Early roles in Mexico (1988–1994) Hayek's first screen appearance was in the television series in
Un Nuevo Amanecer (1988), which earned her the
TVyNovelas Award for Best Debut Actress.
Televisa subsequently selected Hayek, who was 23 at the time, to play the title role in
Teresa (1989–1991), a successful Mexican
telenovela that made her a star in Mexico. The series ran for two years and 125 episodes, earning her the 1990
TVyNovelas Award for Best Female Revelation. Determined to pursue a film career in Hollywood, Hayek moved to Los Angeles in 1991 following the conclusion of
Teresa. With limited fluency in English and dyslexia, she soon enrolled in English lessons and studied acting under
Stella Adler. Hayek initially struggled with the lack of acting job offers after moving to the United States, recalling that "there was no industry or parts for
Latin women", In 1994, Hayek was cast as Alma, a poverty-stricken young woman who becomes a
sex worker, in
Jorge Fons's drama
El callejón de los milagros (
Miracle Alley), which was based on the 1940s eponymous novel by Egyptian
Naguib Mahfouz and translated from
Cairo to
Mexico City. The film was the subject of critical acclaim, reportedly won more awards than any other movie in the history of
Mexican cinema, and earned Hayek a nomination for the
Ariel Award for Best Actress. Hayek was one of the few actresses permitted to appear on both Televisa and
TV Azteca, through a special dispensation from
Emilio Azcárraga Milmo, who tried to persuade her to return to Mexico with an exclusive deal, which she declined in order to pursue a career in Hollywood.
Hollywood breakthrough (1995–2001) dinner In 1995, Robert Rodriguez and his co-producer and then-wife, Elizabeth Avellan, A brief role as a
vampire queen followed in Rodriguez's cult horror film
From Dusk till Dawn (1996), in which she performed an erotic table-top snake dance. She also appeared in the 1996 drama
Follow Me Home and the cop comedy
Fled. Hayek next starred in the romantic comedy
Fools Rush In (1997) as a photographer in an
on-and-off relationship with a New York City architect, played by
Matthew Perry. Critic
Roger Ebert gave the film 3 out of 4 stars and described it as "a sweet, entertaining retread of an ancient formula", elevated by good performances (particularly Hayek's) and an insightful "level of observation and human comedy".
Fools Rush In was a moderate commercial success and earned Hayek an
ALMA Award nomination for Outstanding Actress in a Feature Film. In another romantic comedy,
Breaking Up (also 1997), she and
Russell Crowe portrayed a couple whose relationship leads to an out-of-the-blue marriage. Ken Eisner of
Variety wrote: "Russell Crowe and Salma Hayek make attractive leads, but they have neither the marquee power nor the requisite chemistry to keep
Breaking Up from getting left at the altar of general distribution." Indeed, the film was distributed for selected markets in the United States only. In 1998, Hayek played an aspiring young singer in the 1970s New York City nightlife scene in
Mark Christopher's drama
54, a doughnut shop waitress in
Dan Ireland's dramedy
The Velocity of Gary and a nurse in Rodriguez's supernatural horror film
The Faculty. In 1999, Hayek was unorthodoxly cast in
Kevin Smith's religious satire
Dogma as Serendipity, "the [Muse] who throughout history inspired all the geniuses of art and music, like
Mozart and
Michelangelo, and never got any of the credit". She also portrayed the alleged daughter of a kidnapped scientist alongside
Will Smith in the period Western
Wild Wild West.
Dogma was well received by critics and audiences, but
Wild Wild West proved a commercial failure despite being one of the
most expensive films ever made at the time of its release. Hayek founded her production company,
Ventanarosa, in 1999, through which she produces film and television projects. Her first feature as a producer was
El Coronel No Tiene Quien Le Escriba (1999), Mexico's official selection for
Best Foreign Film at the
Oscars. In 2000, Hayek had an uncredited role in
Traffic, and played an aspiring actress in
Mike Figgis' experimental film
Timecode, a waitress in the Spanish drama
Living It Up, and a cop and
Playboy model in the heist comedy
Chain of Fools. She also produced and starred in the television film
In the Time of the Butterflies (2001), based on the book by
Julia Álvarez book about the
Mirabal sisters. Hayek played one of the sisters, Minerva, and
Edward James Olmos played the Dominican dictator
Rafael Leónidas Trujillo, whom the sisters opposed.
