For every Hollywood icon, there exists a story hidden deep underneath the layers of fame and wealth. Salma Hayek was one such star who had never foregone the scrutiny that came with celebrity. The A-list actress continues to hold a trance over her fans today as much as she did when Desperado hit the theaters.
Besides being constantly in demand, Hayek also commands a magnitude of respect and awe in her field. The actress is neither an indie darling nor a box office blockbuster queen and yet has the potential to do equally well in both while also being a major crowd-puller. However, for a star of such major credits, she had a very humble, if not shady, beginning.
Salma Hayek’s illegal origin in the U.S.
30 years ago, not a single moviegoer would have batted an eye at the name of Salma Hayek. Today, she is an international star of universal fame and renown with millions to her name and billions of fans across multiple countries.
However, when she started out in the United States, Salma Hayek was not the model citizen one would imagine her to be. According to reports gathered from an interview with a Spanish magazine at the time, Hayek was an illegal immigrant in the country that later became her professional playground.
In the interview, Hayek revealed: “I was an illegal immigrant in the United States. It was for a small period of time, but I still did it.” (via Fox News Latino) Born in Mexico in 1966, the Oscar-nominated actress later became a naturalized American citizen over the years after entering Hollywood and becoming a major global star with a full-time working status in the industry.
Salma Hayek’s inspirational immigration journey
Salma Hayek’s temporary unlawful immigration into the United States was not as serious a blunder as one would imagine. According to her publicist at the time, Hayek ran into some complications with the extension of her visa during her early days in Hollywood.
In 1991, shortly after she moved to Los Angeles, Hayek’s visa expired, but the problem was quickly resolved, and her legal status was “cleaned up immediately as Salma went to Mexico and renewed” her visa. (via World Bride Magazine) It was reported that her immigration journey began with the help of an O-1 visa that helps individuals with extraordinary abilities in their fields to grant temporary work visas in the U.S.
Today, she holds citizenship of three countries: Mexico, the United States, and France – the latter through her marriage to the CEO of Kering, François-Henri Pinault, in 2009. As an internationally acclaimed actress herself, Salma Hayek holds a net worth of $200 million (via Celebrity Net Worth).
