21 Jaw-Dropping Photos of a Young Salma Hayek

From telenovelas to Hollywood superstardom, Salma Hayek’s trajectory has been a fascinating one. Born in Coatzacoalcos, in southern Mexico, the actor found her feet in her early 20s, in soap operas Un Nuevo Amanecer and Teresa, winning fans and a spate of awards. But Hayek had her sights set on Hollywood, and soon moved to Los Angeles, took English lessons, and battled it out in auditions at a time when there were shockingly limited opportunities for Latina actors.

Success eventually came in the form of the Robert Rodriguez-directed, Antonio Banderas-led Desperado, in which she was a sultry scene-stealer, followed by From Dusk till Dawn, Fools Rush In, and Wild Wild West. Then her magnetic turn in Frida brought her a best-actress Oscar nomination, the very first time a Mexican woman was recognized in that category. (Only one other has ever been nominated for this prize in almost a century: Roma’s Yalitza Aparicio.) It cemented her as an industry power player—and she hasn’t stopped working since.

Now, as she celebrates her 60th birthday, we revisit the earliest years of Hayek’s career through the most stunning throwback photos of the certified bombshell.