Salma Hayek delighted her fans with a touching tribute to her mother, Diana Jiménez Medina, on her 80th birthday. The actress shared a beautiful photo of herself with her mother, highlighting their striking resemblance.
"Happy 80th birthday, Mom, and happy 77th birthday, Aunt Charo! I love you both very much. Mom, each year I celebrate your life with more love and gratitude," she captioned the post. Fans were quick to comment on how much the two look alike, with one admirer noting, "Now we know where Salma got her looks!"
Her mother is a talented opera singer and in a heartfelt interview with the OWN network, Salma opened up about her mother's passion for singing. “I love my mom because she loves to sing and she has the most beautiful voice I’ve ever heard,” she shared, adding, “She sings like an angel.” Growing up with an opera singer mother meant that Salma was constantly surrounded by music.
“Many times, it embarrassed me, but my mother taught me that whenever she felt like singing, it didn’t matter what anyone else thought — including me,” she revealed. “She was just gonna sing and feel free with her voice.”
Salma elaborated on her mother’s vibrant personality in a 2014 interview, recounting how her mother would sing operatically even when Salma’s friends were around.
“My friends would come to the house, and she’d be like, makes operatic sounds. And you would ask her, ‘Can I go to the movies?’ and she’d answer singing, in front of your friends. So that was embarrassing.”
But it wasn’t just at home; Diana would often showcase her talents in public. “Somebody would ask, ‘Oh, why don’t you sing?’ … and she’d just sing a song in a restaurant or something — but really loud. She’s an opera singer, so it’s not, like, intimate; the whole restaurant would be clapping, standing up, ovation and stuff. And when you are a teenager, that can be embarrassing. Now, I appreciate it, but back then, it was embarrassing,” Salma confessed.
As she has grown older, Salma’s perspective on her mother’s behavior has changed. “I love her for being brave and for having such an important voice in my life,” she told OWN.
Salma’s father, Sami, has also been a crucial figure in her life, especially in supporting her acting career. When Salma decided to drop out of college to focus on acting, Sami initially reacted strongly. However, he eventually supported her decision.
“He said, ‘Okay, okay. We're gonna do the acting classes.’ And I never went back to college,” Salma recalled in an interview with CBS News in 2018. “And he's so proud of me. Nobody's more proud than him.”
Sami and Diana have two children, with Salma being the elder, born on September 2, 1966. She has a younger brother, Sami Hayek, who is a successful furniture designer.
Reflecting on her childhood, Salma told The Guardian in 2013, “I was privileged to grow up in Coatzacoalcos, Mexico, with my parents and my younger brother, Sami. It was a close community, we lived near the ocean and we would be outside all the time with the neighbors' kids, running free, playing football on the streets and at the beach.”
Salma shared a heartfelt tribute to her brother on social media for World Siblings Day. “Sami, you’ve been a blessing in my life… even though I’m sure I decorate yours with chaos,” she wrote, highlighting their close bond.