Salma Hayek (born September 2, 1966, in Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz, Mexico) is a Mexican actress. Considered by many to be the most successful Latin actress in Hollywood since Dolores del Río, Hayek, having appeared in more than thirty films and secured a nomination for an Oscar, is arguably the most important Mexican star in Hollywood today.
Salma Hayek: Early Career in Mexico
At the age of 23 Salma Hayek landed the title role in Teresa (1989), a successful telenovela which earned her star status in her native Mexico. Few years later, in 1994, Salma starred in El Callejón de los Milagros, which would later become the most awarded movie in Mexican history.
Salma Hayek: Career in Hollywood
In 1991, not fluent in English, Hayek moved to Los Angeles, California, to study acting with the hopes of starting a career in Hollywood. Robert Rodriguez and his producer wife Elizabeth Avellan soon gave her her big break, starring opposite Antonio Banderas in Desperado which brought her to Hollywood's attention. The moviegoers proved to be as dazzled with Hayek as Rodriguez had been.
After her break, she was cast again by Rodriguez to appear in From Dusk Till Dawn. Although her vampy role opposite George Clooney and Quentin Tarantino was a small one, it was a noteworthy addition to her resume. Hayek continued her career with appearances in both commercial and artistic films.
The new millennium started out quietly for Hayek as she was preparing to produce and star in her dream role: that of Frida Kahlo, the legendary Mexican painter whom Hayek had admired her entire life and whose story she had wanted to bring to the big screen ever since her arrival in Hollywood.
In 2002, Frida, co-produced by Hayek, was released, starring Hayek as 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. Her performance won her a nomination for the 2002 Academy Awards, although some have suggested that the nomination was more a credit to her perseverance in seeing the film made.
Salma Hayek: Other
Hayek speaks Spanish, English, Arabic, and Portuguese. Her father is of Lebanese descent. Salma is a Spanish name which came from the Arabic word salam which means "peace" and "calm".
In the early of 2005, she appeared on Punk'd after being tricked by Ashton Kutcher and Penélope Cruz for the mess that Cruz made in a restaurant restroom. She became the second non-American/non-Canadian ever to get Punk'd.
Hayek is dyslexic.
Hayek is currently (2005) working on her latest production Bandidas with Penélope Cruz.
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