Salma Hayek first appeared in the television series ‘Un Nuevo Amanecer’ in 1988. The following year, she joined the cast of the Mexican telenovela ‘Teresa’ created by Mimí Bechelani. She played the role of ‘Teresa Chavero Martínez’ and remained a part of the show until it went off-air in 1990. She made her film debut in the 1993 American drama ‘Mi Vida Loca’ directed by Allison Anders. The film opened to a positive reception and holds a 74% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. That same year, she also appeared in the Mexican film ‘Midaq Alley’ directed by Jorge Fons. The film received positive reviews from critics. She next portrayed ‘Carolina’ in the 1995 Robert Rodriguez-directed American neo-Western action film, ‘Desperado.’ The film received mixed to positive reviews from critics and grossed over $58 million on a $7 million budget. She next starred in films like ‘From Dusk till Dawn’ (1996), ‘Follow Me Home’ (1996), 'Fools Rush In’' (1997), '54' (1998), and ‘The Faculty’ (1998). In 1999, she portrayed ‘Serendipity’ in the American fantasy comedy film ‘Dogma’ directed by Kevin Smith. The film received a favorable response from critics and grossed over $44 million on a budget of $10 million. The following year, she appeared in the American crime drama film ‘Traffic’ directed by Steven Soderbergh. The film saw critical acclaim upon release and was a major commercial success, grossing over $207.5 million on a $48 million budget.
In 2002, she starred as ‘Frida Kahlo’ in the American biographical drama film ‘Frida’ directed by Julie Taymor. The film received mostly positive reviews from critics and grossed over $56.3 million at the box office. Hayek also received several award nominations, including the Academy Award nomination, for her performance in the film. She continued to star in films like ‘Once Upon a Time in Mexico’ (2003), ‘After the Sunset’ (2004), ‘Ask the Dust’ (2006), ‘Lonely Hearts’ (2006), ‘Across the Universe’ (2007), ‘Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant’ (2009), and ‘Grown Ups’ (2010). In 2011, she voiced ‘Kitty Softpaws’ in the American computer-animated comedy film ‘Puss in Boots’ directed by Chris Miller. The film opened to a positive reception and performed well at the box office, grossing over $555 million on a $130 million budget. She continued to star in films like ‘Savages’ (2012), ‘Here Comes the Boom’ (2012), ‘Grown Ups 2’ (2013), ‘Everly’ (2014), ‘Some Kind of Beautiful’ (2014), ‘Tale of Tales’ (2015), ‘Septembers of Shiraz’ (2015), ‘Sausage Party’ (2016), ‘The Hitman's Bodyguard’ (2017), ‘The Hummingbird Project’ (2018), ‘Drunk Parents’ (2019), ‘Like a Boss’ (2020), ‘Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard’ (2021), and ‘Eternals’ (2021). She was last seen in the 2021 American biographical crime drama film, ‘House of Gucci’ directed by Ridley Scott. The film received mixed to positive reviews from critics and grossed over $156.8 million on a $75 million budget.