salma hayek

Born: 09/02/1968
Birthplace: Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz
Status: Dating
Sign: Virgo

Imagine being a soap opera actress in the highest rated television program of any kind in the country. You are 21 and people all over the nation worship you. What would you do? Walk away from it all to start from scratch in a new country where you can't even speak the language? Well if you are Salma Hayek that is exactly what you would do.

Salma is the daughter of a Spanish-descended mother and a Lebanese-descended father. She was born and raised in Coatzacoalcos, Mexico in 1968. When she was twelve, her parents sent her to a catholic boarding school in Louisiana. Even though Salma proved that she was attentively studious and properly religious, she was suspended and sent home after just 2 years. The fact that she also had an aptitude for mischief, usually directed against the nuns who ran the school, played a key roll in her dismissal. Two years after her return Salma finished high school and was sent away again. She went to live with her aunt in Houston until she was seventeen.

When she returned to Mexico, Salma relocated to Mexico City to attend college, where she studied international relations. She had harbored her desire to become an actress for years because she knew her parents would never approve of such a chancy vocation. Finally she confronted her parents and told them of her aspiration. Despite their disapproval, Salma quite college and pursued her acting career. She found work in plays at neighborhood theaters, which led to jobs in television commercials, which in turn yielded a casting in Nuevo Amanecer, a popular daytime TV serial. She was then cast as the title character in an extraordinarily popular soap opera, Theresa. Salma's popularity grew quickly and soon she was the most fervently adored actress in Mexico.

Not content to settle for the comparatively meager rewards of mega-stardom in Mexico. Salma set her confident sights on Hollywood, and moved there in 1991. She initially took an 18 month hiatus from acting to climatize herself to Hollywood. She took English lessons, taught herself how to drive a car and got aquatinted with L.A.'s maze of freeways. She also studied acting under famed drama coach Stella Adler.

Initially Salma's acting credits were little more than bit parts, mostly on television. But it was an appearance on a Spanish-language cable-access talk show, which led to her big break. Mexican-American director Robert Rodriguez tuned into Hayek's talk show appearance while flipping through channels. He was so impressed with the sparkling charisma and dazzling appearance of Salma that he immediately tracking her down and cast her in the female lead in "Desperado". She received rave reviews for her exceptional performance and sizzling sexy style. She landed small rolls in "Fair Game" and "Fled", which didn't do too well at the box office. However, Salma's performances provided much-needed zip for both movies. 1997 found her perfectly romantically matched in both "Fools Rush In" and TNT's "The Hunchback of Notre Dame".

Even though she is only five-foot-two, her spirit is ten-feet tall. Her appearances in films such as "54" and "From Dusk till Dawn" prove that. She can effortlessly bounce between drama and comedy, bringing sex appeal a sloth could notice to her roles.

Actress - filmography

Ground Beneath Her Feet, The (2002)
Once Upon a Time in Mexico (2002) .... Carolina
... aka Desperado II: Once Upon a Time in Mexico (2002) (USA)
Frida (2002) .... Frida Kahlo
In the Time of the Butterflies (2001) .... Minerva Mirabal
... aka En el tiempo de las mariposas (2001)
Concert for New York City (2001) (TV) .... Herself
America: A Tribute to Heroes (2001) (TV) .... Herself
Hotel (2001) .... Charlee Boux
Traffic (2000) (uncredited) .... Rosario, Madrigal's Mistress
... aka Traffic - Die Macht des Kartells (2001) (Germany)
My VH1 Music Awards (2000) (TV)
Gran vida, La (2000) .... Lola
... aka Living It Up (2000) (International: English title)
Chain of Fools (2000) .... Kolko
Timecode (2000) .... Rose
Film-Fest DVD: Issue 2 - Cannes (1999) (V) .... Herself (Interviewee)
Forever Hollywood (1999) .... Herself
Wild Wild West (1999) .... Rita Escobar
Coronel no tiene quien le escriba, El (1999) .... Julia
... aka No One Writes to the Colonel (1999) (International: English title)
... aka Pas de lettre pour le colonel (1999) (France)
... aka Personne n'écrit au colonel (1999) (France)
Dogma (1999) .... Serendipity
Velocity of Gary, The (1998) .... Mary Carmen
Welcome to Hollywood (1998) .... Herself
Faculty, The (1998) .... Nurse Rosa Harper
54 (1998) .... Anita Randazzo
... aka Fifty-Four (1998)
Sistole Diastole (1997) .... Carmelita
Breaking Up (1997) .... Monica
¿Quién diablos es Juliette? (1997) .... Herself
... aka Who the Hell Is Juliette? (1997)
Hunchback, The (1997) (TV) .... Esmeralda
Follow Me Home (1997)
Fools Rush In (1997) .... Isabel Fuentes
"Vuelo del águila, El" (1996) TV Series .... Juana Cata
Fled (1996) .... Cora
From Dusk Till Dawn (1996) .... Santanico Pandemonium
Desperado (1995) .... Carolina
Fair Game (1995) .... Rita
Four Rooms (1995) .... TV dancer (segment "The Misbehavers")
Callejón de los milagros, El (1995) .... Alma
... aka Midaq Alley (1995)
... aka Miracle Alley (1995) (Australia)
Roadracers (1994) (TV) .... Donna
... aka Rebel Highway (1994) (TV)
Mi vida loca (1993) .... Gata
... aka My Crazy Life (1993)
"Sinbad Show, The" (1993) TV Series .... Gloria (1993)
... aka "Sinbad" (1993) (UK)
"Teresa" (1989) TV Series .... Teresa
"Nuevo amanecer, Un" (1988) TV Series

Notable TV guest appearances

"Action" (1999) playing "Herself" in episode: "Re-Enter The Dragon" (episode # 1.2) 9/16/1999
"NYPD Blue" (1993) playing "Ramona Costello" in episode: "Don We Now Our Gay Apparel" (episode # 2.9) 1/3/1995
"Dream On" (1990) playing "Carmela" in episode: "Domestic Bliss" (episode # 3.20) 10/10/1992
"Jack's Place" (1992/I) playing "Gypsy Katrina 'Kata' Nicklos"
"Nurses" (1991) playing "Gina's sister, Yolanda Cuevas"
"Storytime" (????) playing "Herself"

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