Salma Hayek Biography

Actress and producer Salma Hayek is best known for creating and starring in the 2002 film Frida, based on the life of Mexican artist Frida Kahlo.

Dark, petite and sensuous, Salma Hayek got her start in Mexican television productions in the late 1980s before moving to Los Angeles to work in the movies. She had small but memorable roles in Mi Vida Loca (1993) and From Dusk Till Dawn (1996, with George Clooney and Quentin Tarantino), and she played the love interest opposite Antonio Banderas in Desperado (1995).

Although most of her early films played up her voluptuousness and sex appeal, she also produced and starred in the film Frida (2002, with Alfred Molina as Kahlo’s husband Diego Rivera).  The film brought her an Oscar nomination for acting and put her squarely in the film production business.

Hayek became the executive producer of the hit TV series Ugly Betty (starring America Ferrera), and also won a Daytime Emmy for directing the movie The Maldonado Miracle (2003). She also played Alec Baldwin‘s fiery girlfriend, Elisa Padriera, in several 2009 episodes of the TV comedy 30 Rock (also starring Tina Fey).

Salma Hayek’s other films include Robert Rodriguez‘s Once Upon a Time in Mexico (2003, again with Banderas), Ask the Dust (2006, with Colin Farrell), Lonely Hearts (2007, with Hayek as notorious serial killer Martha Beck), Everly (2014, with Hayek as a gun-toting action star) and the comedy of manners Beatriz at Dinner (2017).