Salma Hayek was born on September 2, 1966, in the oil boomtown of Coatzacoalcos, Mexico.Her father is a Lebanese businessman who once ran for mayor of their city, while her Spanish mother Diana Jiménez, is an opera singer and talent scout.

Hayek studied International Relations and Drama at College in Mexico City, but because of the pressure from the family she soon decided to drop out in order to pursue a career as an actress.

In 1991 she moved to California, where she took two years to learn English and study acting with Stella Adler. Hayek got her first break ever at the time Allison Anders cast her in a supporting role in "Mi Vida Loca" (1993). Since then a handful small roles, mostly on TV, followed. /p>

In 1996 she appeared in 'From Dusk till Dawn' and 'Fled' and started production on her first star billing movie, 'Fools Rush In.' The romantic comedy, which cast her as a woman who ends up pregnant after a one night stand with Matthew Perry, grossed around 35 million domestically and achieved rave reviews for Hayek.

in 1999, Hayek had a starring role in Barry Sonnenfeld's Wild Wild West, which was believed to be her biggest film to date and which also starred Will Smith and Kevin Kline.

2004 also marked her year as Hollywood's highest paid Latina actress, earning roughly $20 million in film contracts alone.