Salma Hayek at the Academy Awards |
About Salma Hayek - Imagine being a soap opera actress in the highest
rated television program of any kind in the country. You are
21 and people all over the nation worship you. What would
you do? Walk away from it all to start from scratch in a new
country where you can't even speak the language? Well if you
are Salma Hayek that is exactly what you would do.
Salma is the daughter of a Spanish-descended
mother and a Lebanese-descended father. She was born and raised
in Coatzacoalcos, Mexico in 1968. When she was twelve, her
parents sent her to a catholic boarding school in Louisiana.
Even though Salma proved that she was attentively studious
and properly religious, she was suspended and sent home after
just 2 years. The fact that she also had an aptitude for mischief,
usually directed against the nuns who ran the school, played
a key roll in her dismissal. Two years after her return Salma
finished high school and was sent away again. She went to
live with her aunt in Houston until she was seventeen.
When she returned to Mexico, Salma relocated
to Mexico City to attend college, where she studied international
relations. She had harbored her desire to become an actress
for years because she knew her parents would never approve
of such a chancy vocation. Finally she confronted her parents
and told them of her aspiration. Despite their disapproval,
Salma quite college and pursued her acting career. She found
work in plays at neighborhood theaters, which led to jobs
in television commercials, which in turn yielded a casting
in Nuevo Amanecer, a popular daytime TV serial. She was then
cast as the title character in an extraordinarily popular
soap opera, Theresa. Salma's popularity grew quickly and soon
she was the most fervently adored actress in Mexico.
Not content to settle for the comparatively
meager rewards of mega-stardom in Mexico. Salma set her confident
sights on Hollywood, and moved there in 1991. She initially
took an 18 month hiatus from acting to climatize herself to
Hollywood. She took English lessons, taught herself how to
drive a car and got aquatinted with L.A.'s maze of freeways.
She also studied acting under famed drama coach Stella Adler.
Salma Hayek in 'Once Upon a Time in Mexico' |
Initially Salma's acting credits were little
more than bit parts, mostly on television. But it was an appearance
on a Spanish-language cable-access talk show, which led to
her big break. Mexican-American director Robert Rodriguez
tuned into Hayek's talk show appearance while flipping through
channels. He was so impressed with the sparkling charisma
and dazzling appearance of Salma that he immediately tracking
her down and cast her in the female lead in "Desperado".
She received rave reviews for her exceptional performance
and sizzling sexy style. She landed small rolls in "Fair
Game" and "Fled", which didn't do too well
at the box office. However, Salma's performances provided
much-needed zip for both movies. 1997 found her perfectly
romantically matched in both "Fools Rush In" and
TNT's "The Hunchback of Notre Dame".
Even though she is only five-foot-two, her spirit
is ten-feet tall. Her appearances in films such as "54"
and "From Dusk till Dawn" prove that. She can effortlessly
bounce between drama and comedy, bringing sex appeal a sloth
could notice to her roles.
Actress - filmography
Ground Beneath Her Feet, The (2002)
Once Upon a Time in Mexico (2002) .... Carolina
... aka Desperado II: Once Upon a Time in Mexico (2002) (USA)
Frida (2002) .... Frida Kahlo
In the Time of the Butterflies (2001) .... Minerva Mirabal
... aka En el tiempo de las mariposas (2001)
Concert for New York City (2001) (TV) .... Herself
America: A Tribute to Heroes (2001) (TV) .... Herself
Hotel (2001) .... Charlee Boux
Traffic (2000) (uncredited) .... Rosario, Madrigal's Mistress
... aka Traffic - Die Macht des Kartells (2001) (Germany)
My VH1 Music Awards (2000) (TV)
Gran vida, La (2000) .... Lola
... aka Living It Up (2000) (International: English title)
Chain of Fools (2000) .... Kolko
Timecode (2000) .... Rose
Film-Fest DVD: Issue 2 - Cannes (1999) (V) .... Herself (Interviewee)
Forever Hollywood (1999) .... Herself
Wild Wild West (1999) .... Rita Escobar
Coronel no tiene quien le escriba, El (1999) .... Julia
... aka No One Writes to the Colonel (1999) (International:
English title)
... aka Pas de lettre pour le colonel (1999) (France)
... aka Personne n'écrit au colonel (1999) (France)
Dogma (1999) .... Serendipity
Velocity of Gary, The (1998) .... Mary Carmen
Welcome to Hollywood (1998) .... Herself
Faculty, The (1998) .... Nurse Rosa Harper
54 (1998) .... Anita Randazzo
... aka Fifty-Four (1998)
Sistole Diastole (1997) .... Carmelita
Breaking Up (1997) .... Monica
¿Quién diablos es Juliette? (1997) .... Herself
... aka Who the Hell Is Juliette? (1997)
Hunchback, The (1997) (TV) .... Esmeralda
Follow Me Home (1997)
Fools Rush In (1997) .... Isabel Fuentes
"Vuelo del águila, El" (1996) TV Series ....
Juana Cata
Fled (1996) .... Cora
From Dusk Till Dawn (1996) .... Santanico Pandemonium
Desperado (1995) .... Carolina
Fair Game (1995) .... Rita
Four Rooms (1995) .... TV dancer (segment "The Misbehavers")
Callejón de los milagros, El (1995) .... Alma
... aka Midaq Alley (1995)
... aka Miracle Alley (1995) (Australia)
Roadracers (1994) (TV) .... Donna
... aka Rebel Highway (1994) (TV)
Mi vida loca (1993) .... Gata
... aka My Crazy Life (1993)
"Sinbad Show, The" (1993) TV Series .... Gloria
(1993)
... aka "Sinbad" (1993) (UK)
"Teresa" (1989) TV Series .... Teresa
"Nuevo amanecer, Un" (1988) TV Series
Notable TV guest appearances
"Action" (1999) playing "Herself"
in episode: "Re-Enter The Dragon" (episode # 1.2)
9/16/1999
"NYPD Blue" (1993) playing "Ramona Costello"
in episode: "Don We Now Our Gay Apparel" (episode
# 2.9) 1/3/1995
"Dream On" (1990) playing "Carmela" in
episode: "Domestic Bliss" (episode # 3.20) 10/10/1992
"Jack's Place" (1992/I) playing "Gypsy Katrina
'Kata' Nicklos"
"Nurses" (1991) playing "Gina's sister, Yolanda
Cuevas"
"Storytime" (????) playing "Herself"
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