Dark, petite and sexy, Salma Hayek got her start in Mexican television productions in the late 1980s before moving to Los Angeles to work in the movies. She had small but memorable roles in Mi Vida Loca (1993) and From Dusk Till Dawn (1996, with George Clooney and Quentin Tarantino), and she played the love interest opposite Antonio Banderas in Desperado (1995). Although most of her early films played up her voluptuousness and sex appeal, she also produced and starred in the film Frida (2002, with Geoffrey Rush), a drama based on the life of Mexican artist Frida Kahlo. The film brought her an Oscar nomination for acting and put her squarely in the film production business. The executive producer of the hit TV series Ugly Betty (starring America Ferrera), Hayek also won a Daytime Emmy for directing the movie The Maldonado Miracle (2003). Her other films include Robert Rodriguez's Once Upon a Time in Mexico (2003, again with Banderas), Ask the Dust (2006, with Colin Farrell), and Lonely Hearts (2007, with Hayek as notorious serial killer Martha Beck).
Hayek is of Lebanese and Spanish descent... She was the voice of Esmerelda in the Spanish-dubbed version of Disney's The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996)... She played Alec Baldwin's fiery girlfriend in several 2009 episodes of the TV comedy 30 Rock (also starring Tina Fey)... In 2009 she married French billionaire Francois-Henry Pinault; they have one child.
Widely considered to be the first Mexican actress to become a Hollywood movie star since Dolores Del Rio, Salma Hayek is known for bringing a fiery presence and striking, dark-eyed beauty to the screen. A soap star in her native Mexico, Hayek risked her entire career to come to L.A., where she struggled to be taken seriously. Her discovery by director Robert Rodriguez, who cast her in his 1995 film Desperado, gave Hayek her breakthrough, and she subsequently gained a reputation as one of Hollywood's sexiest and busiest actresses.
The daughter of a Spanish mother and Lebanese father, Hayek was born in Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz, Mexico, on September 2, 1966. Raised in a devoutly Catholic family, she was sent to a Louisiana boarding school at the age of 12. After getting into trouble for terrorizing the nuns, 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, but, to the chagrin of her family, decided to drop out in order to pursue a career as an actress. Starting out in local theatre productions, she eventually moved to television and landed a starring role in the popular soap opera Teresa. The show's success made Hayek a celebrity in her native country, but, desiring something more, she shocked her fans by deciding to quit the show in order to pursue a career in L.A.
After taking a year to learn English and study acting with Stella Adler, Hayek got her first break when Allison Anders cast her in a supporting role in Mi Vida Loca (1993). The role allowed Hayek to obtain a Screen Actors Guild card, and after doing so, she continued to audition until she appeared on a Spanish-language cable access talk show that happened to count director Robert Rodriguez amongst its viewers. Rodriguez tracked Hayek down and promptly cast her in Desperado, his bigger-budget 1995 sequel to El Mariachi. The film, which also starred Antonio Banderas, succeeded in giving the actress her own plot on the Hollywood map, and Rodriguez again demonstrated his faith in her when he cast her in his next project, the vampire extravaganza From Dusk Till Dawn (1996).
Unfortunately for Hayek, the film, which also starred George Clooney, failed to do as well as expected, and Hayek's next few projects were similarly lackluster. The Faculty (1998), a teen thriller that cast Hayek as a teacher who turns into an alien, was an exception, and Kevin Smith's Dogma (1999), which featured her as a celestial muse, was fairly successful with critics and audiences. Also in 1999, Hayek had a starring role in what was to be her biggest film to date, Barry Sonnenfeld's Wild Wild West, which also starred Will Smith and Kevin Kline. Unfortunately for all involved, the film was a turkey. In 2000, Hayek could be seen in smaller, edgier ventures, including the independent comedy Chain of Fools, in which she played a centerfold-turned- cop, and Mike Figgis' experimental Time Code, which cast her as Jeanne Tripplehorn's lover. If these films ultimately didn't provide Hayek with a role that would draw attention to her genuine talent, this would soon change with the long awaited biography of tragic artist Frida Kahlo. With her role as the epnoymous character in Frida (2002), Hayek disappeared into her subject so convincingly that not only would she return to the good graces of critics, but earn an Oscar nomination as well. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, Rovi
At the age of 23, Hayek landed the title role in Teresa (1989), a successful Mexican telenovela that made her a star in Mexico. In 1994, Hayek starred in the film El Callejón de los Milagros (Miracle Alley), which has won more awards than any other movie in the history of Mexican cinema.[citation needed] For her performance, Hayek was nominated for an Ariel Award.[10]
Early Hollywood acting work
Hayek moved to Los Angeles, California, in 1991 to study acting under Stella Adler.[11] She had limited fluency in English, which was attributed to her suffering from dyslexia.[12]Robert Rodriguez and his producer and then wife Elizabeth Avellan soon gave Hayek a starring role opposite Antonio Banderas in 1995's Desperado.[4]
Around 2000, Hayek founded film production company Ventanarosa, through which she produces film and television projects. Her first feature as a producer was 1999's El Coronel No Tiene Quien Le Escriba, Mexico's official selection for submission for Best Foreign Film at the Oscars.[13]
In the Time of the Butterflies is a 2001 feature film based on the Julia Álvarez book of the same name, covering the lives of the Mirabal sisters. In the movie, Salma Hayek plays one of the sisters, Minerva, and Edward James Olmos plays the Dominican dictator Rafael Leónidas Trujillo whom the sisters opposed.[citation needed]
Hayek and Banderas at the Puss in Boots premiere in Australia.
