Hayek was born (September 2, 1966) in Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz, Mexico, the daughter of Diana Jiménez, 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. 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. 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. 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.
At the age of 23, Hayek landed the title role in Teresa (1989), a successful Mexican telenovela that made her a star in Mexico. In 1994, Hayek starred in the film El Callejón de los Milagros (Miracle Alley), which has won more awards than any other movie in the history of Mexican cinema. For her performance, Hayek was nominated for an Ariel Award.
Hayek moved to Los Angeles, California in 1991 to study acting under Stella Adler, hoping for a career in Hollywood, despite limited fluency in English, attributed to her suffering from dyslexia. Robert Rodriguez and his producer wife Elizabeth Avellan soon gave Hayek the break she needed, a starring role opposite Antonio Banderas in 1995’s Desperado. The movie caught Hollywood’s attention, as moviegoers proved to be dazzled by Hayek as Rodriguez had been. Due to Hayek’s loyalty to the director, she would later decline playing the role Catherine Zeta-Jones eventually took in The Mask of Zorro after Rodriguez abandoned the project. She has also appeared in the Spy Kids trilogy.
Around the year 2000, Hayek founded production company Ventanarosa, through which she produces film and television projects. Her first feature as a producer was 1999’s El Coronel No Tiene Quien Le Escriba, Mexico’s official selection for submission for Best Foreign Film at the Oscars.
In 2003 she produced and directed the The Maldonado Miracle, a Showtime movie which won her a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing in a Children/Youth/Family Special. In December 2005, she directed a music video for Prince, titled “Te Amo Corazon” (“I love you, sweetheart”) that featured her good friend Mia Maestro.
In April 2007, Hayek finalized negotiations with MGM to become the CEO of her own Latin themed film production company, Ventanazul. The following month she signed a two year deal with ABC to develop projects for the network through her production company, Ventanarosa.
She is developing and producing La Banda, a Spanish-language romantic comedy set in Mexico, written by Issa Lopez.
Hayek has been also credited as a song performer in three movies. The first was Desperado for the song Quedate Aquí. In Frida she performed with band Los Vega the Mexican folk song La Bruja. She also recorded Siente mi amor, which played during the end credits of Once Upon a Time in Mexico. She also contributed to Happiness is a Warm Gun in “Across the Universe” as the singing nurses.
Personal Life: Hayek is a naturalized U.S. citizen. She dated actor Edward Norton between 1999 and 2003, and then Josh Lucas in 2003. She has friends in Los Angeles and Mexico and is best friends with Spanish actress Penélope Cruz. The two co-starred in the 2006 film Bandidas. Hayek studied at Ramtha’s School of Enlightenment.
On March 9, 2007, Hayek confirmed she was expecting her first child with PPR CEO François-Henri Pinault. On September 21, 2007, she gave birth to daughter Valentina Paloma Pinault at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.
On July 18, 2008 she and M. Pinault announced the end of their engagement.
On July 19, 2005 Hayek testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary supporting reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act. In February 2006, she donated $25,000 to a Coatzacoalcos, Mexico, shelter for battered women and another $50,000 to Monterrey based anti-domestic violence groups.
On September 6, 2007, Hayek confirmed that rumors of her having a tattoo on her left arm featuring the word ‘Asbestos’ were, in fact, true. She later attributed the tattoo to an awareness raising campaign aimed at the dangers of asbestos water pipes still in use in many Hollywood homes
