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Beatriz "Betty" U. Suarez is a central fictional character and heroine of the American dramedy series Ugly Betty. She is portrayed by America Ferrera, who won a 2007 Golden Globe and 2007 SAG award for her portrayal of the character, as well as the Outstanding Actress in a Comedy award for the role at the 59th Primetime Emmy Awards and was nominated again in the same category at the 60th Primetime Emmy Awards.

Background[link]

Betty Suarez lives in the Jackson Heights neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens.^[1] In junior high, Betty won the Good Citizens award. Betty gave the award back to the school but later took it back and the principal called her a bad citizen. She attended Queens Borough High School, graduating in 2002, where she was salutatorian and received a Regents diploma. Betty was cast as a rock in a school play. She never went to the Senior prom, staging an anti-prom with her best friend Trina, who later was invited to the event. Betty and Trina did not speak to each other again until 2007. A member of the Music Association; she received an award for playing the cymbals and triangles. Betty also performed as a mascot for the basketball team, for which she was named "Most Inspirational Basketball Mascot"; as she was the yearbook editor, it is possible she gave this title to herself.^[2]

She attended Queens College, in Flushing, Queens, described as "one of America's best value colleges"^[3] She graduated QC in December 2005, with a BFA in Media, Cum Laude. She was treasurer of the Latina Women's League, as well as yearbook editor and a contributor for the school newspaper, the Knight Journal.^[2] It should be noted her real goal is to become a magazine publisher, which explains her journalistic credentials.

During the summer before attending college and two summers during college, she worked at Corona Cones as a "Soft Serve Specialist/Weekend Night Manager." There she "managed a crew of 2 (including self)," "initiated and maintained soft-serve machine during the double-scoop crossover," and fulfilled "party clown duties as needed."^[2]

Suarez then worked at Pro-Buy store #8474 as a part-time human resources coordinator, from summer 2004 to August 2005. She designed the monthly "What's Up, Pro Buy!" employee newsletter.^[2]

Suarez then took advantage of two internships. In the summer of 2004, she was at the weekly magazine Politics & More, collaborating on research for the July 2004 cover article on Presidential hopefuls and their wives.^[4] Next summer, she interned at Daily Dermatology Magazine; her stay at this Flatbush, Brooklyn publication focused on research for a five-part series on pores for the then upcoming Wide World of Skin convention.

Suarez is fluent in English and Spanish, and can speak some Mandarin Chinese.^[2] She can also speak some Portuguese, as she called a spa in Brazil during one episode.

She is a "yearly fundraising participant," winner of the 2004 Rotary Club Speech Contest, current coordinator of the Neighborhood Watch program for her area, a math tutor, a County Chamber Singers, an honorary member of the local Historical Society, and one point worked as a batgirl for the New York Mets .^[2]

Working for Mode[link]

This section may contain original research. Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding references. Statements consisting only of original research may be removed. More details may be available on the talk page. (May 2011)

Despite others perceiving Betty Suarez as "unattractive", she does land a job at the prestigious fashion magazine Mode, where she serves as the personal assistant of Daniel Meade; the magazine's new editor-in-chief, put in place by his father (Bradford Meade) after the previous editor, Fey Sommers, was killed having her brake lines in her car cut. Despite Daniel's less than enthusiastic reaction to working with her, Betty does win him over. Daniel is known to be a womanizer, and Betty prevents temptation from getting in his way in the world of fashion. She keeps her job because of her attitude, skill and stoicity. Despite having a majority of her first check being taken out for taxes, Betty's earnings at Mode are around $37,810 a year.^{[citation needed]}

However, Betty is not admired by fellow co-workers, who feel threatened by her presence: Wilhelmina Slater, the magazine's Creative Director, who wanted the job of editor-in-chief, her cohort Marc St. James, and magazine receptionist Amanda Tanen, are determined to sabotage Betty and Daniel at any cost, but for different reasons. Betty finds an unlikely friend, Christina McKinney, a seamstress whose knowledge about what goes on at Mode will play a vital part in their relationship. Betty's fashion sense, glasses, hair, her short stature, and working-class roots in Queens are often mocked by her colleagues, however Suarez manages to work towards overcoming this. Betty is also slightly clumsy, often knocking into things, most notably plexiglass windows. Betty remains centered and focused amongst the clashing of egos and eccentric behavior of her colleagues.

