Salma Hayek

Salma Hayek Jimenez was born Sept. 2, 1966 in Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz, Mexico.

Hayek was raised in a devoutly Catholic family and at the age of 12, Hayek was sent to the Academy of the Sacred Heart in Grand Coteau, Louisiana. She is also an accomplished gymnast and had aspirations to go on to the Olympics. After leaving school because of alleged behavior problems, Hayek returned to Mexico but was then sent to Houston, Texas to live with her aunt. Hayek stayed there until she was 17 years old. Hayek moved to Mexico City to attend college where she studied International Relations. But much to her family’s dismay, she dropped out to pursue an acting career.

Despite Hayek’s lack of fluency in English, she moved to Los Angeles in 1991 to study acting. The movie put her on the Hollywood radar was the 1995 Robert Rodriguez film “Desperado” starring Antonio Banderas. Following the movie’s success, Hayek had a small role in 1996’s “From Dusk Till Dawn,” which co-starred George Clooney and Quentin Tarantino. In 1999, Hayek starred in the big budget film “Wild Wild West” starring Will Smith and Kevin Kline. That same year, Hayek starred in Kevin Smith comedy “Dogma.”

Hayek is fluent in English, Spanish, Arabic and Portuguese.

2002 was a big year for Hayek. “Frida,” which Hayek co-produced was released. The film starred a variety of Hollywood stars such as Ashley Judd, Alfred Molina, Antonio Bandares, Geoffrey Rush and Edward Norton. Hayek’s performance in the movie earned her a Best Actress Academy Award nomination.

In 2003, Hayek reprised her role from “Desperado,” in the final film of the Mariachi trilogy, “Once Upon a Time in Mexico,” which featured Antonio Bandares and Johnny Depp.

In 2005, Hayek produced a music video for Prince titled “Te Amo Corazon,” (meaning, “I Love you, sweetheart)

Hayek dated Edward Norton from 1999 to 2003; she then dated Josh Lucas from 2003 to 2004. Hayek is currently single and has homes in both Los Angeles and Mexico.