Salma Hayek biography, husband, daughter, net worth, age, young photos, height 2025

Salma Hayek Biography

Salma Hayek is a celebrated Hollywood actress of Mexican descent who's also made her mark as a producer, director, and singer. She became the second Mexican actress ever nominated for an Academy Award in 2003. She is famous for her roles in the films Frida, Desperado, and From Dusk till Dawn. Net worth: $200 million.

Childhood

Salma Valgarma Hayek Jiménez was born in Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz, Mexico on September 2, 1966. Her mother, Diana Jiménez Medina, was an opera singer, and her father, Sami Hayek Domínguez, was an oil company executive who once ran for mayor of Coatzacoalcos. Hayek's mother is of Mexican-Spanish descent, while her father is of Lebanese ancestry.

Hayek was brought up in a wealthy and highly religious family. When she was twelve, her parents sent her to a Catholic girls' school at a monastery in Louisiana. During her time there, she was diagnosed with dyslexia, which made reading and writing challenging. However, this didn't stop her from excelling in gymnastics.

As a child, Salma Hayek was involved in gymnastics

Hayek's dream of becoming an actress was sparked when she first watched Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971) starring Gene Wilder. But the path to stardom wasn't easy for Salma. First, she was expelled from the Catholic school, then she returned to Mexico and studied International Relations at the Universidad Iberoamericana. Only after earning her degree did she decide to pursue acting.

Acting Career

In 1989, at the age of 23, Hayek made her acting debut with a title role in Teresa, a popular Mexican telenovela. After starring in this classic soap opera, the young actress became a real Mexican star. Nevertheless, she eventually abandoned the series, left for the USA, and settled in Los Angeles.

Hayek's determination helped her overcome all the challenges, including her limited English and her initial status as an undocumented immigrant in the US. Despite all this, in 1991, she started studying acting under Stella Adler, the most famous American acting teacher.

Hayek was full of enthusiasm and ready to star in Hollywood movies, but she soon realized that local film directors predominantly cast Mexican women as vulgar mistresses or prostitutes. At the dawn of her career, she had to play both in different TV series.

Shot from the El Callejón de los Milagros TV series

During an appearance on a Spanish-language talk show, Hayek criticized this type of role division in the American film industry. And that is when she was noticed by the director and producer Robert Rodriguez. He was charmed not only with the beauty but also with the wit of the young actress. Hayek hit the jackpot when she met Rodriguez, who invited her to star in the action film Desperado alongside Antonio Banderas.

Salma Hayek became Robert Rodriguez's muse

In 1995, the role of Carolina, the title character's girlfriend, made Salma Hayek famous not only in the USA but all over the world. The role also gave the young actress the Hollywood producer attention she needed. She was immediately cast in The Mask of Zorro with Antonio Banderas, but when Rodriguez left the project, Hayek turned down the role.

Salma Hayek and Antonio Banderas in Desperado

That same year, Rodriguez cast Hayek in a minor role in the action film From Dusk till Dawn. The movie starring George Clooney and Quentin Tarantino became a cult film.

Salma Hayek's dance in the movie From Dusk till Dawn

Fools Rush In (1997), a sweet romantic comedy film, was Hayek's next successful project. The film also starred Matthew Perry who was already known for his role as Chandler on the television sitcom Friends.

A shot from the film From Dusk till Dawn

According to Zoomboola.com, in 1999, Salma Hayek got the leading role in the big-budget Wild Wild West along with Will Smith. Then she played a supporting role in Kevin Smith's Dogma; it tells the story about new adventures of Jay and Silent Bob as well as two fallen angels played by Matt Damon and Ben Affleck.

At the turn of the century, Hayek launched her own film production company, Ventanarosa. Her first feature as a producer was 1999's No One Writes to the Colonel, a screen adaptation of the beloved story by Colombian novelist Gabriel García Márquez. The film screened at the Cannes Film Festival, earned a Goya Award nomination, and won an award at the Sundance Film Festival in 2000. Salma Hayek herself played one of the leading roles in the movie.

A shot from the film No One Writes to the Colonel

In the same year, the actress appeared in Timecode, an experimental film written and directed by Mike Figgis that was recognized by many critics as one of the best films of the year. The film's groundbreaking feature was that it was shot entirely with handheld cameras in one continuous take, in real-time.

Salma Hayek back in her youth and nowadays

The leading role in Julie Taymor's biopic drama film Frida was the breakthrough in Hayek's acting career. The movie tells a remarkable story about the life and work of Mexican painter Frida Kahlo. For her passionate, wholehearted performance, Hayek earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress.