Betty has also found herself embroiled with the Meade family in more ways than one. Bradford trusts her because she can keep Daniel's financial responsibilities intact while Daniel trusts her because she can deliver and take charge. She is also aware of Claire Meade's problems with alcoholism (she slapped a bottle right out of Claire's hands), but learned later Claire was the person who killed Fey; when Claire told Betty she wanted to leave the country rather than face murder charges, Betty talked her out of it and convinced Claire to turn herself in. Betty was also impressed by Alexis Meade's recent sex-change to the point of where she asked Alexis about where she can buy a hormone patch so she wouldn't use bleach to get rid of her mustache. When Daniel and Alexis began feuding over the ownership of Meade Publications, Betty stepped in and played mediator and forced them to talk it out in front of their mother while in bumper cars at Coney Island. Thanks to Betty, both Daniel and Alexis agreed to a truce until the matter over the company was settled.

Since she started working alongside Daniel, she has helped him with his sexual and drug addictions, repair his trust with family and improve his abilities as an Editor-In-Chief, along with getting him out of trouble, like exposing a Mother/daughter team trying to blackmail him. Daniel in turn has also help Betty with her own faults, mostly in the romance department and trying to open up her talents as a writer. However, there were a couple of incidents that almost ended that: When Betty tried to protect Daniel from a tell-all writer, Daniel lashed out at her, resulting in Betty giving Daniel the cold shoulder. The second time came when she witnessed Wilhelmina sleeping with her bodyguard while trying to get the mock-up from Wilhelmina's apartment. When Wilhelmina bribed Betty into not telling Daniel about her romp, Betty agreed and betrayed Daniel, only to be fired at Wilhelmina and Bradford's wedding after she came clean. He would later regret that after Ignacio went straight to the hospital and told Daniel the reason. As Betty told Daniel she wasn't the same person that walked into MODE and she wanted to give up her job, it would be Bradford telling her not to, first at the hospital prior to his passing and later as her subconscious.

Betty would be the one to help Claire and her murder conviction, first by making sure Alexis and Daniel would continue as owners of Meade Publications and reconcile with Bradford before his death. In the episode Odor in the Court, as Claire goes to trial for murdering Fey, some new evidence surfaces in the Love Dungeon, along with a bottle of perfume Claire gives to Betty for safekeeping during the trial. Fey's diary reveals in an attempt to kill Claire, Fey had sent a bottle of poisoned perfume to Bradford to give to Claire as a 'souvenir' driving her to madness and kill her. By a stroke of fate, Claire's insanity resulted in Fey's own death instead. After Betty nearly kills herself with the perfume, and after Amanda is convinced to hand over the evidence to Betty, Claire is found not guilty and freed. Therefore, Mode is now back in Claire's control.

As of the second season finale, Wilhelmina Slater became the editor-in-chief at Mode.

In the 3rd season, Wilhelmina tried to once again manipulate Betty by luring her back to working with her, and succeeded. This sudden turn of events, along with an attempt to mold her into the next "Wilhelmina" didn't set well with Marc, so he gave Betty a bag of letters sent to Daniel setting the stage for Betty's decision to resign as Wilhelmina's assistant, Daniel returning to his EIC job at Mode and his rehiring of Betty, and Wilhelmina's demotion back to Creative Director.

Soon, Christina is pushed down a flight of stairs by an unknown person which results in Betty finding through Mode's staff to find the culprit, finally learning that Alexis was the one. Alexis goes to jail but thanks to Claire, she is reduced to just doing community service. After Alexis leaves for Paris, Betty has to deal with Gio returning from Italy (the trip which Betty rejected in the second season finale). Gio who is angry towards Betty acts cold and bans her from his deli and life but Betty perseveres to win his heart back by tricking him into helping her get DJ away from his grandparents. After the issue, the two reconcile but Gio wants to try something different for love and leaves Betty.

She also begins to study at the YETI program for young editors with Marc. In the season finale Betty and Marc compete for an editor's job at Mode. Daniel and Wilhelmina can't decide which one to hire, and finally make the decision by flipping a coin, and Betty gets the promotion.

In the series finale Betty leaves Mode for a job in London (ironically, as a side note, in the Mode After Hours webisode she has a UK counterpart named Velita). Daniel finds out that he, likes her, wants to be more than friends. He asks her out to dinner, a date and she says "I'd love to". Later, Betty asks Daniel, jokingly that she is searching for an assistant - if he wants a new job.

Family and personal life[link]

At home in Queens, Betty has to deal with her father Ignacio and sister Hilda, who feel she's been taken for a ride at her job and are concerned she's being used like a puppet because of her appearance. However, her nephew Justin is the only person who supports Betty and thinks she should continue pursuing her dreams.

