Photo Gallery Salma Hayek, Video

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Salma Hayek Photo album

Short Biography

Salma Valgarma Hayek Jim?nez (born September 2, 1963) is a Mexican and American actress, director, television and film producer. Hayek was born in Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz, Mexico, the daughter of Diana Jim?nez, an opera singer and talent scout, and Sami Hayek, an oil company executive. Hayek`s father is of Lebanese descent while her mother is of Spanish descent. Her first given name, Salma, is Arabic for "peaceful" or "calm". Raised in a wealthy, devoutly Catholic family, she was sent to the Academy of the Sacred Heart, Grand Coteau, Louisiana, at the age of twelve. While there, she was diagnosed with dyslexia. She was also an accomplished gymnast aspiring to compete in the Olympics, but her father prevented her from being recruited by the Mexican national team. The religious sisters running the Academy ejected Hayek, citing behavioral problems, so she returned to Mexico. She was later sent to live with her aunt in Houston, Texas where she stayed until she was 17 years old. She attended college in Mexico City, where she studied International Relations at the Universidad Iberoamericana. To the surprise of her family, she dropped out to pursue a career as an actress.

Hayek is the first Mexican national to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress. She is one of the most prominent Mexican figures in Hollywood since the legendary Dolores del Rio. She is also, after Fernanda Montenegro, the second of three Latin American actresses to achieve a Best Actress Oscar nomination. Hayek has appeared in more than 30 films and performed as an actress outside of Hollywood in Mexico and Spain.