Hollywood star Salma Hayek had a tough time being a teenager. As surprising as it sounds, the actress, who grips the world with her impeccable sense of humor, humility, and acting finesse, was bullied for her appearance in school. Unraveling details of her teenage life, Hayek publicly shared her hilarious, although unfitting nickname in a public interview in 2016.
Hayek has cemented her name in Hollywood, literally, after she received a star on the iconic Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2021. At 55, she was the 2,709th celebrity to accept the honor at a ceremony held outside the TCL Chinese Theatre, per People. On the contrary, Hayek revealed that she was ridiculed for her body in school.
It is payback time for Salma Hayek’s bullies
Appearing on The Late Late Show with James Corden, the 57-year-old actress once opened up about her disturbing experience in high school. As a teenager, Salma Hayek’s peers were comparatively older than her. Therefore, she recalled being bullied for the distinct difference in her and her peers’ bodies. James Corden pondered if the charismatic actress ever had a nickname in school, which urged Hayek to break the story to the world.
Salma Hayek candidly narrated that she was much younger than other students in her grade. Hence, eventually, all her female peers began developing a “womanly body” while Hayek was still in her pre-pubescent age. This gave way to her haunting nickname, La Nadadora. Hayek narrated in a snippet shared on YouTube,
“So all the girls started, you know, getting a more womanly body and I was still a stick. So the boys decided to call me La Nadadora which means…so they called me La Nadadora because I had nothing. I bet they’re eating their words now.”
As the crowd burst into laughter, including James Corden, and the other star guest Dennis Leary, Hayek avenged her teenage dilemma on the live show, calling out her bullies to compare her now drool-worthy looks.
Salma Hayek’s near-death encounter in Hollywood
Salma Hayek is revered as one of the foremost Latina actresses to make it big in Hollywood. Even as an adult, and moving to the United States, Hayek’s struggles didn’t seem to end. During her acceptance speech after she was honored with the Walk of Fame star, the Frida actress recalled how she was nearly stabbed by a “poor man” around the same place, per People.
After she ignored a man’s catcalls as she was showing a friend around, Hayek was attacked by him only to be rescued by two “gentlemen” from Hells Angels. This ultimately urged Hayek to contemplate her entire existence in Hollywood, wondering if the industry really wanted her. She said,
“The truth is that when I went home that night, I said ‘What am I doing here? Nobody wants me. I mean, I almost got killed today.'”
Regardless of the constant struggles, mainly around safety and racism, Salma Hayek chose to power through. And Voila! She has emerged among the leading actresses of Hollywood today, and fans bow down to her.
