Salma Hayek was born on September 2, 1966, in Coatzacoalcos, Mexico, to a father of Lebanese descent and a mother of Mexican and Spanish ancestry. Growing up, she was inspired by her childhood viewing of Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971) and decided she wanted to become an actress.
At the age of 12, Salma was sent to the Academy of the Sacred Heart in New Orleans, Louisiana, where she spent several years. She later attended Mexico City's prestigious Universidad Iberoamericana, where she honed her skills and prepared to pursue a career in acting.
Salma's breakthrough role came in 1989 when she starred in the highly successful Mexican soap opera Teresa, earning her widespread recognition and stardom in her native country. However, she soon felt the need to explore her talents further and expand her horizons, leading her to leave both the soap opera and Mexico in 1991.
After moving to Los Angeles, Salma faced challenges as a Latina actress, often being typecast in stereotypical roles. She struggled to find meaningful work, appearing in small roles in various TV shows and films, including Street Justice, The Sinbad Show, Nurses, and Dream On.
Salma's fortunes changed when she met director Robert Rodriguez and his wife Elizabeth Avellan, who cast her in the cult classic Desperado (1995) opposite Antonio Banderas. The film's success brought her to Hollywood prominence, and she went on to star in From Dusk Till Dawn (1996),Fools Rush In (1997),Breaking Up (1997),54 (1998),Dogma (1999),and Wild Wild West (1999).
In the early 2000s, Salma continued to excel in a range of films, including In the Time of the Butterflies (2001),30 Rock (2006),and Across the Universe (2007). She also produced and starred in the critically acclaimed biopic Frida (2002),which earned her an ALMA award as best actress.
Salma's production company, Ventanarosa, produced the Mexican feature film No One Writes to the Colonel (1999),which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival and was selected as Mexico's official Oscar entry for best foreign film.