Betty believes her job will help solve the legal hassles she has to deal with in trying to get an HMO provider for her father, who has a heart condition and has been told not to drink any products containing caffeine, like coffee. But those efforts have Betty questioning the real reason why her father has avoided the doctor when it is discovered he has been using a Social Security number and name of a deceased person who, if he had lived, would've been 117 years old. She would later learn her dad fled Mexico after he fell in love with her mother, who was married at the time to a wealthy banker abusing her while he was working for them as their chef. When she left her husband to be with Ignacio, the banker then threatened to kill Ignacio with a knife, but Ignacio in turn beat the man to death in self-defense (it was later learned the banker was alive). Ignacio's admission could raise consequences for the family if he is deported back to Mexico and in the process could face prison time in that country. It would be through her bribe with Wilhelmina that Betty would get Ignacio back to the United States.

Romantically, the unattached Betty also had to deal with her ex-boyfriend Walter Tabachnik, who dumped her but wanted back in whether she liked it or not. Betty and Walter were once an item and her family thought he would be the person who would marry her, but he dumped her for Gina Gambarro, the Suarez's next door neighbor. When Betty found out Gina used him just to get a TV (which she later broke), Betty decided she wanted nothing to do with Walter, despite Gina's explanation of what happened. However Betty did take him back and was willing to work out their relationship, which was hampered by Betty's family being more supportive of Walter, especially Hilda, who wanted to keep the two together. But that became more difficult after Betty exhibited feelings towards Henry Grubstick, the accountant working at Betty's workplace.

When Betty found out Henry left the message with Hilda during the holidays, she lashed out at Hilda, who said she thought Betty would have her heart broken, but came to realize Betty was capable of making her own decisions. After getting hints her romance was over as evidenced by Ignacio and Claire Meade, Betty finally parted ways with Walter after he decided to take a job as the assistant manager of new Pro-Buy store in Maryland. However, after saying goodbye to Walter and just as she was finally about to ask Henry out now she is a single woman, Henry stuns her by telling her his ex-girlfriend Charlie has come to New York to work things out, thus breaking Betty's heart. As a result of this, Betty told Henry it would be best to remain friends despite their attraction to each other. In Secretaries' Day, a semi-conscious Henry told Betty he loved her. In the following episode, A Tree Grows in Guadalajara, Betty believes she sees Henry in Mexico. She follows the apparition and discovers her grandmother's house. Her grandmother, mistaking Betty for her mother Rosa, encourages her to fight for her love. Betty resolves to fight for Henry.

In the season 1 finale, Betty and Henry seem to be off to a good start in a relationship, when Charlie comes back into the picture, saying she is pregnant with Henry's baby. Henry decides to move with her to Tucson, and he tearfully and regretfully says goodbye to Betty. However, later, while getting a filling done at her dentist, the dental technician blurts out Charlie had been cheating on Henry with Dr. Farkas for two months and urges Betty to go after Henry. This plan, however, is shoved aside when the police show up at her door, telling her Hilda's fiance, Santos, was killed in a robbery. Betty chooses to go tell Hilda, thus letting Henry go with Charlie to Arizona.

By season two, Henry returns and get his job back in order to support Charlie, which made Betty feel uneasy because was afraid to tell him about Charlie, but at the same still had feelings for him. Despite mixed feelings from Ignacio and Daniel, both Betty and Henry decided to continue their romance for the next five months before Henry returned to Arizona, after he learned that the baby might be his after all. Betty has also attracted the interest of Giovanni "Gio" Rossi, a deli shop owner. This development has resulted in a semi-close relationship, as Hilda and Henry has witnessed, even though Betty has yet to noticed any sparks, believing that she and Gio are just friends. This would put Betty in an unusual predicament. Gio wanted her to travel to Rome with him. Henry wanted her to marry him. In the season 3 opener it is revealed she chose neither Henry or Gio, instead she took a trip across the country to find herself.

After she returns she asserts herself as "more adult" but, she is shocked to see Daniel is Editor-in-Chief of Player magazine, but after she accepted Wilhelmina's offer to work at Mode again, she realizes Daniel wanted his old job again and after she showed him letters from disgruntled readers, he reclaims his job and rehires Betty again.

