Salma Hayek

Born: 2nd September 1966
Where: Veracruz, Mexico

The actress was nominated for best actress Oscar for her portrayal of Mexican artist Frida Kahlo in the biopic (which she also produced).

However, she first gained big screen attention for the violent Sergio Leone-influenced Desperado with Antonio Banderas.

Born of a Lebanese father and Spanish mother, she told her parents at the age of 12, she would "go on strike" and fail all her classes if he did not allow her to go to school in the USA.

So, they sent her to a Catholic school in Texas, where she studied for two years before being expelled.

Her acting career began in TV in the late 80's, in Nuevo Amancer, after which she won stardom as Teresa, in the hugely popular Mexican soap.

Fearing that Mexican audiences valued her looks more than her thespian skills, Salma left Mexico, headed for LA, and took a year-and-a-half off from acting to learn English.

Writer-director Robert Rodriguez heard her lament about a lack of good roles on comic Paul Rodriguez's talk show and cast her as the female lead in his first 35mm project, Roadracers.

But it was Desperado , in which she appeared alongside Antonio Banderas, that gave her a major break.

Additional Hollywood roles followed including further collaborations with Rodriguez on the feature Four Rooms and as a blood-sucking snake-dancer in the Quentin Tarantino-scripted vampire film From Dusk Till Dawn.

Subsequent appearances included Fools Rush In, horror caper The Faculty and Wild Wild West opposite Will Smith.

Hayak has stated her intention to alternate between working in Hollywood and making Mexican art films, like Midaq Alley.

In 1998, she formed Ventanarosa Productions, and a year later signed an agreement with Sony to create TV programmes in both Spanish and English.

She went on to produce and star in Frida about the Mexican surrealist painter Frida Kahlo - the film earned her best actress nominations for a Golden Globe, a BAFTA, a SAG and an Oscar.

Next up was Spy Kids 3-D; Game Over before she linked up with Rodriguez and Banderas again for the third of the El Mariachi trilogy Once Upon A Time In Mexico.

Hayek recently starred in the action-comedy After The Sunset with Pierce Brosnan and comedy-thriller Paint, with Spider-Man's James Franco.