Salma Hayek celebrates her father's birthday with a sweet photo of him and Valentina

For Salma Hayek, there’s one man who’s helped shape everything in her life—her dad. Proud to have him close and grateful for his enduring energy, Salma took to Instagram on November 5 to celebrate Sami Hayek Domínguez’s 87th birthday with a heartfelt message.

"Happy birthday, my old man!!! What a blessing to be able to see you approaching ninety with so much strength, health, and enthusiasm for life,” she wrote. “Your continued passion and vitality for work is a great example for the new generations. We love you." 

She paired her words with a sweet photo of her dad alongside his oldest granddaughter, 17-year-old Valentina Paloma, who’s looking more and more like her famous mom. 

Salma’s loving post got her followers talking for a couple of reasons. First, fans admired Sami’s vitality and spirit, with one commenter writing, “What a blessing and what an example he gives us to reach 90 with that energy and joy that defines him!” 

Others praised the “mini-me” resemblance between Salma and Valentina, who posed makeup-free with her grandfather. “Valentina is getting so pretty,” another top-liked comment read, as fans admired her natural beauty. 

Salma recently revealed that Valentina wants to be involved in filmmaking but that she's also interested in pursuing a different career in college. Hayek confirmed that her daughter wants to be involved in filmmaking, but that she's also interested in pursuing a different career in college. “She wants to study political science and then as a minor, film because she wants to be a director," continued Salma. "But she doesn't want to study to be a director; she said ‘It’s in my blood. I want to spend the time learning something more complicated.’"

Last year's epic cake moment

Though Salma didn’t share any details about how they’d celebrate, last year, she gave a peek into the family’s birthday traditions. Even at 86, her dad took part in a classic Mexican birthday custom, the “mordida”—a playful tradition where the birthday person gets their face pushed into the cake.

After singing Las Mañanitas, it was Valentina who gave her grandpa a gentle push, sending him into the cake for a beat before Salma helped lift his head and reveal his smile.