Worldwide recognition (2002–2009) In
Julie Taymor's biographical film
Frida (2002), Hayek served as a producer and starred as
surrealist painter
Frida Kahlo. She became interested in the role several years prior to commencing production for the film, having "been fascinated by Kahlo's work from the time she was 13 or 14", although not immediately a fan: "At that age I did not like her work [...] I found it ugly and grotesque. But something intrigued me, and the more I learned, the more I started to appreciate her work. There was a lot of passion and depth. Some people see only pain, but I also see irony and humor. I think what draws me to her is what [husband] Diego saw in her. She was a fighter. Many things could have diminished her spirit, like the accident or Diego's infidelities. But she wasn't crushed by anything". She was so determined to play the role that she sought out
Dolores Olmedo Patino, longtime-lover of Diego Rivera, and, after his death, administrator to the rights of Frida and Rivera's art, which Rivera had "willed [...] to the Mexican people", bequeathing the trust to Olmedo. Hayek personally secured access to Kahlo's paintings from Kahlo and began to assemble a supporting cast, approaching
Alfred Molina for the role of Rivera in 1998. Upon its release,
Frida was a critical darling and an arthouse success. In his review for the film, David Denby of
The New Yorker concluded: "Smart, willful, and perverse, this Frida is nobody's servant, and the tiny Hayek plays her with head held high". Her portrayal of Kahlo made her the first Mexican actress to be nominated for the
Academy Award for Best Actress and earned her
Golden Globe Award,
Screen Actors Guild Award and
British Academy Film Award nominations for Best Actress. In 2003, Hayek produced and directed
The Maldonado Miracle, a Showtime film based on the book of the same name, for which she won the
Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing in a Children Special, reunited with Robert Rodriguez for
Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over and
Once Upon a Time in Mexico, and made an appearance in the documentary
V-Day: Until the Violence Stops.
Once Upon a Time in Mexico, which made $98.2 million worldwide, was the final film of the
Mariachi Trilogy and featured Hayek reprising her role from
Desperado. In
Brett Ratner's action comedy
After the Sunset (2004), Hayek starred as the girlfriend of a master thief, with
Pierce Brosnan. A box office flop, the film received largely negative reviews from critics.
James Berardinelli found the film to be "a mess, but [it's] a fun, breezy mess", criticizing the overall heist and weak characterization but gave praise to the quick pacing chemistry between Brosnan and Hayek. In 2005, she served as a member of the
58th Cannes Film Festival jury, co-hosted the annual
Nobel Peace Prize Concert with
Julianne Moore in Oslo, Norway, and directed a music video for
Prince, titled "
Te Amo Corazon" ("I love you, sweetheart") that featured
Mía Maestro. Hayek appeared alongside her good friend
Penélope Cruz in the 2006
Western comedy
Bandidas, portraying two women who become a bank robbing duo in an effort to combat a ruthless enforcer terrorizing their town. Randy Cordova of the
Arizona Republic said the film "sports" Hayek and her co-star Penélope Cruz as the "lusty dream team" and that they were the "marketing fantasy" for the film.
Bandidas was followed by
Ask the Dust, a period romance set in Los Angeles based on a John Fante novel and co-starring
Colin Farrell. Peter Bradshaw of
The Guardian found "something a little forced in both lead performances", and with a limited theatrical release, the film was not a financial success. Her last film of 2006 was
Lonely Hearts, a neo-noir crime drama chronicling the notorious "lonely hearts killers" of the 1940s,
Raymond Fernandez and Martha Beck, in which Hayek played Beck, with
Jared Leto taking on the role of Fernandez. The film received mixed reviews from critics, but the cast garnered praise.
