Salma Hayek Biography
Salma Hayek is a world-famous actress (born September 2, 1966, in Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz, Mexico) to a Lebanese father and a Mexican mother. Considered by many to be the most successful Latin American actress in Hollywood since Dolores del RÃo, 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.
Raised in a devoutly Catholic family, she was sent to a Louisiana boarding school at the age of 12. After leaving the school due to alleged behavioral problems with the religious Sisters who ran the school, Hayek returned to Mexico, but she was eventually sent to Houston, Texas, to live with her aunt, where she stayed until she was 17. She subsequently moved to Mexico City, where she studied International Relations as a university student. 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 Salma Hayek landed the title role in Teresa (1989), a successful telenovela which earned her star status in her native Mexico. Later, in 1994, Salma starred in El Callejón de los Milagros, which would later become the most awarded movie in the Cinema of Mexico.
Despite not being fluent in English, Hayek moved to Los Angeles, California, in 1991 to study acting with the hopes of starting a career in Hollywood. Robert Rodriguez and his producer wife Elizabeth Avellan soon gave Hayek the big break she needed, starring opposite Antonio Banderas in Desperado. This movie brought Hayek to Hollywood's attention, as moviegoers proved to be as dazzled with Hayek as Rodriguez had been.
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. 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.