She decides to get her own apartment but is schmoozed over by a real-estate agent and leases a complete dump of an apartment without ever seeing it. She then deals with her old bully, Kimmie Keegan, as she is now her father's boss. After a fight in the fast-food restaurant in which they work, her and Kimmie make up. Things then begin to look up after her family, initially against it, help her clean-up and renovate her apartment. She then meets Jesse her new neighbor and obviously new love-interest. Things are turned upside-down when Amanda moves in with her due to financial problems. Jesse kisses Amanda on the roof during a party and Betty is hurt until Amanada realizes Betty likes him and says it was only a kiss. Betty and Jesse go out on a date and he only talks about himself so she breaks up with him. Her father had a heart attack and after surgery was fine but Betty was missing everything because she was at a party when Ignacio had his heart attack so she decided to move back home in Queens, leasing the apartment out to Amanda and Marc. Betty joins YETI so she could begin to "go places" in her career and meets a man named Matt Hartley who works for a sports magazine. Betty eventually starts dating Matt and she meets his mother who thinks she is below Matt (Matt's parents are billionaires) but Matt tells his mother that she will just have to deal with it.

Betty tries to take her relationship with Matt to the next level in The Sex Issue episode, but he is avoiding doing so. Betty was distressed until she finds out Matt has a sex problem which he uses to "connect" with others in the past. He made a deal with Helen, his therapist that he wouldn't sleep with someone until he had an emotional connection with them, which is what he thinks he has with Betty. She begins to feel weird about what Matt told her until he assures her she is number 1 and they are seen going into Matt's apartment in the end.

Matt asks Betty to move in with him, and she agrees. However, soon after this Henry returns to New York with his new girlfriend for a few days, and realizes she still has feelings for him. Before Henry's departure from New York, Betty and Henry meet and agree they should go separate ways despite their feelings for each other. They still kiss before Henry leaves. Matt sees this and finally decides to break up with Betty because she wasn't honest with him. He also informs her, she will still be seeing a lot him, because he got a job at MODE as Betty's superior.

In the fourth season, Matt made Betty's life at work a misery as her boss and revealed in Blue On Blue episode that he does that because he couldn't stand seeing Betty happy when he was in so much pain. They got back into a more amicable terms after that. Matt and Betty get back together at the end of "The Bahamas Triangle." In the Christmas episode, Betty and Hilda think they are both pregnant due to a mix-up with the pregnancy tests but in the end, it turns out that Hilda is the one expecting a child. Matt later left for Africa for six months to help the unfortunate after a teary goodbye. Meanwhile, Amanda gives Betty part of the rent she failed to pay after moving out and encourages her to take her apartment back.

In the series finale, Betty is made aware of Daniel's feelings for her. She also leaves Mode for a job in London where she bumps into Daniel, who tells her that he quit his job as Editor-in-Chief at Mode to find something that he's actually passionate for . Also, he asks her out to dinner. Betty agrees to this "date" and asks him (playfully) if he needs a job, as she's looking for a new assistant. Daniel tells her that he might submit his resume and watches Betty as she walks away, thus making it a slightly romantic ending.

References[link]

America Ferrera
Ferrera in April 2010
Born	America Georgina Ferrera[1] (1984-04-18) April 18, 1984 (age 28) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actress, producer
Years active	2001–present
Spouse	Ryan Piers Williams (m. 2011–present)

America Georgina Ferrera^[1] (born April 18, 1984) is an American actress and producer. She is best known for her leading role as Betty Suarez on the ABC television series Ugly Betty (2006–2010). Her portrayal garnered critical acclaim, and she won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy, the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series, and the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series. She transitioned to a film career, starring in several films aimed at young audiences, including, Real Women Have Curves, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, its sequel Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2, and The Dry Land, and had a small role in the skateboard biopic Lords of Dogtown (2005). In addition, she was the voice of Astrid the Viking in the Dreamworks animated picture How to Train Your Dragon.

Early life[link]

Ferrera, the youngest of six children, was born in Los Angeles, California.^[2] Her parents, América Griselda Ayes and Carlos Gregorio Ferrera, were originally from Tegucigalpa, Honduras, and immigrated to the United States in the mid-1970s.^[3] Her mother worked as the director of the housecleaning staff for Hilton Hotels,^[4] and stressed the importance of higher education.^[5] When she was 7, her parents divorced and her father returned to Honduras.^[6] Ferrera's father died in 2010.^[7]

Ferrera was raised in the Woodland Hills section of Los Angeles, where she attended Calabash Street Elementary School, George Ellery Hale Middle School and El Camino Real High School.^[8] From the time she was seven years old, when she landed a small role in a school production of Hamlet and then at age 10, the role as the Artful Dodger in Oliver!, Ferrera knew that she wanted to be a performer. Her first play was Romeo and Juliet, and although only in the third grade, she went to the junior high school and auditioned and got the role of the Apothecary.^[9] She acted in school plays and community theater in Los Angeles throughout her youth, though with little help from her mother, who insisted that she pursue other interests because she was concerned her daughter would not be treated fairly. Ferrera was forced to take the bus to auditions, though eventually her mother saw her daughter’s dedication and began to drive her.^[5] Ferrera disliked her first name as a child and went by her middle name, "Georgina", until she began acting professionally.^[10]