Peter Travers of
Rolling Stone stated: "When Hayek and Leto are onscreen, you do not look away." Hayek served as an executive producer for the American television series
Ugly Betty (2006–2010), after adapting the story for American television with
Ben Silverman, who acquired the rights and scripts from the Colombian
telenovela Yo Soy Betty La Fea in 2001. Originally intended as a half-hour sitcom for NBC in 2004, the project would later be picked up by
ABC for the 2006–2007 season with
Silvio Horta also producing. She guest-starred on the series as
Sofia Reyes, a magazine editor.
Ugly Betty was a success with critics and audiences, won a
Golden Globe Award for Best Comedy Series in 2007, and earned Hayek nominations for both
Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series and Outstanding Comedy Series at the
59th Primetime Emmy Awards. After finalizing negotiations with
MGM to become the CEO of her own Latin-themed film production company, Ventanarosa, in 2007, Hayek signed a two-year deal with ABC for Ventanarosa to develop projects for the network. In 2007, Hayek made a cameo appearance, as a nurse singing a cover of
The Beatles song "
Happiness Is A Warm Gun", in Julie Taymor's jukebox musical romantic drama
Across the Universe. The role of Madame Truska, a woman who can grow an indestructible beard, in ''
Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant'' (2009), was Hayek's first acting project following the birth of her daughter. She characterized the film, which was an adaptation of the book series
The Saga of Darren Shan by author
Darren Shan, as "a little bit of hard work. But it's not like I have to be emotionally devastated for months". The film was a critical and commercial failure.
Screen Rant felt that Hayek is "fun as the bearded lady Madame Truska but [...] is unable to single-handedly elevate the material".
Continued commercial success (2010–2017) In 2010, Hayek played a fashion designer and the wife of a Hollywood talent agent (
Adam Sandler) in the comedy
Grown Ups which, despite a negative critical reception, made $271.4 million globally. She is the voice of
Kitty Softpaws, a street-savvy
Tuxedo cat, alongside
Antonio Banderas in
Puss in Boots (2011). A spin-off of the
Shrek franchise,
Puss in Boots received positive reviews from critics, grossed $554.9 million at the box office, and was nominated for
Best Animated Feature at the
84th Academy Awards. In 2011, she also obtained
Hispanic roles in two international productions —a dancer in the French drama
Americano and the wife of a former advertising executive in the Spanish
As Luck Would Have It— which earned her nominations for the
San Sebastián International Film Festival Award for Best Actress and the
Goya Award for Best Actress, respectively. In 2012, Hayek directed
Jada Pinkett Smith in the music video "Nada Se Compara", lent her voice for
Peter Lord's animated film
The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists!, and played a cartel leader in
Oliver Stone's action film
Savages and a school nurse in
Frank Coraci's comedy
Here Comes the Boom. She reprised her role in
Grown Ups 2 (2013) which, like the first film, was a commercial success despite a negative critical response. Hayek served as a producer and provided her voice for the character of Kamila, a widowed mother, in
The Prophet (2014), adapted from the 1923 book by
Kahlil Gibran. Describing the film as a "love letter to my heritage", Hayek said it helped her explore her relationship with her late grandfather, who was a fan of the book, and remarked: "Between all the connections of our ancestors and the memories of the ones that are no longer with us, I hope they are proud of this film because I did it also for them". In 2014, she made a brief appearance in
James Bobin's comedy sequel
Muppets Most Wanted, starred as a woman forced into
sexual slavery in
Joe Lynch's action drama
Everly, and reunited with Pierce Brosnan to play his love interest in
Tom Vaughan's romantic comedy
Some Kind of Beautiful.