As a co-producer of the project, Hayek helped to assemble a team of stars, namely, Edward Norton, Antonio Banderas, and Alfred Molina. However, she completely eclipsed everyone with her performance in the role that both Madonna and Jennifer Lopez had coveted. The actress even performed several songs in the film.

After the film's release, critics and glossy magazines began hailing Hayek as one of the world's most captivating actresses. Meanwhile, she continued her collaboration with Robert Rodriguez, appearing in 2003's Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over and Once Upon a Time in Mexico. In the latter, she co-starred with Antonio Banderas, Johnny Depp, and Mickey Rourke.

In 2003, Hayek directed The Maldonado Miracle for the Showtime channel and won a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing in a Children/Youth/Family Special. She then delivered one successful, high-quality project after another: After the Sunset (2004), a criminal action film starring Pierce Brosnan; Ask the Dust (2005), a melodrama featuring Colin Farrell; Lonely Hearts, a thriller starring Jared Leto and John Travolta; and Bandidas (2006), a western comedy film where Salma Hayek played along with her friend Penélope Cruz. The audience was delighted with the tricks of the two desperate girls.

Salma Hayek – Siente mi amor (a song from the Desperado)

Throughout the 2010s, Hayek landed roles in several entertaining big-budget films. She showcased her comedic chops in Grown Ups (2010) together with Adam Sandler and Chris Rock. Hayek also appeared in Oliver Stone's thriller Savages (2012) along with John Travolta and Blake Lively. In 2014, the actress voiced a role in the animated film The Prophet and then took on another strong female role in the action flick Everly. She later lent her voice to the raunchy animated comedy Sausage Party (2016). In 2017, Hayek appeared in a couple of moderately received but commercially successful films: Drunk Parents starring Alec Baldwin and The Hitman's Bodyguard starring Ryan Reynolds.

She was also cast in The Hummingbird Project together with Jesse Eisenberg and Alexander Skarsgård.

Personal Life

In 1999, Salma Hayek began dating actor Edward Norton in a relationship that lasted four years. She then dated actor Josh Lucas for about a year.

Back in her youth, Salma Hayek dated Edward Norton

After their breakup, Hayek became engaged in 2004 to François-Henri Pinault, a billionaire ranked among the world's 100 richest people who owns luxury brands including Yves Saint Laurent and Gucci. However, the couple called off their engagement in July 2008.

In September 2007, the couple welcomed their daughter Valentina Paloma Pinault. Valentina remained with her mother. The couple eventually reconciled, and in April 2009, Salma Hayek married François-Henri Pinault at La Fenice, a historic theater in Venice.

Paparazzi caught Salma Hayek in a swimsuit (2017)

Salma Hayek is best friends with Spanish actress Penélope Cruz; she is also friends with Ashley Judd and Valeria Golino. Despite dyslexia, the actress speaks fluent Spanish, English, Arabic, and Portuguese.

Salma Hayek Nowadays

2020 saw four films featuring Salma Hayek hitting theaters. These films are "Like a Boss", "The Roads Not Taken", "The Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard" and "The Eternals".

The actress has also continued sharing glimpses of her life throughout the pandemic. Salma regularly publishes photos even without makeup. When fans accused her of overusing Botox in 2020, she clapped back by posting makeup-free beach photos showing off her natural look.

Calcow Tv

ellen king is so jealous lol xd lol xd imagine being so ugly that ur jealous of the hottest chick on earth lol xd lol xd u r def a 1/10 and she is a 11/10 lol xd lol xd salma is the hottest mexican chick to exist bro xd xd lol lol

2022-04-22 18:43:57
Ellen King

I don`t know why everybody likes her, Salma has an ordinary appearance

2021-04-09 23:25:46
Tonya Moore

Her role in the movie From Dusk till Dawn showed the results :)

2021-04-04 20:11:22
Linda Adams

Salma is already over 40 years old and looks better then most of the young girls, good job

2021-03-03 18:32:25
Mary Moore

In my opinion she achieved everything because of her rich father who was spoiling her

2021-02-27 13:31:57
Cheryl Moore

How it`s possible to stay so beautiful and intelligent at the same time :) maximum feminine and a little of decency

2021-02-22 10:55:01

Photos: Salma Hayek

Salma Hayek Biography

Childhood

Acting Career

Personal Life

Salma Hayek Nowadays