WENHAM — Few people can say they feel at home with actress Salma Hayek. But Maria Lekkakos, owner of M. Lekkakos Salon, Spa and Boutique in Wenham, can — she was at Hayek's house in Gloucester three times a week this summer.
A licensed aesthetician for 10 years, Lekkakos has worked on three Hollywood films since June. She rejuvenated the skin of Maria Bello, Brooke Shields, Maya Rudolph and Rosario Dawson, to name a few, while they were in the area filming.
The perky Lekkakos, a Rockport native, said she's unable to share specifics about the celebrities she has worked with, but did say that all of the actresses were "fantastic."
So what does one talk to Salma Hayek about?
"We don't get into what the movies are about," Lekkakos said. "They work from 6 a.m. sometimes until the next day. You don't want to talk about work."
Lekkakos attributes all of her success to networking. While studying in Europe she worked with Greek actresses, a job she got because of the prestige of the schools in which she was training. She left Greece in 1999, after a 6.0-magnitude earthquake, and decided to open up her own salon in Massachusetts.
Lekkakos set up her Main Street shop in Hamilton in 2000, an area her friend had suggested, but she hadn't intended on staying.
"I ended up in Wenham by mistake," said Lekkakos, who moved to her present location in 2004, "and I stayed because I love my clients."
That same year, Lekkakos tried out for Miss Massachusetts USA, hoping to meet people in the business so she could work on celebrities again, and she won.
"I am so not a pageant girl," Lekkakos said. "I was the only one who owned a business."
Her plan paid off: She didn't win the Miss USA title, but she began working with celebrities again. Her first client was "Melrose Place" and "Desperate Housewives" star Marcia Cross, a Marlborough native, for the cover of Boston Common Magazine, and one thing led to another.
Lekkakos, like other locals, have been benefiting from Hollywood's recent activity on the North Shore. This summer she worked for three major productions, "Furry Vengeance," "Grown Ups," and "The Zookeeper," all set to be released in 2010. Her job was to make the actresses look great, though she wasn't doing the stars' makeup — she was taking it off.
Actresses have to wear heavy makeup when they are on set, and that can take a serious toll on the skin. To keep celebrities looking fresh, Lekkakos gives them the "star treatment," which includes an ultrasound facial, using a noninvasive machine from Paris.
"Even a celebrity can look exhausted," Lekkakos said. "This gives them glowing, glowing skin and they can attend a premiere the next day or even that night."
The ultrasound facial is also offered at her Wenham salon.
"I always want to bring the best to my clients," Lekkakos said. "Whether they are on set or in the salon."
Currently, she is working with "The Zookeeper," and isn't sure which film she will be working on next, though she has been contacted by the crew of "Wichita," the working title of a film starring Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz.
If she gets the chance, she will travel to New York City or Los Angeles to work, but she plans to keep a presence in Wenham, too.
Lekkakos has also considered acting. Donald Trump even asked her to be on "The Apprentice" after the Miss USA pageant, but she declined.
"Because I was Miss Mass., acting was always on my mind," Lekkakos said. "But I know what I love, and my passion is skin care."
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