Salma Hayek
Biography
This beauty was born
and raised in Coatzacoalcos, Mexico. Her religious parents -- father
of Lebanese descent, mother of Spanish descent -- wanted to ensure
that their daughter would be well-educated, and sent her a Louisiana
boarding school when she was 12. Sent back home for being a prankster
in boarding school, Hayek finished high school and was sent to Houston
to live with her aunt until the age of 17.
Once a college student
in Mexico City majoring in international relations studies, Hayek
finally decided to dropout (to her parents' chagrin) to pursue her
childhood dream of becoming an actress.
Hayek started out doing
local theater, including a role as the female lead in Aladdin and
His Marvelous Lamp. Theater work eventually led to commercials,
which finally led to a part a popular daytime soap called Nuevo
Amanecer. Hayek was considered a goddess in Mexico for her role
as Teresa in the serial of the same name. This was, however, not
enough for this ambitious beauty who had set her sights on the big
leagues: Hollywood.
Hayek moved to Los Angeles
in 1991, a complete unknown in a city full of aspiring actors. Foreign
to the English language, Hayek spent the next 18 months taking English
lessons, while perfecting her acting skills with a drama teacher.
Although Hayek spent four months auditioning for a leading role
that finally went to another actress, the director, impressed by
her determination, cast her in a smaller role in the film so that
she could become a member of the Screen Actors Guild.
Her big break had finally
arrived, and it was mostly thanks to her appearance on a Spanish-language
cable talk show. Director Robert Rodriguez caught Hayek's appearance,
and knew he had to cast her for the lead role of the sequel to his
successful film El Mariachi, 1995's Desperado, opposite Antonia
Banderas. Roles in Fair Game and Fled did not do the actress justice,
but with Salma Hayek web sites finding their home in cyberspace
and roles pouring in, audiences were sure to take notice of this
Mexican beauty.
She was cast in From
Dusk 'Til Dawn with George Clooney and in the 1997 comedy Fools
Rush In, co-starring Matthew Perry and marking her first leading
role. That same year, Hayek charmed audiences with her role as Esmeralda
in a TNT rendition of The Hunchback of Notre Dame. She was no stranger
to the role, as she portrayed Esmeralda in Disney's Spanish version
of the film.
Hayek's film repertoire
only continued to expand, with a role as a coke-sniffing dancer
in 54, a tribute to the popular 70's nightclub. She also starred
opposite Kevin Kline and Will Smith in last summer's big budget
disappointment Wild Wild West.; the controversial Dogma, co-starring
Matt Damon and Ben Affleck; and she will soon be seen in The Velocity
of Gary, as well as Frida, the biography of painter Frida Kahlo.
Salma Hayek Filmography
Lonely Hearts (2006)
.... Martha Beck
Bandidas (2006) .... Sara
Paint (2005)
Ask the Dust (2005) .... Camilla
Sian Ka'an (2005) (voice) .... Maria
After the Sunset (2004) .... Lola Cirillo
Once Upon a Time in Mexico (2003) .... Carolina
Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over (2003) .... Cesca Giggles
... aka Spy Kids 3: Game Over (USA: video title)
Frida (2002) .... Frida Kahlo
In the Time of the Butterflies (2001) (TV) .... Minerva Mirabal
... aka En el tiempo de las mariposas
Hotel (2001) .... Charlee Boux
Traffic (2000) (uncredited) .... Rosario, Madrigal's Mistress
... aka Traffic - Die Macht des Kartells (Germany)
Gran vida, La (2000) .... Lola
... aka Living It Up (International: English title)
Chain of Fools (2000) .... Kolko
Timecode (2000) .... Rose
Wild Wild West (1999) .... Rita Escobar
Coronel no tiene quien le escriba, El (1999) .... Julia
... aka No One Writes to the Colonel (International: English title)
... aka Pas de lettre pour le colonel (France)
... aka Personne n'écrit au colonel (France)
Dogma (1999) .... Serendipity
The Faculty (1998) .... Nurse Rosa Harper
The Velocity of Gary (1998) .... Mary Carmen
54 (1998) .... Anita Randazzo
... aka Fifty-Four
Breaking Up (1997) .... Monica
The Hunchback (1997) (TV) .... Esmeralda
... aka The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Europe: English title)
Fools Rush In (1997) .... Isabel Fuentes
Sistole Diastole (1997) .... Carmelita
Fled (1996) .... Cora
From Dusk Till Dawn (1996) .... Santanico Pandemonium
Follow Me Home (1996)
"Vuelo del águila, El" (1996) TV Series .... Juana
Cata
Fair Game (1995) .... Rita
Four Rooms (1995) .... TV Dancing Girl (segment "The Misbehavers")
Desperado (1995) .... Carolina
Callejón de los milagros, El (1995) .... Alma
... aka Midaq Alley
... aka Miracle Alley (Australia)
Roadracers (1994) (TV) .... Donna
... aka Rebel Highway
"The Sinbad Show" (1993) TV Series .... Gloria Contreras
(1993)
... aka Sinbad (UK)
Mi vida loca (1993) .... Gata
... aka My Crazy Life
"Teresa" (1989) TV Series .... Teresa
"Nuevo amanecer, Un" (1988) TV Series .... Fabiola |