While at El Camino High School, she took acting lessons at the age of 15 and was able to pay for them by waiting tables and babysitting. She graduated with a 4.3 GPA and was named class valedictorian.^[9]

She entered the University of Southern California on a presidential scholarship, with a double major in theater and international relations. She dropped out of school one semester short of graduating due to her wanting to focus on Ugly Betty.^[9]

Career[link]

Ferrera in 2006

In July 2002, Ferrera made her first TV movie, Gotta Kick It Up! for The Disney Channel. While at drama camp at Northwestern University that same year,^[11] she made her feature film debut in the indie sleeper hit Real Women Have Curves. Ferrera followed this with roles in both television (Touched by an Angel) and film (The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and Lords of Dogtown). Ferrera received a 2005 Movieline Breakthrough Award.^{[citation needed]} She was also in the movie Plainsong, based on the novel by Kent Haruf which starred Aidan Quinn and Rachel Griffiths. Ferrera plays a pregnant teenager, Victoria Roubideaux, who has been kicked out of her mother's house, and she is taken in by two kindly brothers who live alone on a farm.^[12] How the Garcia Girls Spent Their Summer came out in 2005, and she starred as the third generation of a Mexican-American family. She played Bianca, a 17 year old who while on the verge on womanhood is fed up with the boys in her neighborhood but finds romance with another boy from a neighboring town. In 2006, she appeared in the short film 3:52 which won the Audience Award at the San Diego Women Film Festival. Later that year she starred in Steel City which received nominations at the Independent Spirit Awards and the Sundance Film Festival.^[13]

In December 2005, she appeared in the off-Broadway play Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead, directed by Trip Cullman.

She landed the lead role of Betty in Ugly Betty in 2006. Ugly Betty is an adaptation of the Colombian hit telenovela Yo soy Betty, la fea, in which Ferrera portrays a girl whom her peers find extremely unattractive, thus the series title. As Betty Suarez, Ferrera wears braces, has bushy eyebrows and a disheveled wig, and make-up and clothing intended to downplay her own looks, in contrast to most of the "glammed up" characters; Ferrera herself coined the term “Bettification” to describe the process of creating her onscreen persona.^[14] The first run of Ugly Betty was completed with the series finale on ABC-TV on Wednesday, April 14, 2010.

For her role in Ugly Betty, Ferrera won the 2007 Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Comedy or Musical. As a result of the award, she was congratulated by the U.S. House of Representatives as being a role model for young Hispanics.^[15] On January 28, 2007, Ferrera won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Female Actor in a Comedy Series.^[16] She also starred in and was the executive producer for the poignant short film Muertas.^{[citation needed]}

In 2007, TIME chose Ferrera as one of the top artists and entertainers in their "Time 100: The Most Influential People In The World" issue.^[17] In July 2007, Ferrera won Imagen Foundation's Creative Achievement Award.^[18]

On September 16, 2007, Ferrera won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress - Comedy Series^[19] for her Ugly Betty role, the first Latina to win in that category.^{[citation needed]} In the summer of 2007, she wrapped filming on The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2, the sequel to the 2005 film The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, as Carmen. Among other film work, she supplied the voice of Astrid in the hit animated film How to Train Your Dragon (2010). She appears in The Dry Land which premiered at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival^[20] and ran at the Dallas International Film Festival where it won the top prize in the Filmmaker Award for Best Narrative Feature.^[21]

As a presenter at the 2007 Film Independent's Spirit Awards, she said the United States won't be free again until President Bush leaves office in 2008.^[22] The Bush administration ended in 2009.^[23]

Ferrera made her London stage debut on November 7, 2011, playing Roxie Hart in the musical Chicago in London's West End.^[24]

Personal life[link]

Ferrera and her husband Ryan Piers Williams in October 2010

Ferrera married Ryan Piers Williams on June 27, 2011.^[25]

Filmography[link]

Awards and nominations[link]

Won

• 2010 - Imagen Awards; Best Actress - Television (Ugly Betty)
• 2008 - NAACP Image Award; Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series (Ugly Betty)
• 2007 - ALMA Awards; Outstanding Actress - Television Series, Mini-Series or Television Movie (Ugly Betty)
• 2007 - Emmy Awards; Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series (Ugly Betty)
• 2007 - Golden Globe Award; Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy (Ugly Betty)
• 2007 - Imagen Awards; Best Actress - Television (Ugly Betty)
• 2007 - Imagen Awards; Creative Achievement Award
• 2007 - Satellite Awards; Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy (Ugly Betty)
• 2007 - Screen Actors Guild Award; Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series (Ugly Betty)
• 2007 - Teen Choice Awards; Choice TV: Breakout (Ugly Betty)
• 2006 - Imagen Awards; Best Actress - Film (The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants)
• 2002 - Sundance Film Festival; Special Jury Prize: Dramatic (Real Women Have Curves)

