Early life

Hayek is of Czech and German descent on her father's side and Norwegian, Scottish, Irish, and English on her mother's side. Her father was an airline pilot and her mother, a high school guidance counselor. She graduated from UCLA a year after holding the Miss USA title, with a bachelor's degree in biology and a minor in psychology.

While cheerleading at UCLA, she was discovered. After shooting a poster for 20th Century Fox, she was asked to do a screen test by Paramount Studios head of casting Rueben Cannon, was subsequently featured in an NBC Nightly News story, as well as being prominently featured in a Sports Illustrated article, "Eight Beauties and a Beat".

Miss USA

Hayek won the 1983 Miss California USA title. She represented California in the 1983 Miss USA pageant held in Knoxville, Tennessee, in May 1983, and became her state's fourth Miss USA titleholder. In her role, she met presidents, prime ministers and heads of states from around the world. Hayek joined forces with Bob Hope and the USO in support of the nation’s servicemen and women. She was a celebrity guest and entertainer for Bob Hope's USO Christmas in Beirut TV special, shot in Beirut, Lebanon, aboard the Sixth Fleet's aircraft carrier.

Miss Universe

Hayek went on to represent the United States at the 1983 Miss Universe pageant, held at Kiel Auditorium in St. Louis, Missouri. She had the highest preliminary score and won both the swimsuit and evening gown competitions during the final competition. She became 1st runner-up to eventual winner Lorraine Downes of New Zealand.

Life after Miss Universe

Hayek is a trained actress. She has appeared in shows such as Dallas, Twin Peaks, Moonlighting, Matlock, Hunter, Hardball and As the World Turns and was a celebrity guest on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. In addition, she served as co-host on the 1985 revival of Break the Bank. Some of her film credits include working with Arnold Schwarzenegger in Commando; Raquel Welch in a TV movie, Scandal in a Small Town; and Victoria Principal in a TV movie, Seduction: Three Tales from the Inner Sanctum.

Hayek later moved to New York to become a model and stock trader. She has modeled or served as spokesperson for Kodak, Victoria's Secret, Christian Dior, Warnaco, Natori, Mary McFadden, Tissot watches, and Mattel. Hayek has been featured in Vogue, Cosmopolitan, Sports Illustrated (four times), Tattler, Health and Fitness, and Hamptons, and was on the cover of Manhattan magazine. At the Miss USA 2011 competition, she was among 31 former winners who were part of a photo shoot layout for Time.

Hayek is a real estate agent and is writing a book on health and fitness. In addition to her professional work, Hayek supports several charities. She is dedicated to helping animals and people and is currently an active volunteer at the ASPCA.

Filmography

Year	Title	Role
1981	The Fall Guy	Sally
1983	Murder Me, Murder You	Second French courier
1984	Mike Hammer	Sandy
1985	Commando	Western Flight Attendant
1985	Hunter	Sheilla
1986	Moonlighting	Bridal Candidate
1986	The Return of Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer	Ticket cashier
1988	Scandal in a Small Town	Savannah
1989	Dallas	Tanya Wilkinson
1989	Hard Time on Planet Earth	Lana
1989	The Banker	Terry
1990	Hardball
1991	Twin Peaks	Model
1992	Seduction: Three Tales from the 'Inner Sanctum
1999	As the World Turns	Spring Lake Nurse

[ Source: Wikipedia ]