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Salma Hayek has been acting for decades and is considered one of the most influential Latina actresses of all time. Throughout her career, she has been always associated with her home country, Mexico, likely because of her early work. Her ethnicity was reflected in her roles in 1995’s Desperado, 2002’s Frida, and 2003’s Once Upon a Time in Mexico. However, there’s more to Hayek than just her Latin roots.
Hayek was born in Coatzacoalcos, Mexico. Her career started in the Mexican telenovela Teresa, which aired between 1989 and 1991. However, she soon established herself as one of Hollywood’s biggest stars after starring in Desperado, 1996’s From Dusk till Dawn, and 1999’s Wild Wild West. Her work as an actress, director, and producer led to two Primetime Emmy nominations and an Academy Award nomination for Frida.
The bombshell is often recognized for her Mexican-American roots, but is there more to her heritage than meets the eye?
Is Salma Hayek Mexican?
While Hayek grew up in Mexico, she also has Arab roots. The global superstar was born to Sami Hayek Domínguez and Diana Jiménez Medina, and her father’s ancestors hail from the city of Baabdat, Lebanon, while her mother is of Spanish descent. So while Hayek is often thought of as only being Mexican, she is, in fact, half-Lebanese and half-Hispanic.
Her roots were very important to her, and during an interview with Un Nuevo Día, Hayek confirmed that she is “Fifty percent Spanish, fifty percent Lebanese,” recalling that she has ancestors from both countries and that her family visited them in 2015. She was in Spain to receive an award for her charity work and visited Madrid for the first time with her parents and daughter, and also visited Baabdat, Lebanon with her father the same year while promoting her movie Kahli Gibran’s The Prophet, which she also produced.
Speaking to Arab News, Hayek described herself as such: “You have to understand, I am Mexican-Arab in America. It’s a tough one. I’m not British. I’m not Spanish. I’m Mexican-Arab.” Given her background and her marriage to French billionaire François-Henri Pinault, Hayek’s life has become a melting pot of culture. She recently starred in Magic Mike’s Last Dance, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, and Marvel’s Eternals, in which she played the Prime Eternal, Ajak. Next up, she’s set to star in Angelina Jolie’s Without Blood and Romain Gavras’ Sacrifice.