Salma Hayek's Got the 'Best Husband in the World'—Meet Fashion-Mogul François-Henri Pinault!

"He was completely out of my box. Even though I was not looking, I was present and I was open. I am the luckiest person I know."

They say you meet someone when you least expect it. Such was the case for Salma Hayek when she first crossed paths with future husband François-Henri Pinault. "I found a man better than any man I could ever in my life imagine existed. He found me, actually. I wasn’t even looking," the 56-year-old Magic Mike: The Last Dance star told Latina Magazine (via the Daily Mail) in 2011 about their chance encounter.

Years later, and amid all of her professional success, Hayek still considers her marriage to Pinault to be her "biggest accomplishment," telling Red Magazine in 2017, "Home is where my husband is. He is home. Everything outside of the family nucleus is an adventure that you’re living together."

But who exactly is this 60-year-old businessman, philanthropist and fashion magnate? Keep reading to find out everything we know about Hayek's husband.

Who is Salma Hayek's husband?

The son of French billionaireFrançois Pinault, Hayek's husband is chairman and CEO of the luxury group Kering (previously known as Pinault-Printemps-Redoute), whose portfolio includes Gucci, Saint Laurent, Bottega Veneta, Balenciaga, Alexander McQueen and Brioni. He's also the chairman of the Kering Foundation, which combats violence against women.

Hayek has gushed over her husband on Instagram, writing, "Never in my greatest dreams I could have imagined that I get to share my life with such a wonderful and extraordinary man."

Related: Salma Hayek on Why We Must Have Laughter in Our Lives

How did Salma Hayek meet François-Henri Pinault?

Hayek has remained tight-lipped on how she and her husband first met. When asked the question during an interview with Town & Country, she answered, "I’m not going to tell you," adding, "It’s such a romantic, amazing story, but it is mine. I don’t want to vulgarize it by making it into a story to make myself interesting."

In a story about the couple's nuptials, PEOPLE reported that Hayek and Pinault met in the spring of 2006 at a gala held at the Palazzo Grassi in Venice. The Hollywood star was reportedly 39 when she met her now-husband.

"I came to terms with saying, '[Love] might not happen, and I have to be OK with that.' Then someone came along whom I never would have pictured or thought I would have wanted," Hayek confessed to Marie Claire in 2012. "He was completely out of my box. Even though I was not looking, I was present and I was open. I am the luckiest person I know."

When did Salma Hayek get engaged to François-Henri Pinault?

The couple announced their engagement in 2007 along with the news that Hayek was pregnant with her first child. "Businessman François-Henri Pinault, and his fiancée, Salma Hayek, are happy to announce they are expecting the arrival of their first child," the Beatriz at Dinner star's rep said in a statement at the time (via PEOPLE).

When did Salma Hayek get married?

Hayek and Pinault tied the knot in the City of Love (Paris, France) on Valentine's Day in 2009 at the 6th Arrondissement City Hall. The newlyweds had a second wedding a few months later in Venice with Penélope Cruz, Woody Harrelson, Ashley Judd, Charlize Theron and one of Hayek's exes, Edward Norton, in attendance, per PEOPLE.

“I didn’t even know I was getting married that day,” Hayek told Glamour in February 2023. “It was like an intervention. I don’t think I ever told this story. No, they just took me to the court. My parents, my brother, they were all ganging up on me. I had a phobia of the marriage thing.”

She joked that she "had no choice" but to tie the know with Pinault.

“It was because I had said yes to the marriage, but I just wouldn’t actually show up on the day or do it,” she recalled. “And then afterwards I said, ‘Oh, it’s OK. I don’t feel any different.’ And then a little bit later I said, ‘OK, this is kind of exciting.’ And he’s like, ‘Can we have a party now?’”

Hayek and Pinault had a bigger wedding celebration later in Italy, and she told Glamour that they celebrate both anniversaries.

“When it comes to anniversaries, it’s fun and a surprise," she said. "I can cook, so he likes it when I cook. But I make it a surprise, something different, like the way I decorate. Or he takes me somewhere, or he hides the presents.”

How many kids does Salma Hayek have?

Hayek welcomed her first and only biological child, Valentina Paloma Pinault, with her husband in 2007. Hayek considered stepping away from work after her daughter was born, but Pinault encouraged his wife to continue pursuing her career. "I said, 'I don't think I want to work anymore,'" she recalled to Allure. "And it was François who said, 'Oh, no, you're going back to work.' And I said, 'I don't want to.' [He said], 'Well, you have to. We're not putting up with some lazy girl in the house. That's not who I married... I don't want to be deprived of your work. I want to watch it, too. And the world has not seen the best of you yet. So you cannot stop until some of that is put out.' So he sort of really pushed me, like, 'Get up on your feet and get out there.' And he was right."

Related: Salma Hayek's Most Surprising Beauty Secrets

Does François-Henri Pinault have other children?

In addition to Valentina, Pinault is a father to Mathilde Pinault and François Pinault from his first marriage to Dorothée Lepère. The businessman was married to Lepère from 1996 until 2004.

It was reported in 2011 that Hayek's husband had fathered Linda Evangelista's son Augustin James Evangelista. The New York Post reported at the time that "Evangelista and Pinault conceived their boy in early 2006, when Pinault was reportedly separated from" Hayek. The model had reportedly kept her son's paternity a secret, but it came to light after she appeared in court to hash "out a support agreement with Pinault."

Hayek spoke about her stepchildren during an interview with Red magazine. "I always wanted to have a lot of children, and I was not able to. My body, as a miracle, had one. The huge blessing I’ve had is that my husband has three other children," she said. "So I have four. And they are all so different."

What has Salma Hayek said about her marriage to François-Henri Pinault?

According to Hayek, Pinault is "the best husband in the world." She told Town & Country in 2019, "I get to be who I am with him, and I don’t feel that somebody tries to limit me."

When it comes to conflict, the couple avoids assigning blame and instead channels their energy into solving problems. "All our energy goes into, 'How do we solve this?'" Hayek shared on the Red Table Talk. "And so because of this, we've never said anything nasty to each other. No resentment."

The Grown Ups star also doesn't care what people think about her marriage. On Dax Shepard's Armchair Expert podcast, Hayek shut down claims that she married Pinault for the money. "In pictures, you cannot begin to guess the magic in him. He's made me become a much better person and grow in such a good, healthy way," she said. "When I married him, everybody said, 'Oh, it's [an] arranged marriage. She married him for the money.' I'm like, 'Yeah, whatever, b*tch. Think what you want. Fifteen years together.' And we are strong in love, and I don't even get offended."

Next, check out our gallery of gorgeous celebrity moms and their jaw-droppingly lookalike kids!