Everly and
Some Kind of Beautiful were both distributed for online markets and poorly received; while critics noted that the former "benefits from Joe Lynch's stylish direction and Salma Hayek's starring work, but it's too thinly written and sleazily violent to fully recommend",
Rotten Tomatoes gave the latter a 6% rating based on 34 reviews. In
Tale of Tales (2015), a European fantasy film directed and written by
Matteo Garrone, Hayek appeared as the 17th-century Queen of Longtrellis. A screen adaptation based on collections of tales by
Italian poet and courtier
Giambattista Basile, the film competed for the
Palme d'Or at the
68th Cannes Film Festival. In 2016, Hayek voiced the role of Teresa del Taco in
Sausage Party, an adult animated film she described as "the naughtiest thing I've ever done. I never thought I'd ever say some of those things out loud. But, I had a lot of fun [...] It's a different kind of crazy". The highest grossing R-rated animated film of all time,
Sausage Party grossed $140.4 million worldwide. Hayek took on the role of a holistic medicine practitioner who attends a wealthy client's dinner party in
Miguel Arteta's drama
Beatriz at Dinner (2017), which
Owen Gleiberman of
Variety called a "small-scale but elegantly deft squirmfest that features a luminous performance" by the actress. That role earned Hayek an
Independent Spirit Film Award nomination for
Best Female Lead. The comedy
How to Be a Latin Lover (2017) was a
sleeper hit upon its release and featured Hayek as the estranged sister of a man who has made a career of seducing rich older women. Her last film outing of 2017 was
Patrick Hughes's action comedy ''
The Hitman's Bodyguard'', in which she starred as the wife of a convicted hitman, opposite
Ryan Reynolds and
Samuel L. Jackson. The film made an impressive $176.6 million globally.
2018–present Hayek was cast as Eva Torres, a
high-frequency trading executive, alongside
Jesse Eisenberg and
Alexander Skarsgård, in
Kim Nguyen's tech drama
The Hummingbird Project (2018), and as Nancy Teagarten, one half of a couple experiencing a series of financial crises, with
Alec Baldwin, in
Fred Wolf's comedy
Drunk Parents (2019). In 2020, Hayek appeared as a cosmetics mogul in Miguel Arteta's comedy
Like a Boss, with
Rose Byrne and
Tiffany Haddish, and the alternative wife of a man in
Sally Potter's drama
The Roads Not Taken, with
Javier Bardem and
Elle Fanning. The drama
Bliss (2021), which starred Hayek as a homeless woman befriending a recently divorced man (
Owen Wilson), was released on
Amazon Prime Video. She next reunited with director Patrick Hughes and actors Ryan Reynolds and Samuel L. Jackson in ''
Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard, the sequel for the 2017 film The Hitman's Bodyguard
, which was released on June 16, 2021, to mediocre reviews. John Defore of The Hollywood Reporter'', however, praised Hayek's "foul-mouthed" portrayal, writing: "The one smart thing the film does is promote Salma Hayek, as the eponymous spouse of Samuel L. Jackson's hitman, from the small but scene-stealing role she played in the first film. [...] At least we can appreciate Hayek's enthusiasm for the over-the-top role". Unlike the first film, ''Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard'' had lackluster box office returns. Hayek portrayed
Ajak, the wise and spiritual leader of the titular group, in the
Marvel Cinematic Universe picture
Eternals, directed by
Chloé Zhao, who "personally selected" her for the role. Initially surprised by
Marvel's interest on her casting, Hayek, who is of both
Spanish and
Lebanese descent, subsequently became the first
Arab actress with a main role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The film, released in the United States on November 5, 2021, generated a divergent critical response and made $401 million worldwide. She has since signed a deal to star in multiple
Marvel Cinematic Universe projects. Her last film of 2021 was
Ridley Scott's biographical crime drama
House of Gucci, in which she played the friend and confidante of
Patrizia Reggiani, Giuseppina "Pina" Auriemma, alongside
Lady Gaga as Reggiani,
Adam Driver, and her
Lonely Hearts co-star Jared Leto. Hayek then reprised her role as Kitty Softpaws in
Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, which received critical acclaim, grossed $485.3 million, and like its predecessor was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. In June 2022, Hayek was cast in
Angelina Jolie's upcoming film,
Without Blood, based on the bestselling Italian novel by
Alessandro Baricco. It was filmed in
Rome,
Apulia, and
Basilicata. Hayek will star in the film alongside
Demián Bichir. In 2023, she appeared as herself in the episode "
Joan Is Awful" of the Netflix anthology
Black Mirror. ==Other ventures==