Salma Hayek wins IMDb's first Icon STARmeter Award

March 3 (UPI) -- IMDb presented Thursday its first-ever Icon STARmeter Award to actress Salma Hayek.

The award was created in honor of the 20th anniversary of the movie database IMDbPro.

The Mexican-American actress, whose recent roles include House of Gucci and Eternals, received the award for "her groundbreaking creative career and the indelible mark she has made on the entertainment industry," IMDbPro head Matt Kumin told Entertainment Weekly.

Hayek decided she wanted to become an actress after seeing Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, according to IMDb.com.

She earned star status in her native Mexico on the soap opera, Teresa, before she made her way to Los Angeles, and starred in Fools Rush In, and In the Time of the Butterflies, a small artistic film, which earned her an American Latino Media Arts award as best actress before landing her dream role in Frida. Her role as the iconic Mexican painter and feminist Frida Kahlo in the box office hit earned her an Academy Award nomination for best actress.

"I am beyond thrilled to be the first-ever recipient of the Icon STARmeter Award from IMDb and IMDbPro," Hayek said in a video response. "This STARmeter, it's kind of redeeming, because for many years, women we would be in movies, and our parts maybe were not as big as the man. Whenever we brought people into the theater, nobody gave us credit."

IMDb is also honoring Women's History Month with video galleries showcasing accomplishments of women in entertainment and other trailblazing women.