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Birth Name: Salma Hayek-Jimenez Birth Date: September 2, 1966 Birth Place: Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz, Mexico Height: 5' 2" Measurements: 36C-25-37 (Source: Celebrity Sleuth magazine) One of Hollywood's most dazzling leading actresses, Salma Hayek was born in Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz, Mexico, on 2nd September, 1966. Her Lebanese-Mexican father was a rich businessman and her mother was an opera singer. At a very young age Salma already knew she wanted to be an actress and after finishing high school she felt more than ready to pursue her ambition. In the late 80s she won the role of 'Teresa' in the self-titled soap opera, and quickly became the 'it' girl everyone was talking about. The shallow and superficial acting required for the role was, however, not satisfying, as she wanted to get ahead in acting rather than being stuck in it. She soon left her native Mexico and her popularity to make her way to Los Angeles. There her career took off. Having arrived in Hollywood, she was anonymous and had to start from scratch. She soon realized she had been slightly naïve about continuing her acting career in a foreign country, with a very thick accent and no experience whatsoever. She was told over and over again by the big suits she would have no chance of becoming a leading lady in Hollywood as there just weren't any parts for Latinas with accents, let alone one who doesn't speak English. She started to take acting classes from the renowned Stella Adler and worked on her accent. By 1993 she still wasn't getting her feet off the ground and was too stubborn to return back to Mexico as she would consider it as 'having failed.' Instead she vented her frustrations in a late-night talk show by Paul Rodriguez. Director Robert Rodriguez, who happened to be watching that very show, was smitten with the beautiful, witty, and articulate Hayek, and cast her in his upcoming movie 'Desperado, which was released in 1995 and was a hit. Antonio Banderas and Hayek had ignited sparks on the screen and the moviegoers fell in love with both stars. By now she had entered the Hollywood scene. Although she had now started climbing Hollywood's A-list, the lack of good scripts, especially for women, made the young star more persevering in finding quality roles which actually demanded some acting ability. It was around this time that she felt she wanted to do a movie on the life of iconic Mexican painter Frida Kahlo. In late 2002 'Frida' was released. The hit movie provoked a great deal of publicity and rave reviews for both her and co-star Alfred Molina. When award season came the film and its star were not overlooked, winning the movie two Academy Awards and six nominations, including 'best actress' for her. With her acclaimed work in front of the screen, Hayek was offered a chance to direct a movie for Showtime called 'The Maldonado Miracle.' Not only had she established herself as a versatile actress, she was now rewarded with an Emmy as outstanding director. During this time she became one of the most photographed women in the U.S. which led to a contract with cosmetic mogul Avon, who signed her as their spokesperson for their campaigns including the Anti-Domestic Violence campaign. After an absence from the big screen for over a year, Hayek broke up with her boyfriend of four years, actor Edward Norton, and returned opposite 007 star Pierce Brosnan in an old Hollywood style action comedy 'After The Sunset,' directed by Brett Ratner. 2004 also marked her year as Hollywood's highest paid Latina actress, earning roughly $20 million in film contracts alone. |
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| Source: Internet Movie Database | |