Nominated

• 2010 - Gay Peoples Choice Awards Favorite Female TV Star (Ugly Betty)
• 2010 - Lesbian/Bi People's Choice Awards; Favorite Female TV Star (Ugly Betty)
• 2010 - Imagen Awards; Best Actress - Film (Our Family Wedding)
• 2010 - Imagen Awards; Best Actress - Film (The Dry Land)
• 2010 - NAACP Image Award; NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series (Ugly Betty)
• 2009 - Peoples Choice Awards; Choice TV Comedy Actress (Ugly Betty)
• 2009 - Imagen Awards; Best Actress - Television (Ugly Betty)
• 2009 - NAACP Image Award; NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series (Ugly Betty)
• 2009 - ALMA Awards; Actress in Television - Comedy (Ugly Betty)
• 2009 - Golden Globe Award; Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy (Ugly Betty)
• 2009 - Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards; Favorite Television Actress (Ugly Betty)
• 2009 - Screen Actors Guild Award; Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series (Ugly Betty)
• 2009 - Teen Choice Awards; Choice TV Actress: Comedy (Ugly Betty)
• 2008 - Gay Peoples Choice Awards Favorite Female TV Star (Ugly Betty)
• 2008 - Imagen Awards; Best Actress - Television (Ugly Betty)
• 2008 - Golden Globe Award; Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy (Ugly Betty)
• 2008 - Emmy Awards; Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series (Ugly Betty)
• 2008 - Satellite Awards; Best Actress in a Series, Comedy or Musical (Ugly Betty)
• 2008 - Screen Actors Guild Award; Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series (Ugly Betty)
• 2008 - Screen Actors Guild Award; Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series (Ugly Betty)
• 2008 - Teen Choice Awards; Choice TV Actress: Comedy (Ugly Betty)
• 2007 - NAACP Image Award; NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series (Ugly Betty)
• 2007 - Screen Actors Guild Award; Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series (Ugly Betty)
• 2007 - Teen Choice Awards; Choice TV Actress: Comedy (Ugly Betty)
• 2007 - TCA Awards; Individual Achievement in Comedy (Ugly Betty)
• 2006 - Satellite Awards; Best Actress in a Series, Comedy or Musical (Ugly Betty)
• 2006 - Satellite Awards; Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture (The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants)
• 2006 - ALMA Awards; Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture (The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants)
• 2005 - Teen Choice Awards; Choice Movie Breakout Performance - Female (The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants)
• 2005 - Teen Choice Awards; Choice Movie Hissy Fit (The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants)
• 2003 - Independent Spirit Awards; Best Debut Performance (Real Women Have Curves)
• 2003 - Young Artist Awards; Best Leading Young Actress in a Feature Film (Real Women Have Curves)

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: America Ferrera

• America Ferrera at the Internet Movie Database
• 10 Questions for America Ferrera – Time.com Video
• America Ferrera at Emmys.com

Salma Hayek
Salma Hayek at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival
Born	Salma Valgarma Hayek Jiménez (1966-09-02) September 2, 1966 (age 45) Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz, Mexico
Citizenship	American/Mexican
Occupation	Actress, director, producer
Years active	1988–present
Spouse	François-Henri Pinault (m. 2009) «start: (2009)»"Marriage: François-Henri Pinault to Salma Hayek" Location: (linkback:http://en-wiki.pop.wn.com/index.php/Salma_Hayek)
Children	1

Salma Valgarma Hayek Jiménez de Pinault (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈsalma ˈxaʝek]; born September 2, 1966)^[1] is a Mexican and American film actress, director and producer. She received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress for her role as Frida Kahlo in the film Frida.

