SALMA RUNS THE SHOW

Don't call it a renaissance. Or some mid-career, midlife metamorphosis. The actress is doing what she's always done: dominate.

- BY LOLA OGUNNAIKE

Its a damp winter morning in Hampstead Heath, a tony London enclave that's home to some of the city's most covetable real estate, and I'm perched in Salma Hayek Pinault's well-appointed parlor gazing at the impeccably manicured gardens that surround her baronial estate. A pad so impressive that it prompted my wide-eyed Uber driver to ask, "How many families live in there?" While Hayek Pinault, one of Hollywood's most beloved and bankable stars, is wrapping up her daily meditation session, Nikki, her genial house manager flits about, dutifully tending to the vibes.

She's lit Trudon candles, poured freshly brewed ginger tea, and laid out a Pinterest-worthy spread of delectable small bites; watermelon slices, plump raspberries, mixed nuts, an assortment of cookies and chocolates that beg me to abandon all healthy-eating New Year's resolutions. "We do like to make it groovy in here," Nikki says, proudly surveying her handiwork. "You go to other places and it's boring. We like to make it colorful and happy." I scope out this groovy, happy place, noting the plush deep-turquoise couches, Gucci accent pillows and matching Chiavari chairs from the golden Alessandro Michele era, the ceiling-high bar stocked with top-shelf libations, a crackling fireplace made for cozy, English whiskey-soaked evenings.

When Hayek Pinault alights, she's makeup free and dressed casually in tan dungarees, matching boots, and a chunky ribbed turtleneck. Though she's nursing a serious cold, and sporting oversized black-framed readers, her unequivocal beauty cannot be hidden or denied. Thin gray streaks may weave through her lush hair, but if there's a wrinkle on her 58-year-old face, I can't find it. This gal, it quickly becomes clear, is no mere mortal. She is decidedly not like us. She, to quote an instantly iconic line from her stellar 2023 Black Mirror episode, is "Salma Fucking Hayek."