Hayek herself has been outspoken on the issue, revealing she nearly gave up her film career because of the prejudice she faced as a struggling young Latino actress.

Like Halle Berry, who dedicated her best actress Oscar to "women of colour" at last year's ceremony, Hayek will be held up as a role model to all aspiring non-white actors outside the Hollywood mainstream.

The daughter of a Mexican mother and Lebanese father, Hayek was born on 2 September 1966 in Veracruz in south-east Mexico.

Not content with her lot acting in Mexican TV soaps, she moved to Hollywood in 1991 to pursue her dream.

Her first break came opposite Antonio Banderas in the1995 film Desperado directed by Robert Rodriguez.

She went on to play roles in Dogma with Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, From Dusk Til Dawn alongside George Clooney, and Wild Wild West with Will Smith.

But it was her portrayal of the revolutionary artist in last year's Frida that made the critics sit up and take notice.

Hayek is sceptical of a "Latino explosion" in films

Hayek received a Golden Globe nomination for her performance as the celebrated painter, a national icon in Mexico whose work now fetches millions of pounds.

When her directorial debut, Maldonado Miracle, opened at the Sundance Film Festival in Utah last month, Hayek received a standing ovation.

But during the mid-1990s she almost returned to Mexico after running out of money and struggling to find work.

She has said: "The fact is that there just aren't any parts for Latin actresses.

"I have to persuade people that my accent won't be a problem, but an asset. Everyone's afraid of doing something a bit risky.

"Everyone wants a $200m hit and anything they think might get in the way of that kind of success is considered a liability."

Hayek recently revealed in Vanity Fair magazine how a studio boss once told her: "It doesn't matter how good you are.

Hayek is outspoken about racism in the movies

"You can never be a leading lady because we can't take the risk of you opening your mouth and people thinking of their maids - because that's what you sound like."

And at a casting day for a science fiction film, she says she was told: "Whoever heard of a Mexican in space?"

Hayek, recently voted one of the world's most beautiful women, is sceptical about the emergence of a so-called "Latino explosion" in Hollywood.

Speaking about the success of fellow Latino actress Jennifer Lopez, she said: "She grew up in New York speaking English, not Spanish.

"Her success is very important because she represents a different culture, but it doesn't help me. I grew up in Mexico, not the US."

Hayek says it took her seven years to secure her role in the �12m film for which she has been Oscar-nominated.

She had to overcome rival projects from stars such as Madonna and Lopez to make the part her own.

The Academy's recognition of her skill will also be seen as an acknowledgement of the obstacles she has surmounted to reach her star status.