Early life[link]

Hayek was born in Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz, Mexico, the daughter of Diana Jiménez Medina, an opera singer and talent scout, and Sami Hayek Dominguez, an oil company executive who once ran for mayor of Coatzacoalcos.^[2][3][4] Hayek's father is of Lebanese ancestry, while her mother's ancestry is Spanish.^[5][6] Her first given name, Salma, is Arabic for "safe".^[7] Raised in a wealthy, devoutly Roman Catholic^[8] family, she was sent to the Academy of the Sacred Heart in Grand Coteau, Louisiana, at the age of twelve.^[4] While there, she was diagnosed with dyslexia.^[9] She attended college in Mexico City, where she studied International Relations at the Universidad Iberoamericana.^[4]

Career[link]

Mexico[link]

At the age of 23, Hayek landed the title role in Teresa (1989), a successful Mexican telenovela that made her a star in Mexico. In 1994, Hayek starred in the film El Callejón de los Milagros (Miracle Alley), which has won more awards than any other movie in the history of Mexican cinema.^{[citation needed]} For her performance, Hayek was nominated for an Ariel Award.^[10]

Early Hollywood acting work[link]

Hayek moved to Los Angeles, California, in 1991 to study acting under Stella Adler.^[11] She had limited fluency in English, which was attributed to her suffering from dyslexia.^[12] Robert Rodriguez and his producer and then wife Elizabeth Avellan soon gave Hayek a starring role opposite Antonio Banderas in 1995's Desperado.^[4] She followed her role in Desperado with a brief role as a vampire queen in From Dusk Till Dawn, in which she performed a table-top snake dance.

Hayek had a starring part opposite Matthew Perry in the 1997 romantic comedy Fools Rush In. In 1999, she co-starred in Will Smith's big-budget Wild Wild West, and played a supporting role in Kevin Smith's Dogma.^[4] In 2000, Hayek had an uncredited acting part opposite Benicio del Toro in Traffic. In 2003, she reprised her role from Desperado by appearing in Once Upon a Time in Mexico, the final film of the Mariachi Trilogy.

Director, producer and actress[link]

Hayek at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival

Hayek and Banderas at the Puss in Boots premiere in Australia.

Around 2000, Hayek founded film production company Ventanarosa, through which she produces film and television projects. Her first feature as a producer was 1999's El Coronel No Tiene Quien Le Escriba, Mexico's official selection for submission for Best Foreign Film at the Oscars.^[13]

Frida, co-produced by Hayek, was released in 2002. Starring Hayek as Frida Kahlo, and Alfred Molina as her unfaithful husband, Diego Rivera, the film was directed by Julie Taymor and featured an entourage of stars in supporting and minor roles (Valeria Golino, Ashley Judd, Edward Norton, Geoffrey Rush) and cameos (Antonio Banderas). She earned a Best Actress Academy Award nomination for her performance.^[4]

In the Time of the Butterflies is a 2001 feature film based on the Julia Álvarez book of the same name, covering the lives of the Mirabal sisters. In the movie, Salma Hayek plays one of the sisters, Minerva, and Edward James Olmos plays the Dominican dictator Rafael Leónidas Trujillo whom the sisters opposed.^{[citation needed]}

In 2003, Hayek produced and directed The Maldonado Miracle, a Showtime movie based on the book of the same name, winning her a Daytime Emmy Award^[14] for Outstanding Directing in a Children/Youth/Family Special.^[15] In December 2005, she directed a music video for Prince, titled "Te Amo Corazon" ("I love you, sweetheart") that featured Mía Maestro.^[16]

Hayek was an executive producer of Ugly Betty, a television series that aired around the world from 2006 to 2010. Hayek adapted the series for American television with Ben Silverman, who acquired the rights and scripts from the Colombian telenovela Yo Soy Betty La Fea in 2001. Originally intended as a half hour sitcom for NBC in 2004, the project would later be picked up by ABC for the 2006–2007 season with Silvio Horta also producing. Hayek guest-starred on Ugly Betty as Sofia Reyes, a magazine editor. She also had a cameo playing an actress in the telenovela within the show. The show won a Golden Globe Award for Best Comedy Series in 2007. Hayek's performance as Sofia resulted in a nomination for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series at the 59th Primetime Emmy Awards.^[17]

In April 2007, Hayek finalized negotiations with MGM to become the CEO of her own Latin themed film production company, Ventanarosa.^[18] The following month, she signed a two year deal with ABC for Ventanarosa to develop projects for the network.^[19]

Hayek stars as the wife of Adam Sandler in Grown Ups, which also co-stars Chris Rock and Kevin James.^[20] At his insistence, Hayek co-starred with Antonio Banderas in the Shrek spin-off film Puss in Boots as the voice of the character Kitty Softpaws, who serves as Puss's female counterpart and love interest.^[21]

Singing credits[link]

Hayek has been credited as a song performer in three movies. The first was Desperado for the song Quedate Aquí. In Frida she performed the Mexican folk song La Bruja with the band Los Vega. She also recorded Siente mi amor, which played during the end credits of Once Upon a Time in Mexico.^{[citation needed]}

Promotional work[link]

