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HOLLYWOOD (CNS) - A star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame honoring Salma Hayek Pinault for a career that has included receiving a best actress Oscar nomination was unveiled in advance of Wednesday's release of her latest film, ``House of Gucci.''
In ``House of Gucci,'' Hayek Pinault portrays crafty psychic Pina Auriemma, who Patrizia Reggiani (Lady Gaga) forges a dangerous alliance with after her husband, Maurizio Gucci (Adam Driver), the head of the family's fashion house, files for divorce.
``Pina was a very interesting woman,'' Hayek Pinault said prior to Friday night's ceremony. ``She's clairvoyant. A psychic. She can tell the future. When she and Patrizia meet, they immediately connect, and something that starts as a professional relationship becomes a very strong, important friendship for both of them.''
Roberto Bentivegna, who wrote the screenplay for the three-decade saga of the family behind the Italian fashion empire with Becky Johnston, said Hayek Pinault ``brought a real humanity to Pina, a woman who really comes to care about Patrizia.''
``She could've been played her in a very cynical way as someone who is just using Patrizia for her money,'' Bentivegna said. ``Instead, Salma and Lady Gaga developed a real chemistry, both on screen and off. It was fantastic.''
During the ceremony in front of the box office of TCL Chinese Theatre Hollywood IMAX, Hayek Pinault recalled the doubts some had about her succeeding in America as a woman from Mexico, and she thanked those who opened doors for her, sharing advice to people following their own dreams.
``I would say to all of you, find something to love because the one thing that I stayed for was the love of cinema,'' she said. ``Find something to love. If you think you aren't good at it, like I did, make yourself good at it. It doesn't have to be the movies, be your best at everything you do. Try to be better. Try to find the joy in what you do. Work hard. Prepare. Don't care what anybody says, but most importantly don't listen to yourself when you bring yourself down.''
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, actor Adam Sandler and Oscar-winning director Chloe Zhao joined Hayek Pinault in speaking at the ceremony
``It is my honor to be one of the presenters at the Hollywood Walk of Fame for the incomparable Salma Hayek,'' Sandler said, calling her ``one of the finest actresses of our generation'' and a personal friend.
Hayek Pinault and Sandler appeared together in the 2010 comedy ``Grown Ups'' and its 2013 sequel ``Grown Ups 2.'' Zhao directed Hayek Pinault in the recently released Marvel film ``Eternals.''
The star is the 2,709th since the completion of the Walk of Fame in 1961 with the first 1,558 stars.
Born Sept. 2, 1966 in Coatzacoalcos, in the Mexican state of Veracruz, Hayek Pinault began her career in 1988 in the Televisa telenovela ``Un Nuevo Amanecer.'' The following year she portrayed the title role in the Televisa telenovela ``Teresa'' about a beautiful and intelligent young woman desperately seeking to flee from her impoverished neighborhood.
Hayek Pinault moved to the Los Angeles area in 1991, appearing in episodes of the syndicated action crime drama ``Street Justice,'' the HBO comedy ``Dream On'' and the NBC comedy ``Nurses'' before making her film debut in the 1993 drama ``Mi Vida Loca'' about young Mexicanas and Chicanas growing up in then gang-ravaged Echo Park.
Hayek Pinault made her feature film debut in ``Midaq Alley,'' a 1995 Mexican film about residents in a lower-middle class neighborhood of Mexico City.
Hayek Pinault began her collaboration with director Robert Rodriguez with the 1995 neo-Western action film ``Desperado.'' She would later appear in his films, ``From Dusk Till Dawn,'' ``Once Upon a Time in Mexico,'' ``Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over'' and ``The Faculty.''
Hayek Pinault received a best actress Oscar nomination in 2003 for her portrayal of Mexican artist Frida Kahlo in ``Frida,'' which she co-produced.
Hayek Pinault received an outstanding guest actress in a comedy series Emmy nomination in 2007 for her recurring role of magazine editor Sofia Reyes in the ABC comedy-drama ``Ugly Betty,'' which she co-produced.
Hayek Pinault also had the recurring role of nurse Elisa Pedrera on the NBC comedy ``30 Rock.''