Salma Hayek

Salma Hayek (September 2, 1966) is a Mexican-American actress, producer, and former model. 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. For her performance, Hayek was nominated for an Ariel Award.

Hayek moved to Los Angeles, California, in 1991 to study acting under Stella Adler. She soon starred opposite Antonio Banderas in 1995’s Desperado. Hayek had a starring role opposite Matthew Perry in the 1997 romantic comedy Fools Rush In and in 1999 she co-starred in Will Smith’s big-budget Wild Wild West.

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. She co-produced the 2002 film Frida, and starred in the title role as Frida Kahlo, earning a Best Actress Academy Award nomination for her performance.

In 2003, Hayek produced and directed The Maldonado Miracle, winning her a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing in a Children/Youth/Family Special. Hayek adapted the series “Ugly Betty” for American television with Ben Silverman, and served as an executive producer on the show. Hayek guest-starred on “Ugly Betty” as Sofia Reyes, a magazine editor. 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.

In April 2007, Hayek finalized negotiations with MGM to become the CEO of her own Latin-themed film production company, Ventanarosa. The following month, she signed a two-year deal with ABC for Ventanarosa to develop projects for the network. Most recently, she can be seen in the title role of the 2017 film Beatriz at Dinner.

Photo by Georges Biard, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.