Salma Hayek Jiménez

Early life
Hayek was born Salma Hayek Jiménez in Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz, Mexico. Her younger brother Sami (born 1972) is a furniture designer. She is the daughter of Diana Jiménez Medina, an opera singer and talent scout. Her father Sami Hayek Dominguez—who once ran for mayor of Coatzacoalcos—was either an oil company executive, or the owner of an industrial-equipment firm.
Hayek's paternal grandfather emigrated from Lebanon, and she also has Spanish ancestry. Her first given name, Salma, is Arabic for "safe". Raised in a wealthy, devout Roman Catholic family, she was sent to the Academy of the Sacred Heart in Grand Coteau, Louisiana USA, at the age of twelve. While there, she was diagnosed with dyslexia. She attended university in Mexico City, where she studied International Relations at the Universidad Iberoamericana.