Salma Hayek

Salma Hayek was born on September 2, 1966 in Coatzacoalcos, Mexico to Sami Hayek Dominguez (businessman) and Diana Hayek (opera singer). She also has a younger brother, Sami Hayek. She was sent to the U.S. in 1978 to attended a Louisiana Covent boarding school in New Orleans, but because of her ill behavior, the school sent her back home. However, she was set back to the states to live with her aunt in Houston to go to an American High School. She returned back to Mexico in 1983.

She attended Universidad Iberoamericana college in Mexico City, majoring in International Relations, however, school did not interest her very much, and she dropped out to do something she loved, acting.

Without any prior experience, she began doing local theater. This experience, and her beauty, brought about work with commercials. This then led to her big break in Mexico with the role of Teresa on the popular Mexican soap opera Nueva Amenecer in 1988.

He popularity began to reach the notice of people in the United States. In order to further her career, she moved back to the United States (Los Angeles) in 1991, and began to take English lessons while auditioning for roles in Hollywood.

Her first film onscreen came in 1993, with a small part in the movie In Vida Loca. She originally auditioned for another role. Although she did not get that role, the director (Allison Anders) liked Salma, so she cast her in In Vida Loca so she could become a member of the Screen Actors Guild.

Her big break came with the 1995 release of the movie Desperado, with Antonio Banderas. The director of the film (Robert Rodriquez) selected Salma for the role after seeing her on a Spanish Cable Talk Show while flipping through the channels. The film enabled her to become popular and gain a large world-wide fan base, and she was nominated for the MTV Movie Award for Best Kiss with Antonio Banderas. [Trivia: She sings the song "Quedate Aqui" on the Desperado soundtrack.]

Over the next few years she appeared in such films as Fools Rush In (1997) (nominated for the ALMA Award for Outstanding Actress in a Feature Film), The Hunchback (1997) (nominated for the ALMA Award for Outstanding Individual Performance in a Made-for-Television Movie or Mini-Series in a Crossover Role), 54 (1998) (nominated for the ALMA Award for Outstanding Actress in a Feature Film), Wild Wild West (1999) (won the Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Supporting Actress – Action and nominated for the ALMA Award for Outstanding Actress in a Feature Film), and In the Time of Butterflies (2001) (won the ALMA Award for Outstanding Actor/Actress in a Made for Television Movie or Miniseries and nominated for the BFCA Award for Best Actress in a Picture Made for Television).

Salma Hayek formed her own production company, Ventanarosa.(pink window) in 1998 to promote Latino and actors/actresses as well as create and develop Latino films.

In 1999, she also began a highly publicized relationship with actor Ed Norton which ended in 2003. She also dated actor Josh Lucas between August 2003 - July 2004.

It was her role in Frida in 2002 (playing the role of the same name) that won her critical acclaim for her as a serious actor and she won many awards, including the Imagen Award for Best Actress and the Golden Camera Award. Some of the awards she was nominated for include the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role; Golden Satellite Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture, Drama; Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama; CFCA Award for Best Actress; BFCA Award for Best Actress; BAFTA Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role; and an Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role.

Salma Hayek also went on to do specials, such as the Maldanado Miracle where she won the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing in a Children/Youth/Family Special and was nominated for the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Children/Youth/Family Special.

She continues to work on new movie roles and appears in a few new movies being released over the next two years, including Ask the Dust where she plays a Mexican woman during the depression trying to marry a rich American; Paint, a satire of the New York City Art culture; Bandidas, where she plays a bank robber and Lonely Hearts, a murder thriller with John Travolta.