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Photo by John Mathew Smith – Wikimedia

Top 10 Facts about Salma Hayek Pinault

Salma Hayek Pinault is a Mexican-American actress and film producer. Salma began her career in Mexico in the late 1980s. Her first role in a series was in the 1989 telenovela, Teresa.

She comes from a wealthy family in Mexico. Her father owns an oil and industrial equipment firm.

Salma grew up in a devout catholic family and practised its doctrines. Although she still believes in God, Salma no longer identifies as a Catholic.  

In 1995 she starred in the film El Callejón de los Milagros. Her role in this movie earned her an Ariel Award nomination.

That same year, Salma rose to fame and made appearances in films like Desperado (1995), From Dusk till Dawn: the movie (1996), Wild Wild West, and Dogma (both 1999).

As a voice artist, Salma has been featured in Puss in Boots and The Pirates! Band of Misfits (2012).

There is so much more to learn about Salma Hayek Pinault. Read them in the top 10 facts below.

1. Salma was born in Mexico

Salma was born in Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz, Mexico. Her father, Sami Hayek Domínguez, is Lebanese-Mexican. His parents came from Lebanon.

Diana Jiménez Medina, Salma’s mother, is an opera singer and a talent scout. Hayek identifies as half Lebanese and half Spanish.

She has been to her father’s ancestral land in 2015 when she was promoting the movie Kahlil Gibran’s The Prophet.

Salma attended the Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico where she studied international relations. Although she is now an American citizen, Salma said she was once an illegal immigrant.

2. Salma Hayek wanted to be a gymnast

Photo sourced from Wikimedia

Growing up, Salma did not want to get into acting, she wanted to be a gymnast. As much as she loved the sport, there were no institutions offering classes. She was her teacher.

She asked her father to take her to Mexico City during summer to train. Salma was 9 years old by then.

In two months, Salma had mastered the art and even got drafted into the Olympics team.

As part of the Olympic team, Salma was required to go to boarding school and spend 6 hours a day practising.

Her father was not ok with the idea of his 9-year-old daughter being away from home. That was the end of her Olympic career.   

Good things were yet to come because Salma excelled in acting.  

3. A silly prank caused Salma to be expelled from school

Hayek went to a Catholic boarding school in New Orleans when she was 12 years old. While there she was known for being mischievous.

To get by in boarding school she pulled several pranks on her fellow students. Some of which were considered not so funny.

One time, Hayek set the clock back an hour earlier to mess with the other girls. She loved to sleep while they always woke up early to apply makeup.

This prank got her an expulsion, an act she does not regret. She considers herself ingenious and creative.

4. Salma wore temporary tattoos at the 1998 MTV Music Video Awards

By Harald Krichel – Wikimedia

As a new actress in Hollywood, Salma had a bumpy start when it came to attending award ceremonies.

Most seasoned actors and actresses would get to wear designs from famous brands.

Since she was not yet famous, no designer wanted to loan her their expensive jewellery.

As a creative individual, Salma opted to have butterfly tattoos on her chest and neck to cover for jewellery.

She painted the butterfly tattoos herself. Nothing a creative cannot do.

5. Salma grew up bald and had shaved eyebrows

This is quite an interesting fact about Salma’s childhood. When she was younger, her grandmother would regularly shave her head and eyebrows.

The reason for this was to try and make her hair thicker. The result is some unique pictures of Salma.

6. Salma was diagnosed with Dyslexia and ADHD when Younger

Photo by John Mathew Smith – Wikimedia

When Salma was younger, she was diagnosed with ADHD and dyslexia.

Dyslexia did not stop her from learning. She embraced this disability and learnt English.

Salma moved to Los Angeles from Mexico at the age of 25. At this age, she could barely read street signs and could not speak English.

However, she adjusted and took her time reading scripts and memorizing her lines.

She landed roles in blockbuster films like Fools Rush In and Will Smith’s Wild Wild West.

7. Salma Hayek is a feminist

Hayek dedicates her time to ending violence against women. She also sits on the board of a non-profit called V-Day.

She has actively been involved in advocating for women empowerment programs and has worked with famous musicians and designers like Beyoncé, fashion designer Frida Giannini and Gucci.

There are several other good causes that Salma supports. She supports global health care, domestic violence prevention, and climate change.

Salma also strives to create more opportunities for Latina women in Hollywood.  

Although she did not consider herself a feminist, Salma later admitted that she is one and would continue to fight for women.

8. Salma owns a pet owl and almost turned her home into an animal shelter

Photo by Georges Biard – Wikimedia

Salma loves animals. At one point she got so many of them that her house looked like an animal shelter.

She got her husband a pet rescue owl which she named after his luxury goods brand, Kering. This was her valentine’s day gift to her husband.

Other pets that are in their home are dogs, horses, alpacas, bunnies and chickens. Salma rescued some of the animals straight from the streets.

These animals are kept in an animal sanctuary on her property.

9. Salma only exercises for five minutes a day

To get that ideal body one may think it takes hours to be in the gym. Well, for Salma it is a different story. To achieve that athletic physique, Salma only spends five minutes a day exercising. Maybe she has her good genes to thank.  

At 54, she looks amazing and practices a self-defence system designed for Israeli Defence forces.  

10. Salma did not have an easy start in her acting career

Photo sourced from Wikimedia

The chocolate factory was a film that inspired Salma to become an actress.

Sadly, her career did not take off as she expected. Salma received several rejections from movie producers because she was Latina.

This did not stop her, she kept looking for acting jobs until she finally got her break.