40 interesting facts about Salma Hayek: her name means 'peace', produced 'Ugly Betty'

Salma Hayek is known for bringing a fiery presence and striking, dark-eyed beauty to the screen. Here are 40 interesting facts about this talented actress.

1. His full name is Salma Hayek Jimenez and she was born on September 2, 1966 in Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz, Mexico.

2. Her name means "peace" or "calm" in Arabic.

3. Salma Hayek was raised in a Catholic home by her a Spanish mother and Lebanese father before she found fame in Hollywood.

4. As a child, Hayek's grandmother regularly shaved her head and eyebrows because she thought it would make her hair grow thicker, glossier and darker.

5. After having seen Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory(1971) in a local movie theatre, Salma decided she wanted to become an actress.

6. When she was 12 years old she was sent to a boarding school in Louisiana and was expelled after two years.

7. She studied International Relations at the Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico City.

8. Salma Hayek quit Universidad Iberoamericana to pursue her dream of becoming an actor, an ambition she had harbored since she was a young child watching Sunday matinees with her father.

9. Her first roles were in Spanish-language telenovelas. While she had previously held small roles in other soap operas, it was her leading role in the Mexican soap "Teresa" that turned Hayek into an overnight success.

10. In 1991, the ambitious Hayek moved to Los Angeles, California, determined to improve her English and become a Hollywood actress.

11. Hayek left the popular novela, Teresa which she appeared on since 1989. Heartbroken fans spread rumors that she was having a secret affair with Mexico's president and left to escape his wife's wrath.

12. She got her big break in the entertainment industry after appearing in Robert Rodriguez's Desperado.

13. Feeling under-appreciated by Anglo filmmakers, Hayek vented her frustrations on comedian Paul Rodriguez's late-night Spanish-language talk show in 1992.

14. When Hayek and "Friends" star Matthew Perry filmed the movie "Fools Rush In," there were rumors that the on-screen lovers hated each other in real life. Both dispelled the rumors some time later.

15. In 2000 Hayek had an uncredited acting part opposite Benicio del Toro in Traffic.

16. In 2004, Hayek became spokeswoman for Avon's makeup and fragrance lines.

17. Her favorites movies are It Happened One Night, The Graduate, Gone with the Wind and Casablanca.

18. Hayek played a stripper in two movies: "Dogma" and "From Dusk Till Dawn."

19. Hayek's on-screen sex scene with actor Colin Farrell in "Ask The Dust" won her the highly desired Best Nude Scene Award in 2006.

20. She participated in a large protest against the murders of women in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico.

21. Her performance in the movie "Frida" garnered Hayek's best career reviews and made her one of four Latinas nominated for Best Actress at the Academy Awards.

22. She both produced and starred in Frida.

23. Salma directed a music video "Te Amo Corazon" for Prince.

24. Hayek founded her own production company, Ventanarosa, in 1999 and produced the hit show "Ugly Betty." The show is based on the Colombian telenovela Yo Soy Betty La Fea, the series ran from 2006 to 2010, premiering on ABC and garnering a Golden Globe win (best comedy) in 2007.

25. Hayek began dating French entrepreneur Francois-Henri Pinault in 2006, and the couple became engaged the following year.

26. Hayek gave birth to daughter Valentina Paloma Pinault on September 21, 2007, in Los Angeles, California.

27. Hayek and Pinault married on Valentine's Day in 2009, in Paris, France, and held a second ceremony soon after in Venice.

28. Some of their guests included Penélope Cruz, Javier Bardem, Charlize Theron, Stuart Townsend', Woody Harrelson, Hayek's ex-boyfriend Edward Norton, French president Jacques Chirac, Lucy Liu, Ashley Judd,Antonio Banderas, Anna Wintour, Gael García Bernal, Diego Luna, Bono and Stella McCartney.

29. Hayek made a series of guest appearances on the popular sitcom 30 Rock in 2009. She played a nurse who becomes romantically involved with a television network executive played by Alec Baldwin and later reprised her role for two guest appearances in 2013.

30. Hayek proved that she could hold her own as a voice actor as well after appearing in Puss in Boots (2011)-a spin-off of the popular Shrek franchise-alongside Antonio Banderas, who voiced the lead role.

31. She studied at Ramtha's School of Enlightenment, and is a practitioner of yoga.

32. Hayek, who was raised Catholic, said she is not very devout anymore and does not believe in the institution [Church], but still believes in Jesus Christ and God.

33. When Hayek is not busy filming, she likes watching Mexican soccer, practicing Krav Maga (the official self defense system of the Israeli military) and spending time with little Valentina.

34. In July 2011 Hayek's husband was named in a paternity case. According to reports, Pinault is the father of supermodel Linda Evangelista's four-year-old son, Augustin James. He denied all allegations, although the reports were later substantiated.

35. Hayek is a board member of V-Day, the charity founded by playwright Eve Ensler.

36. In 2013 Hayek launched with Beyoncé Knowles and Frida Giannini a Gucci campaign, "Chime For Change", that aims to spread female empowerment.

37. Hayek also advocates breastfeeding. During a UNICEF fact-finding trip to Sierra Leone, she breastfed a hungry week-old baby whose mother could not produce milk. She said she did it to reduce the stigma associated with breastfeeding and to encourage infant nutrition.

38. Salma Hayek's net worth is $40 million.

39. She frequently collaborates with Antonio Banderas and Robert Rodriguez, and is godmother to Rodriguez's children.

40. She is good friends with Penélope Cruz, Ashley Judd and Valeria Golino.

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