Hayek, Salma (1966–)

Actress and television producer Salma Hayek was born on September 2, 1966, in Coatzacoalcos, Mexico. Her portrayal of the title character on the telenovela Teresa in 1989 brought her fame in her native Mexico. In 1991 she moved to Los Angeles to study acting. While continuing her studies in the United States, she starred in the Mexican feature El callejón de los milagros (1994; Miracle Alley), for which she was nominated for an Ariel, the Mexican equivalent of the Oscars. In 1995 director Robert Rodriguez cast her in his U.S. feature film Desperado, and her performance garnered the attention of other Hollywood directors. She then won parts in films such as From Dusk till Dawn (1996), Fools Rush In (1997), Dogma (1999), and Wild Wild West (1999); she also starred in the television adaptation of the Julia Alvarez novel In the Time of the Butterflies (2001). She was nominated for a 2003 Best Actress Oscar for her portrayal of Mexican artist Frida Kahlo in the film Frida (2002), becoming one of only three Mexican actresses to be so nominated. Hayek's own production company, Ventanarosa, was a coproducer of the film. She worked with Robert Rodriguez again for 2003's Once upon a Time in Mexico. She is executive producer of the popular American sitcom Ugly Betty (which debuted in 2006), an adaptation of the popular Colombian telenovela Yo Soy Betty la Fea.

See alsoCinema: Since 1990; Kahlo, Frida; Telenovelas.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

De la Concha, Emilio. "Salma Hayek exporta 'churros' hollywoodenses." Contenido 515, no. 4 (May 2006): 60.

Fernández, Melina. "Salma Hayek: Continúa conquistando a Hollywood." El Mensajero 17, no. 19 (September 14, 2003): 8-9.

                                        Stacy Lutsch