Salma Hayek

Dark, petite and sexy, Salma Hayek got her start in Mexican television productions in the late 1980s before moving to Los Angeles to work in the movies. She had small but memorable roles in Mi Vida Loca (1993) and From Dusk Till Dawn (1996, with George Clooney and Quentin Tarantino), and she played the love interest opposite Antonio Banderas in Desperado (1995). Although most of her early films played up her voluptuousness and sex appeal, she also produced and starred in the film Frida (2002, with Geoffrey Rush), a drama based on the life of Mexican artist Frida Kahlo. The film brought her an Oscar nomination for acting and put her squarely in the film production business. The executive producer of the hit TV series Ugly Betty (starring America Ferrera), Hayek also won a Daytime Emmy for directing the movie The Maldonado Miracle (2003). Her other films include Robert Rodriguez's Once Upon a Time in Mexico (2003, again with Banderas), Ask the Dust (2006, with Colin Farrell), and Lonely Hearts (2007, with Hayek as notorious serial killer Martha Beck).

Extra credit: Hayek is of Lebanese and Spanish descent... She was the voice of Esmerelda in the Spanish-dubbed version of Disney's The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996)... She played Alec Baldwin's fiery girlfriend in several 2009 episodes of the TV comedy 30 Rock (also starring Tina Fey)... In 2009 she married French billionaire Francois-Henry Pinault; they have one child.