and discrimination against immigrants.
Early life and career in Mexico
Hayek was born in Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz, Mexico to Sami Hayek, a Lebanese
oil company executive, and Diana Jimenez, an opera singer. Hayek's paternal
grandparents were Mexicans of Lebanese descent, while her mother is of Mestizo (european/amerindian)
descent. Raised in a wealthy, devoutly Catholic family, she was sent to the
Academy of the Sacred Heart, Grand Coteau, Louisiana, at the age of 12. She was
also an accomplished gymnast, with aspirations of becoming an Olympic
competitor.
After leaving the school due to alleged behavioral problems with the religious
sisters who ran the school, Hayek returned to Mexico for a period, but then she
was sent to Houston, Texas, to live with her aunt, where she stayed until she
was 17. She subsequently moved to Mexico City for college, where she studied
International Relations at the Universidad Iberoamericana. To the chagrin of her
family, she decided to drop out in order to pursue a career as an actress.
At the age of 23, Hayek landed the title role in Teresa (1989), a successful
telenovela (Mexican soap opera) which earned her star status in Mexico. Later,
in 1994, Hayek starred in El Callejón de los Milagros ("The Alley of Miracles"),
which has won more awards than any other movie in the history of Mexican Cinema.
For her performance Hayek was nominated to an Ariel Award.
Career in Hollywood
Hayek at the Cannes Film FestivalDespite limited fluency in English, Hayek
moved to Los Angeles, California, in 1991 to study acting under Stella Adler
with the hopes of starting a career in Hollywood. Robert Rodriguez and his
producer wife Elizabeth Avellan soon gave Hayek the break she needed, starring
opposite Antonio Banderas in 1995's Desperado. This movie brought Hayek to
Hollywood's attention, as moviegoers proved to be as dazzled with Hayek as
Rodriguez had been.
She followed her success in Desperado with a brief but memorable role in From
Dusk Till Dawn. In 1999 she co-starred in Will Smith's big-budget Wild Wild West
and played a supporting role in Kevin Smith's Dogma. In 2000 she had an
uncredited acting part opposite Benicio Del Toro in Traffic.
Around this time Hayek founded production company Ventanarosa through which she
produces film and television projects.
Frida, co-produced by Hayek, was released in 2002. Starring Hayek as Frida Kahlo,
and Alfred Molina as her unfaithful husband, Diego Rivera, the film also
featured an entourage of stars in supporting roles, including Antonio Banderas,
Ashley Judd, Geoffrey Rush, Edward Norton and Valeria Golino and was directed by
Julie Taymor. She earned a Best Actress Academy Award nomination for her
performance.
In 2003 she reprised her role from Desperado by appearing in the final film of
the Mariachi Trilogy, Once Upon a Time in Mexico. In that same year she directed
the The Maldonado Miracle, a Showtime movie which won her a Daytime Emmy Award
for Outstanding Directing in a Children/Youth/Family Special. In December 2005
she directed a music video for Prince, titled "Te Amo Corazon" ("I love you,
sweetheart") that featured Mia Maestro, with whom she is good friends.
In September 2006 Hayek became executive producer of Ugly Betty, an American
television series that has attracted both attention and critical acclaim. Hayek
adapted the series for American television with Silvio Horta, who aquired the
rights and scripts from the Colombian Telenovela Yo Soy Betty La Fea in 2001.
Originally intended for NBC in 2004, the project would later be picked up by ABC
for the 2006-2007 season. The show quickly became a hit. Hayek has guest-starred
on "Ugly Betty" in two roles so far: first as Sofia Reyes, a tough-minded
magazine editor who fell for, then used, Daniel Meade (Eric Mabius) and in the
process betrayed Betty Suarez (America Ferrera); and also as an actress in the
telenovela within the show. In 2007 the series won a Golden Globe Award for best
comedy series.
Personal life
Hayek dated fellow actor Edward Norton for four years, between 1999 and
2003, and then Josh Lucas from 2003 until 2004. As of 2006, Hayek is single and
has homes in Los Angeles and Mexico. She is best friends with Spanish actress,
Penelope Cruz. The two co-starred in the 2006 film, Bandidas. She is a student
of Ramtha's School of Enlightenment.
Honors
Recipient of Glamour Magazine Woman of the Year Award in October 2001.
Recipient of Producers Guild of America Celebration of Diversity Award in 2003.
Recipient of Harvard Foundation Artist of the Year Award in February 2006.
Filmography
Mi Vida Loca (1993)
The Sinbad Show (series) (1993)
Roadracers (TV) (1994)
El Callejón de los Milagros (Midaq Alley, 1995)
Desperado (1995)
Fair Game (1995)
From Dusk Till Dawn (1996)
Follow Me Home (1996)
Fled (1996)
Fools Rush In (1997)
The Hunchback (TV) (1997)
Breaking Up (1997)
Sistole Diastole (1997)
54 (1998)
The Velocity Of Gary (1998)
The Sexy (1998)
Dogma (1999)
El Coronel No Tiene Quien le Escriba (No One Writes to the Colonel, 1999)
Wild Wild West (1999)
Timecode (2000)
Living it Up (2000)
Chain Of Fools (2000)
La Gran Vida (2000)
Traffic (2000)
Hotel (2001)
In the Time of the Butterflies (2001)
Frida (2002)
Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over (2003)
Once Upon a Time in Mexico (2003)
The Maldonado Miracle (2003) (Director)
After the Sunset (2004)
Sian Ka'an (voice) (2006)
Ask the Dust (2006) - for which she won the honor of best nude movie scene of
2006
Bandidas (2006)
Lonely Hearts (2006)
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