Hayek featured on the cover of Veronica magazine, as seen here on an SUV in Amsterdam

Hayek has been a spokesperson for Avon cosmetics since February 2004.^[22] She formerly was a spokesperson for Revlon in 1998. In 2001, she modeled for Chopard and was featured in 2006 Campari adverts, photographed by Mario Testino.^[23] On April 3, 2009, she helped introduce La Doña, a watch by Cartier inspired by fellow Mexican actress María Félix.^[24]

In 2011, Hayek launched her own line of cosmetics, skincare and haircare products called Nuance by Salma Hayek, to be sold at CVS stores in North America.^[25] She was inspired to create a cosmetic line from her grandmother, who used to make her own facial care products.

Hayek was also featured in a series of Spanish language commercials for Lincoln cars.

In art[link]

In spring 2006, the Blue Star Contemporary Art Center in San Antonio, Texas displayed 16 portrait paintings by muralist George Yepes and filmmaker Robert Rodriguez of Hayek as Aztec goddess Itzpapalotl.^{[citation needed]}

Personal life[link]

Hayek is a naturalized United States citizen.^[26] She studied at Ramtha's School of Enlightenment,^[27] and is a practitioner of yoga.^[28] Her brother, Sami Hayek,^[29] is a designer with his own line of products at Target^[30] and clients that include Louis Vuitton, Brad Pitt, and the Mexican Government.^[31]

On March 9, 2007, Hayek confirmed her engagement to a French billionaire and PPR CEO François-Henri Pinault as well as her pregnancy. On September 21, 2007, she gave birth to daughter Valentina Paloma Pinault at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California. On July 18, 2008, Hayek and Pinault announced the end of their engagement.^[32] They later reconciled and were married on Valentine's Day, 2009 in Paris.^[33] On April 25, 2009, they were married a second time in Venice.^[34]

In July 2011, Hayek's husband was named in a paternity case. According to reports, Pinault is the father of supermodel Linda Evangelista's four-year-old son, Augustin James. He denied all allegations,^[35][36] although the reports were later substantiated.

Activism[link]

Hayek's charitable work includes increasing awareness on violence against women and discrimination against immigrants.^{[37][dead link]} On July 19, 2005, Hayek testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary supporting reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act.^[38] In February 2006, she donated $25,000 to a Coatzacoalcos, Mexico, shelter for battered women and another $50,000 to Monterrey based anti-domestic violence groups.^[39] Hayek is a board member of V-Day, the charity founded by playwright Eve Ensler.

Since the birth of her daughter, Hayek has worked to help mothers in developing nations worldwide, teaming up with Pampers and UNICEF to help stop the spread of life-threatening maternal and neonatal tetanus. She is a global spokesperson for the Pampers/UNICEF partnership 1 Pack = 1 Vaccine to help raise awareness of the program.^[40]

Hayek also advocates breastfeeding. During a UNICEF fact-finding trip to Sierra Leone, she breastfed a hungry week-old baby whose mother could not produce milk.^[41]

In 2010, Hayek's humanitarian work earned her a nomination for the VH1 Do Something Awards.^[42]

Honors and awards[link]

• Recipient of Glamour magazine Woman of the Year Award in October 2001.^[43]
• Recipient of Producers Guild of America Celebration of Diversity Award in 2003.
• Recipient of Harvard Foundation Artist of the Year Award in February 2006.^[44]
• Recipient of Time magazine 25 Most Influential Hispanics in 2005.^[45]
• Knight (Chevalier) of the National Order of the Legion of Honour (France, 30 December 2011)^[46]

In July 2007, The Hollywood Reporter ranked Hayek fourth in their inaugural Latino Power 50, a list of the most powerful members of the Hollywood Latino community.^[47] That same month, a poll found Hayek to be the "sexiest celebrity" out of a field of 3,000 celebrities (male and female); according to the poll, "65 percent of the U.S. population would use the term 'sexy' to describe her".^[48] In 2008, she was awarded the Women in Film Lucy Award in recognition of her excellence and innovation in her creative works that have enhanced the perception of women through the medium of television^[49] In December of that year, Entertainment Weekly ranked Hayek number 17 in their list of the "25 Smartest People in TV."^[50]

Hayek is not the only Mexican actress to succeed in Hollywood. Others include Dolores del Río, Lupe Vélez and Katy Jurado.^[51]

Filmography[link]

Event appearances[link]

• Was a member of the 2005 Cannes Film Festival jury.^[53]
• Co-hosted the annual Nobel Peace Prize concert with Julianne Moore in Oslo, Norway on December 11, 2005.^[54]

References[link]