Pathbreakers of Arab America—Second in Series: Salma Hayek
By: John Mason / Arab America Contributing Writer
This is the second in Arab America’s series on American pathbreakers of Arab descent. The series includes personalities from entertainment, business, science, academia, and politics, among other areas. We will endeavor to represent the broad array of Arab Americans, including a mix of women and men, countries of origin, and fields of endeavor. Our second pathbreaker case is the illustrious Mexican-born, of Lebanese heritage, Arab American actor Salma Hayek.
Salma Hayek, Mexican and Arab American Actress of Lebanese Heritage
Salma Hayek was born Salma Valgarma Hayek Jiménez on September 2, 1966 in Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz, Mexico. Her mother, Diana Jiménez Medina is of Spanish descent and is an opera singer and talent scout. Her father, Sami Hayek Domínguez, is of Lebanese descent, from the city of Baabda and he owns an industrial-equipment firm and is an oil company executive in Mexico.
Hayek has described herself as fifty-percent Lebanese and fifty-percent Spanish. She later became a naturalized U.S. citizen as her career unfolded in Hollywood. On April 25, 2009, she married French billionaire François-Henri Pinault, at which point her name officially became Salma Valgarma Hayek Jiménez Pinault.
Salma was raised Catholic and speaks of herself generally as Christian. Her grandparents and father’s district of origin, Baabda, is comprised mainly of Maronite Catholics, followed by Shi’a Muslims and Druze. But her precise Lebanese religious background remains unclear.
Hayek began her career in Mexico in television. At age 23 she was selected to play the title role in a telenovela, ‘Teresa,’ which made her a star in Mexico. Her role in that series earned her the TV Novelas Award for Best Female Actress. Salma worked in TV and film for several years in her native country, before leaving for Hollywood to pursue her film career. She spoke little English at that point and also had dyslexia, making it difficult to land good parts. So, she enrolled in English lessons and studied acting. Hayek eventually worked her way into more major acting roles in film and guest or supporting roles in various TV series such as ‘Dream On,’ ‘The Sinbad Show,’ and Mi Vida Loca,’ among others.
A major breakthrough for Hayek was her portrayal of the famous Mexican painter Frida Kahlo in the biopic ‘Frida.’ Salma was also a producer of that film, for which she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress. She was the first Mexican actress to be nominated for this prestigious award. Hayek also produced and starred in action-center films such as ‘Once Upon a time in Mexico,’ ‘After the Sunset,’ and ‘Bandidas.’ Her voice is heard in such animated films as ‘Puss’nBoots’ and ‘Sausage Party.’ Salma won acclaim for her dramatic roles in ‘Tale of Tales (2015), ‘Beatriz at Dinner’ (2017), and ‘House of Gucci’ (2021).
In addition to her illustrious film and TV career, Hayek is very active in charitable advocacy work. She is especially involved in raising awareness on violence against women and discrimination against immigrants. Salma has testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary supporting reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act. As part of her advocacy work, she stated, “I am a feminist because a lot of amazing women have made me who I am today. […] But – it should not be just because I am a woman.”
Hayek is a strong advocate of breastfeeding and during a 2009 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.” In 2010, Hayek’s humanitarian work earned her a nomination for the VH1 Do Something Awards. Her humanitarian work is expansive and recognized worldwide.
Hayek’s Lebanese heritage, love of Khalil Gibran, her return to the ancestral village
Salma since she was a little girl has felt strongly about her Lebanese roots. Her feelings were due to the fact that, according to Arab News, “her father and grandparents never let her forget where they came from, and the values that entail.” Raised in her Lebanese grandfather’s home, Hayek said she “was raised and I was educated, like all Lebanese people are educated, to give back to Lebanon, to be a brotherhood. We are raised so that when we encounter a Lebanese person in life, we immediately come together.”
Salma was raised eating Arab food, taught about the writings of Khalil Gibran, and taught the meaning of Arab identity. She joked, “I probably had kibbeh before I had tacos.” Hayek’s later work reflects her devotion to Lebanon, seen in her 2015 production of “The Prophet,” an animation based on Gibran’s writings, using her voicing of one of the characters.
Sometime before getting to the idea of making a film about Gibran, Hayek happened to spot Gibran’s eye-on-hand book cover painting. “When I saw that drawing, I recognized it from my grandfather’s nightstand. So, I read the book and it made a huge impression on me. It was as if my grandfather were teaching me about life through The Prophet.”
Salma suggests that she got to know her Lebanese grandfather through Gibran’s writings. At the film’s premiere in Beirut, she noted, “I got to have my grandfather teaching me about life…For me, this is a love letter to my heritage. Between all the connections of our ancestors and the memories of the ones that are no longer with us, I hope they are proud of this film because I did it also for them.” Hayek and her father traveled from Beirut to their ancestral village, Baabdat.
In an interview with Hayek by Arab America President Warren David, she described her unfulfilled intent to visit Lebanon, until finally, it happened in 2015 with her father. Once there, Salma marveled over the beauty of her ancestral country. She visited Gibran’s home and tomb. She noted that the strength of her family values, her sense of love and equality derived from her immigrant family in Mexico. Salma shared with David the importance of Arab culture in “touching the heart, in remembering our humanity and reminding us of our love for life and our freedom.”
Sources:
–“Salma Hayek,” Wikipedia List of Arab Americans, 2023
–“Salma Hayek discusses her Lebanese heritage, political correctness,” Arab News, 6/23/2023
–“Salma Hayek talks with Arab America about her Lebanese culture,” (interview by Warren David) Arab America on Vimeo, 6/12/2015
Caption- Hayek with the Gibran statue. (Supplied)
John Mason, PhD., who focuses on Arab culture, society, and history, is the author of LEFT-HANDED IN AN ISLAMIC WORLD: An Anthropologist’s Journey into the Middle East, New Academia Publishing, 2017. He has taught at the University of Libya, Benghazi, Rennselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York, and the American University in Cairo; John served with the United Nations in Tripoli, Libya, and consulted extensively on socioeconomic and political development for USAID and the World Bank in 65 countries.
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