Salma Hayek: biography, filmography and personal life (photo)

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Today, Salma Hayek is rightfully considered one of the most popular and successful actresses in Hollywood. She is known to her fans as a wonderful artist, talented producer, caring mother and loving wife. Salma is one of the few Mexican actresses who have been nominated for an Oscar. But the Mexican girl's path to success has not been easy.

Salma Hayek: biography and childhood

The future star was born on September 2, 1966 in the small town of Coatzacoalcos, in the Mexican state of Veracruz. Her mother Diana Jimena Medina is an opera singer with Spanish roots. And Sami Dominguez's father worked as an oil company manager. Salma's parents were zealous Catholics, and the girl herself grew up in excellent conditions - the family did not suffer from poverty.

Yet she was diagnosed with dyslexia as a teenager. And although the girl was capable, she often experienced some difficulties in the learning process. When she was 12 years old, her parents sent Salma to study at a Catholic boarding school for girls, which is located in Louisiana. But due to behavior problems, Salma left the school and severallived with an aunt in Houston for years. At the age of 17, the girl entered the Ibero-American Institute in Mexico City, where she began to study international relations. But she never received an education.

How did Salma become an actress?

During her studies at the institute, the girl firmly set out to become a famous actress. For several months she worked in various theaters. Gradually, an attractive, talented girl began to be noticed - first she starred in a commercial, after which she was offered a small role in a television series.

And already in 1989, the girl appears on the screen in the popular telenovela called "Teresa". From that moment on, she becomes a real celebrity in the territory of "Mexico". And then followed the first full-length picture, which starred Salma Hayek. The filmography of the actress begins with the "Avenue of Miracles", which was released in 1994. The plot of this film tells the amazing story of life in a small suburb of Mexico City. Here Salma played Alma - an innocent girl who dreams of great and pure love. By the way, this picture received a record number of positive reviews, and Salma herself was nominated for the Ariel Award.

First work in Hollywood

In 1991, the actress moved to Los Angeles with the status of an illegal immigrant. Naturally, due to dyslexia, she experienced some difficulties and did not speak English well. Nevertheless, she went to Stella Adler, who gave her lessons in linguistics, as well ashelped with acting skills.

At that time, everyone convinced the girl that she would not be able to achieve success in Hollywood. In response, Salma worked even harder. Several times she starred in commercials, and from time to time received episodic roles in TV series. She also took part in the filming of Spanish-language talk shows, where she was noticed by the young director Robert Rodriguez. It was he who invited her to audition.

In 1995, actress Salma Hayek first appeared on American screens in the film Desperado. The shooting partner in this film was Antonio Banderas, who got the role of El Mariachi. This film glorified both Salma and Banderas. After the premiere, the actress began to receive invitations to participate in more serious projects.

Salma Hayek Filmography

Now the actress has become popular. After all, after the success of "Desperado" everyone knew who Salma Hayek was. Films with her participation were watched by many fans. In 1995, she got the role of Rita in the action movie Fair Game, where she starred with William Baldwin and Cindy Crawford.

And in 1996, the cult picture "From Dusk Till Dawn" was released, where Salma played a small role of Queen Santanico - her famous dance with a snake was remembered by the audience for a long time. She got the main role in the romantic comedy "Hurry up - make people laugh." Isabelle Fuentes was amazing in her performance.

In 1997, Salma, along with Russell Crowe, starred in the film "On the verge of breaking." In "The Hunchback ofNotre Dame, the actress got the role of the gypsy Esmeralda. In 1999, she played Rita Escobar in the hit western Wild Wild West. The actress also played Rosario in Steven Soderbergh's 2000 film Traffic.

In 2003, the sequel to the film "Desperado" called "Once Upon a Time in Mexico" was released - here Salma played along with Antonio Banderas. And in 2006, the actress worked with her close friend Penelope Cruz on Luc Besson's western Bandidas. And although the reviews of critics about this picture were ambiguous, the duet Hayek-Kroes captivated viewers around the world.

In the same 2006, the premiere of the film "The Lonely Hearts" took place, where the actress brilliantly played the swindler Martha.

Of course, there are many more films with the participation of the famous Mexican actress. During her career, Salma managed to work on more than a hundred paintings of various genres. And she is not going to leave the set - there is still a lot of work ahead of the talented Mexican.

Producer career

Salma Hayek has long dreamed of trying herself as a producer. And in 2000, she opened her own production company and started working on making films. And her first experiment was the drama Nobody Writes to the Colonel, which tells the story of an elderly veteran and his sick wife, who live in poverty, waiting for the promised state pension for many years. The first film of the actress became successful and received a lot of positive reviews.

