Salma Hayek honors her bestie Penélope Cruz for her 51st birthday

Salma Hayek knows how to make a friend feel special on their birthday, especially her bestie Penélope Cruz. The Mexican actress has dedicated many posts to Cruz over the years, and this year was no different. 

Cruz is a celebrity Taurus, born on April 28, 1974. The Desperado star, Hayek, moved to Hollywood around 1991 after a successful career in Mexico, and Cruz followed a few years later. On Monday, Hayek shared a touching tribute as the Spanish actress celebrated her 51st birthday, using a sweet interview clip of Cruz as a voiceover highlighting the early days of their friendship.

In the clip, Cruz recalled Hayek’s excitement when she first arrived in Hollywood, with the actress volunteering to pick her up from the airport. “Salma came and found me and wouldn’t let me go to any hotel. She took me by the hand and housed me in her own home,” she explained. 

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In a 2022 interview with The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Cruz shared more details, explaining that when she moved to Los Angeles, they had only spoken once over the phone. “Salma told me, ‘You’re not going to a hotel-you’re coming to my house because this is hard at the beginning, and you’re going to feel very lonely,’” Cruz said.

The gesture surprised her, given everything she heard about Hollywood feuds. “I had heard so many times about rivalry and the tripping between Hollywood actresses that Salma’s attitude was a surprise, very nice,” Cruz admitted. 

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Their bond was especially meaningful given the challenges they faced at the time. Breaking into Hollywood as a Latina and Spaniard in the 1990s and early 2000s wasn’t easy, with few substantial or diverse roles available.

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In her birthday tribute, Hayek included old photos and videos of their adventures together, including moments from the set of Bandidas (2006), where they starred as two bank-robbing heroines in the Old West.

“We’ve gone through every stage of womanhood together—getting married, finding the loves of our lives, having children—and nobody can understand me and my life better than her,” Hayek says in the audio clip she posted.

As the women continue to celebrate their birthdays, we can look forward to more sweet moments with them at events and on social media as they walk down memory lane. 

Happy birthday!!!