All About Salma Hayek's Stepdaughter, Mathilde Pinault

Salma Hayek became a stepmom to Mathilde Pinault when she married businessman François-Henri Pinault in 2009

Salma Hayek has a close bond with her stepdaughter, Mathilde Pinault.

The Eternals actress became a stepparent when she married her husband, François-Henri Pinault, in 2009. Pinault was already a father to three children — Mathilde and her brothers, François and Augustin.

Hayek, who welcomed daughter Valentina with Pinault in 2007, immediately took to her new role as a stepmother.

"I always wanted to have a lot of children, and I was not able to. My body, as a miracle, had one," she told Red magazine in 2017. "The huge blessing I've had is that my husband has three other children. So I have four. And they are all so different."

As the daughter of Pinault — the CEO of Kering, a luxury goods company that owns brands like Gucci, Balenciaga, Bottega Veneta, Yves Saint Laurent and more — Mathilde got a taste of fashion at a young age. She attended her first Milan Fashion Week at age 12.

Now at 22, Mathilde is quickly becoming one of fashion’s newest “it” girls.

She's frequently spotted in the front row at runway shows and events for iconic brands, often joining her distinguished dad and stepmom. In 2023, Hayek, Mathilde and her half-sister, Valentina Paloma Pinault, turned heads when they attended the Gucci F/W 2023 show in Milan.

Here is everything to know about Salma Hayek’s stepdaughter, Mathilde Pinault, and her relationship with the actress.

She was born in 2001 in France

François-Henri and his first wife, interior designer Dorothée Lepère, were married from 1996 to 2004 and welcomed their daughter Mathilde in 2001. She was born in France and was the pair’s second child; they welcomed her older brother, François, in 1998. She has another brother, Augustin James Evangelista, born in 2006, from her father’s relationship with model Linda Evangelista.

She is an heiress

Mathilde’s grandfather, François Pinault, originally started the family’s fashion dynasty as a timber-trading company known as Établissements Pinault in 1962, according to Kering’s website. In 1988, the business went public on the Paris Stock Exchange, and by the late ‘90s, the company shifted into retail and luxury brands. It became a powerhouse in the fashion industry after purchasing Yves Saint Laurent and a controlling stake in Gucci in 1999.

In 2005, Mathilde’s dad became chairman and CEO of the institution — which is estimated to hold $36 billion in assets as of 2023, according to Forbes — and president of the family’s holding company, Groupe Artémis.

“My father is a complex being and his life is exhausting but, in intimate moments, he is very accessible and above all very funny. His humor relaxes me,” Mathilde told Paris Match in 2022.

She is a trained equestrian

While living in Paris, Mathilde’s mom introduced her to horses at a young age. The equestrian began riding Shetland ponies as early as 4 years old.

“By 6 or 7, I was volunteering to look after the horses,” she told Financial Times in 2021. “Then when I was 10, I was bought my first pony, and began riding at a pony club outside Paris.”

Mathilde became interested in show jumping around age 12. “I started competing around this time. My father and my grandfather are very sports-oriented and I am the only athlete in the family, so it is a good pressure and I am very proud of it,” she told Stud for Life in 2019.

Hayek is also proud of her stepdaughter’s riding abilities, posting videos of Mathilde’s competitions while cheering her on.

“Congratulations Champ! We are so proud of you,” she captioned an Instagram video of her stepdaughter competing in 2022.

She attends university in France

According to her LinkedIn, Mathilde is a student at Emlyon Business School in Lyon, France, and she's set to graduate in 2024.

Although she is studying economics, social sciences, accounting and commerce, she shared that her “dream and goal” is to ultimately become a professional equestrian, per a 2021 interview with The Auction.

“I have decided to stay in France and invest in my career as a high-level sportswoman,” she told Paris Match in 2022. “I’m giving myself two years to progress. I would like to do the World Cup in Aachen in 2024. And why not the Olympic Games in Los Angeles in 2028.”

Mathilde also revealed that her family is comfortable with her forging her path.

“On my father's side, they were always very flexible and told me to do what I liked without any pressure,” she told Stud for Life. “I've never been under pressure to take over the family business.”

She models for Kering and other brands

Mathilde supports the family business by attending Kering brand shows, and she has even represented upcoming collections at Fashion Week.

Alongside her dad, François-Henri, and Balenciaga’s CEO, Cédric Charbit, she made an appearance at the Balenciaga Ready to Wear S/S 2022 fashion show as part of Paris Fashion Week in 2021.

“What attracts me to fashion is its range of action on culture and society. I am interested, for example, in what is happening to a brand like Balenciaga, in its catalytic power,” she told Vanity Fair Italia in 2021. “But what matters most to me is change."

Mathilde has appeared in publications including Vanity Fair Italia and Paris Match, both of which incorporated her favorite pastime: horses. She’s also modeled for luxury equestrian clothing brands: In 2017, she appeared in L’Officiel for Miasuki, and in 2023, Women’s Wear Daily reported that Dada Sport named Mathilde its ambassador.

She counts other heiresses among her friends

Mathilde runs in the same inner circle as other heiresses, including Nicky Hilton and her mom, Kathy Hilton. The trio sat side-by-side during the Giambattista Valli Haute Couture Fall 2023 show as part of Paris Fashion Week.

She has crossed paths with Vogue Editor-in-Chief Anna Wintour and musician Tess Bu Cuarón, daughter of Oscar-winning director Alfonso Cuarón. Mathilde is reportedly friends with Monaco royal Charlotte Casiraghi and Zara heiress Marta Ortega Pérez, both of whom also share a passion for horseback riding.

She and Hayek have a close bond

Mathilde looks up to her stepmom both personally and professionally — and the two have spent a lot of quality time together since Hayek joined the family.

“She has a flame that soothes me,” the model told Paris Match of the actress. “She helps me in my everyday life. She guides me in a very pragmatic way to face difficulty after difficulty."

In April 2024, Mathilde accompanied Hayek to the 60th Venice Biennale. The duo both wore sparkling, fringe gowns by Balenciaga.

She's down-to-earth

Despite having one of the most prominent fathers in the fashion industry, Mathilde balances being in the spotlight with her everyday life.

“I can run into Anna Wintour at a fashion show and two hours later be at the café with my friends,” she told Paris Match. “I don't want to get used to these kinds of events. I go from one world to another.”

Hayek has previously spoken about how she and her husband try to keep their children grounded.

"My kids are humble. I don't know how I did it, but I think that what was great is that they have a big spectrum of things," Hayek told Page Six in 2022. “So for Christmas I like them to open millions of presents, but some of them are very small and meaningful, some of them are very silly and playful and then they get one or two really nice ones.”

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