In 2002the legendary painting “Frida” appeared. A year later, Salma created the film "Miracle of Maldonado", for which she received an Emmy Award. In 2005, her company also created a video for the singer Prince. And in 2006, Salma took up the creation of the series "Ugly Betty", the main character of which is a good-natured, but completely ugly girl. By the way, this soap opera quickly became one of the most popular in the US and lasted four seasons - the last episode was filmed in 2010.

New films with famous actress

There are also newer pictures starring Salma Hayek. Her filmography was replenished in 2009 with "The Story of a Vampire", where she played the bearded woman Madame Truska. In 2010, the comedy Odnoklassniki was released, where the actress got the role of Roxana Ches-Feder. By the way, in 2013 a sequel was released - Odnoklassniki-2, where Salma also took part.

In 2012, new films with Salma Hayek were released. The list of her works was replenished with the pictures "Especially Dangerous", where she played Elena, as well as the comedy "Fat Man in the Ring", where she got the role of Bella.

The legendary "Frida" and a stunning success

If you are interested in the best films with Salma Hayek, then you should pay attention to the biopic "Frida". Here, the actress not only played the main role, but also acted as a co-producer. Even as a child, having heard the touching and tragic story of the famous Mexican artist Frida Kahlo, Salma cherished the dream of playing her on stage someday.

And in 2002 thisshe had a chance. The actress herself has repeatedly noted that the role of Frida was given to her hard. During the filming, she lost 6 kg and experienced constant sleep problems, as she tried to let the pain of the famous artist through herself.

This work by Salma has become a real masterpiece. The actress not only did an excellent job with the role, but also persuaded some of the "star colleagues" to play in the film. The picture received a lot of positive reviews and awards, including two Oscars (for "Best Music Design" and "Best Makeup") and a Golden Globe. By the way, Madonna, who is an ardent admirer of the artist's talent, once claimed the role of Frida.

Private life

Edward Norton is the first husband of Salma Hayek. The celebrity couple got married in 1999. And although at first this marriage looked happy, the situation quickly changed - four years later, the actress filed for divorce. In an interview, she often mentioned that she had to constantly hear criticism from her beloved. He did not like her independence, self-confidence, accent, political views, love of Mexican culture and even the way she dressed.

In 2003, the actress began dating actor Josh Lucas. This relationship did not last long - in 2004 the couple broke up. Later, Salma met Francois Henri Pinault, who, by the way, is one of the hundred richest people in the world. The relationship between them was serious, they were going to get married, and in 2007 Salma gave birth to a daughter, Valentina. But in 2008The celebrity couple announced their breakup. Nevertheless, after some time, Francois and Salma reconciled - in 2009 they played a wedding in an old theater in Venice.

Salma Hayek Awards and nominations

Of course, during her career, the actress received a lot of nominations and prestigious awards. As mentioned, she is the first Mexican woman in Hollywood history to be nominated for an Oscar for Best Actress. She also received awards as a producer, in particular, her first film was nominated for the Palme d'Or.

By the way, the actress regularly appears on the covers of glossy publications and is still present in the ratings of the most beautiful and desirable women in the world. And not so long ago, she was awarded the Order of the Chevalier of the Legion of Honor in France and thanked for her active charitable work.

Some interesting facts about the actress

In addition to acting and producing, Salma Hayek has also acted as a director several times. She managed to record several songs with famous artists - in most cases, these are soundtracks for films. For example, the actress made several recordings for Frida and Once Upon a Time in Mexico.

She is also involved in charity work and actively fights for the rights of women around the world, participates in the Women Against Violence movement. Salma also considers the no less famous actress Penelope Cruz her best friend. Despite dyslexia, today the famous actress is fluent in English, Arabic, Spanish and Portuguese. And alsoshe never watches her own films.

Beauty secrets from Salma Hayek

In fact, the actress is known for her extraordinary behavior, and sometimes outrageous antics. With a relatively small growth of 157 centimeters, its weight is about 52 kilograms. The actress is proud of her figure, as well as the beauty of her skin. In one of the interviews, Salma said that she eats … insects to maintain harmony. Surely the celebrity did not expect that her words would be taken seriously, and her extravagant diet would become the most discussed on the Internet.

On the other hand, the actress is happy to share some of her beauty secrets. In particular, she adheres to the principles of fractional nutrition and, unlike some colleagues, does not visit gyms too often. As for skin care, she uses the advice given to her by her grandmother - she regularly cleanses and moisturizes her skin. By the way, despite the fact that Salma Hayek's makeup is admired by her fans, the actress claims that she uses decorative cosmetics only when necessary, since the skin needs a rest from the "colors".