In 2003, Hayek produced and directed The Maldonado Miracle, a Showtime movie based on the book of the same name, winning her a Daytime Emmy Award[14] for Outstanding Directing in a Children/Youth/Family Special.[15] In December 2005, she directed a music video for Prince, titled "Te Amo Corazon" ("I love you, sweetheart") that featured Mía Maestro.[16]
Hayek was an executive producer of Ugly Betty, a television series that aired around the world from 2006 to 2010. Hayek adapted the series for American television with Ben Silverman, who acquired the rights and scripts from the Colombian telenovelaYo Soy Betty La Fea in 2001. Originally intended as a half hour sitcom for NBC in 2004, the project would later be picked up by ABC for the 2006–2007 season with Silvio Horta also producing. Hayek guest-starred on Ugly Betty as Sofia Reyes, a magazine editor. She also had a cameo playing an actress in the telenovela within the show. The show won a Golden Globe Award for Best Comedy Series in 2007. Hayek's performance as Sofia resulted in a nomination for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series at the 59th Primetime Emmy Awards.[17]
In April 2007, Hayek finalized negotiations with MGM to become the CEO of her own Latin themed film production company, Ventanarosa.[18] The following month, she signed a two year deal with ABC for Ventanarosa to develop projects for the network.[19]
Hayek stars as the wife of Adam Sandler in Grown Ups, which also co-stars Chris Rock and Kevin James.[20] At his insistence, Hayek co-starred with Antonio Banderas in the Shrek spin-off film Puss in Boots as the voice of the character Kitty Softpaws, who serves as Puss's female counterpart and love interest.[21]
Singing credits
Hayek has been credited as a song performer in three movies. The first was Desperado for the song Quedate Aquí. In Frida she performed the Mexican folk songLa Bruja with the band Los Vega. She also recorded Siente mi amor, which played during the end credits of Once Upon a Time in Mexico.[citation needed]
Promotional work
Hayek featured on the cover of Veronica magazine, as seen here on an SUV in Amsterdam
In 2011, Hayek launched her own line of cosmetics, skincare and haircare products called Nuance by Salma Hayek, to be sold at CVS stores in North America.[25] She was inspired to create a cosmetic line from her grandmother, who used to make her own facial care products.
On March 9, 2007, Hayek confirmed her engagement to a French billionaire and PPR CEO François-Henri Pinault as well as her pregnancy. On September 21, 2007, she gave birth to daughter Valentina Paloma Pinault at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California. On July 18, 2008, Hayek and Pinault announced the end of their engagement.[32] They later reconciled and were married on Valentine's Day, 2009 in Paris.[33] On April 25, 2009, they were married a second time in Venice.[34]
In July 2011, Hayek's husband was named in a paternity case. According to reports, Pinault is the father of supermodel Linda Evangelista's four-year-old son, Augustin James. He denied all allegations.[35][36]
Activism
Hayek's charitable work includes increasing awareness on violence against women and discrimination against immigrants.[37][dead link] On July 19, 2005, Hayek testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary supporting reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act.[38] In February 2006, she donated $25,000 to a Coatzacoalcos, Mexico, shelter for battered women and another $50,000 to Monterrey based anti-domestic violence groups.[39] Hayek is a board member of V-Day, the charity founded by playwright Eve Ensler.
Since the birth of her daughter, Hayek has worked to help mothers in developing nations worldwide, teaming up with Pampers and UNICEF to help stop the spread of life-threatening maternal and neonatal tetanus. She is a global spokesperson for the Pampers/UNICEF partnership 1 Pack = 1 Vaccine to help raise awareness of the program.[40]
In July 2007, The Hollywood Reporter ranked Hayek fourth in their inaugural Latino Power 50, a list of the most powerful members of the Hollywood Latino community.[47] That same month, a poll found Hayek to be the "sexiest celebrity" out of a field of 3,000 celebrities (male and female); according to the poll, "65 percent of the U.S. population would use the term 'sexy' to describe her".[48] In 2008, she was awarded the Women in FilmLucy Award in recognition of her excellence and innovation in her creative works that have enhanced the perception of women through the medium of television[49] In December of that year, Entertainment Weekly ranked Hayek number 17 in their list of the "25 Smartest People in TV."[50]
^"Ramtha's School of Enlightenment, the School of Ancient Wisdom". 2006. http://www.ramtha.com/createyourday. Retrieved October 21, 2006. "Having been a skeptic for most of my life, Ramtha has taught me about the possibilities we all have to influence reality using science to explain the mechanics in a way that finally makes sense to me. His technique on creating the day has been very effective in my life."
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