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Actress hopes to break stereotypes

By Sandra Marquez
Saturday October 26, 2002

LOS ANGELES — Hollywood has long stereotyped Hispanic women as spitfires, bombshells and maids. 

It responded no differently to Salma Hayek, who packed two suitcases and moved to Los Angeles from Mexico City on a whim in 1991, leaving behind a budding career as a soap-opera star. The struggling actress got one of her first breaks as a scantily clad vampire who tackles an enormous python in Quentin Tarantino’s “From Dusk Till Dawn,” in 1996. 

“I am not the kind of person that wants to sit down and whine about something,” Hayek said of her determination to find strong roles for Hispanic actors. “Instead, I want to get up and make an effort and do it myself.” 

She took inspiration from one of her heroes, Mexican painter Frida Kahlo, who defied convention throughout her life. For eight years, Hayek nurtured a movie project based on Kahlo’s life. 

“Frida,” which opens in New York and Los Angeles on Friday, is one of the most high-profile Hispanic-themed movies in years. 

Hayek stars as Kahlo — the most challenging role of her career — and is one of the film’s producers. She said she hopes it will help create more visibility for Hispanics in Hollywood.