Salma Hayek Movies, Background, Professional Career, Husband, Activism, Awards and Net Worth

The Mexican-American actress, Salma Hayek movies have garnered successes which as a consequence rose Hayek’s fame and net worth.

Synopsis

Salma Hayek is an actress, producer and formerly a model. She started her career with television series Teresa and film El Callejon de los Milagros, which won her Ariel Award nomination. Later, Salma Hayek movies like Desperado, From Dusk Till Dawn, Dogma and Wild Wild West brought her into limelight after joining Hollywood. However, Hayek rose into prominence as she starred in 2002 film Frida. For Frida, she won nominations in “Best Actress” category in several award functions. Moreover, she won Daytime Emmy Award for “Outstanding Directing” for The Maldonado Miracle.

Birth and Background

Salma Hayek Jimenez was born on September 2, 1966 in Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz in Mexico. She grew up with her younger brother, Sami, who is a furniture designer. Salma Hayek mother, Diana Jimenez is an opera singer and Flair scout while her father, Sami Hayek Dominguez is an oil company executive, who also owns an industrial-equipment firm.

Hayek describes herself as 50 percent Lebanese and 50% Spanish since her mother is of Spanish and Mexican descent and her father is Lebanese and Mexican descent.  She grew up in a wealthy family. For her studies, she went to Academy of Sacred Heart in Grand Coteau, Louisiana in the United States of America when she was 12 years old. However, she was diagnosed with dyslexia and ADHD at school. Later, she attended Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico City where she majored in International Relations.

Career before Hollywood

Salma Hayek was 23 when entered into acting career with a successful Mexican television Teresa. The success of the show and her getting the title role made her a prominent star soon. Some five years later, Salma Hayek starred in movies El Callejon de los Milagros (Miracle Alley). The movie won maximum awards making history of Mexican Cinema. Similarly, Hayek’s name also appeared as a nomination for an Ariel Award for this movie.

Early Hollywood Career

In 1991, Salma Hayek moved to Los Angeles, California with the purpose of studying acting even though she had dyslexia and limited fluency in English. But, Robert Rodriguez and producer Elizabeth Avellan gave Hayek starring role in Desperado. She starred opposite to Antonio Banderas in the movie in 1995. The other Salma Hayek movies are Fools Rush in (1997), big budget film Wild Wild West (1999), From Dusk Till Dawn and Dogma.

Actress, Director and Producer

After Salma Hayek movies won her prominence in Hollywood, she founded a film production company named Ventanarosa in 2000. The production house has first produced El Coronel No Tiene Quien Le Escriba in 1999 which was selected for submission at the Oscars as “Best Foreign Film”.

Hayek is the co-producer and actress of 2002 film Frida, where she starred as Frida Kahlo along with Alfred Molina as her unfaithful husband. For her performance as Frida Kahlo, Salma Hayek gained higher recognition and Best Actress Academy Award nomination.

Likewise, she is the producer and director of The Maldonado Miracle (2003), which won her a Daytime Emmy Award for “Outstanding Directing”. Salma Hayek has also directed music videos titled “Te Amo Corazon” and “Nada se compara”. Additionally, she was an executive producer of television series Ugly Betty that aired from 2006 to 2010. Hayek herself guest starred in the series as Sofia Reyes, a magazine editor for which she won “Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series” at the 59^th Primetime Emmy Awards.

In 2007, Salma Inveterate  the negotiation to become the CEO of her production house Ventanarosa. The same year, she singed 2-year-long contract with ABC to develop projects for the network. Salma Hayek movies in the recent time include Grown Ups with Adam Sandler, Puss in Boots with Antonio Banderas where she voiced the character kitty and Grown Ups 2 in 2013.

Personal Life and Husband

Salma Hayek is originally a Mexican citizen; however, she is now a naturalized United States citizen. The regular yoga practitioner has studied at Ramtha’s School of Enlightenment. Even though she was raised as Catholic, she says she is not very religious and does not quite believe in religious institutions, but does believe in Jesus Christ and God.

Hayek confirmed her engagement to French billionaire François-Henri Pinault who is also the CEO of Kering on March 2007. She also confirmed about her pregnancy. Few months later, she gave birth to a daughter whom she named Valentina Paloma Pinault. Hayek and Pinault married on 14^th February 2009 in Paris.

Later, Pinault faced paternity case in July 2011. The reports clarifies he is the father of supermodel Linda Evangelista’s son, Augustus James born in August 2006. Even though Pinault denied allegations, he settled case with Evangelista.

Philanthropy and Activism

Apart from Salma Hayek movies, her charity works also made the beautiful actress famous. She is involved with awareness raising program on violence against women and discrimination against immigrants. Hayek is a generous charity supporter who has donated 25,000 USD to a Coatzacoalcos, Mexico for battered women’s shelter. Similarly, she has donated 50,000 USD to groups that works against domestic violence in Monterrey.

In addition to being a board member of V-Day, Salma Hayek advocates breastfeeding. She has even breastfed a hungry week-old baby in Sierra Leone during a UNICEF trip since the mother could not produce milk. Hayek has also signed Amnesty International’s letter to UK PM Cameron campaigning for women’s rights in Afghanistan during 2014.

For her activism, she has earned Do Something Awards nomination from VH1 in 2010. In 2013, she launched “Chime for Change”—a campaign, along with Beyoncé and Frida Giannini with an aim to spread female empowerment.

Awards and Honors

The actress diagnosed with dyslexia did quite well in her career that led her to winning a number of awards. Even though Salma Hayek movies gave her career a lift, her beauty, talent and passion earned her Woman of the Year Award in 2001. She is the winner of Producers Guild of America Celebration of Diversity Award (2003) as well as Time Magazine 25 Most Influential Hispanics (2005). Hayek has won Harvard Foundation Artist of the Year Award (2006) and National Order of the Legion of Honor in 2011.

With Hayek’s heightening popularity, Salma Hayek movies also came into popularity. She ranked fourth in The Hollywood Reporter’s “Latino Power 50” in July 2007. Similarly, she was voted the “sexiest celebrity” in the same year. Further, Hayek is the winner of Women in Film Lucy Award in 2008 for her innovation and excellent creative work. Besides, Hayek became the 17^th in the list of “25 Smartest People in TV”.

Salma Hayek Net Worth

The gorgeous and smart actress started off as a dyslexic; however, she reached won in the long run eventually turning into an award winning director and producer. The fine and talented lady has therefore accumulated the net worth of $85 million. Salma Hayek movies are not only the ones that have made her a prominent actress, but her appearance as Revlon and Avon cosmetics have also gave her way to earn. Hayek is as good with her charity and activism as she is in the big screen. This makes her one of the most remarkable actresses/producer/director along with a valuable person.

Salma Hayek Movies | Biography | Husband|