Salma Hayek

"The biggest thing [Frida] brought into my life was this peacefulness. I still get passionate about things, but my passion is not so scattered and its not needy. Its a lot more powerful because it comes with this groundedness and peacefulness. That its about the process, not about the results."

"I also was afraid I was a very bad actress, because Id become famous very fast and was making money for people. When youre making money, theyre never going to tell you whether youre good or bad. They dont care. I knew that if I had any talent, this would kill it. I never wanted to be a famous bad actress!"

"I had been already trying to do Frida, but I would sit on my sorrows because it was so difficult. But now I was learning new things. And so I thought, this is what I want to do. I want to do one movie that if I die the next day, I know I left one thing in this world that I was very proud of, that other people can see, that meant something to me, that had my voice. Because God forbid I die tomorrow, Im the bombshell for the rest of my existence. … Then I became very angry I said, I have become what they decided I am. When did I fall in this trap? Somebody decided I was this, and I became that. And I said, "Im going to change it now. Im going to define myself."

"Ive learned from others lives... What works in a relationship of very public people is not making the relationship public — keeping it as personal as it can be. Its the only way it is real. I am suspicious of those who have to let the world know how much they love each other. Its a little sad when you have to brag about how much you love someone. That kind of declaration doesnt always reflect the moment of truth between two people who care deeply for each other. When that truth is there, you dont need others to know it. And when somebody truly loves you, you dont even need him or her to be affectionate. Affection is fantastic, but it doesnt necessarily mean theres love — and the public display of affection is often just a show."

"Every day, I define myself. I know who I am today. I dont promise you anything for tomorrow — we can have an interview and thats completely different! And you know what else? I am grateful to the bombshell because if it hadnt gotten me where it had gotten me, I wouldnt be where I am today. But this bombshell thing; its old now. It served me. And I got out of it in time to keep from serving it. I used to think, I cant wait until 35, when people think Im too old to be a bombshell. Maybe Ill get the good parts. But it wouldnt have happened that way. … Just because your boobs are saggy doesnt mean you get great roles. Youre disposable."

"You have to be able to walk away from a relationship when its time to walk away —and you have to teach your children this. Its the best way to love your children, because then theyll learn this from you — that you had the courage to walk away from a relationship when you were unhappy. You have to do what you have to do. And the children have to understand it. I think we have to teach this to our boys and our girls when they are young — 11, 12. They need to understand that you got in a situation when you were too young, when you didnt understand what you wanted, and because you listened to everyone else. Your children may not listen to you — so you also have to be brave enough to respect their dreams. … I think everybody knows this. We have an uncomfortable feeling for situations we are in, but we dont understand why we are uncomfortable. And then we want to know what would be the other option."

"I wanted to have a voice, and it was okay if I wasnt going to be so famous or so rich. And this the one thing I learned: How do you recognize whats your true dream and what is the dream that you are dreaming for other people to love you? … The difference is very easy to understand. If you enjoy the process, its your dream. … If you are enduring the process, just desperate for the result, its somebody elses dream."

"When you open a door for others to have an opinion on your relationship, it can be dangerous. Find what you need, not what everyone else wants for you. Women have been taught that in order to have a place in the world, an identity, they must marry and have children. If thats the life you truly want, great. But for many women, marriage is only about needing the world to know that someone desires them enough to say, "Heres a contract to prove that I love you and will commit to you for the rest of my life." For these women, no contract equals no validation — and, thus, no reason for existing."

"The perception of you is one thing. Youre this famous person, and now youre this famous person whos a bombshell. So all of a sudden, thats the only way I get jobs. So I have to become the part. And theyre telling you this is the way to do it. One director actually said to me, "I want to hear you talk dumber and faster." … He thought it was funny for the girl to be dumb. I finally said, "Thats it, man — I cant do this anymore." Id go to meetings during the filming of a movie, and the directors would ask, "What do you think of the script?" Id say, "It has a lot of problems." They were confused. Thats not what they wanted from me. … So I was not very popular. At one point I said, "I dont want to do this — its not my dream." And so I said, "Im going to start a company. I am going to create projects for me. Im going to create projects for other Latin women." Because I got to a point where I was whining all the time. I was miserable. I was desperate"

"Yes, Im beautiful … I am beautiful and famous — and yet the things I like about myself have nothing to do with that, because I dont use wealth and beauty to define myself. People think Im more beautiful than I am because they see me on magazine covers — but go to nearly any town, and youd find prettier women. And though Im well known now, I might not be famous one day —but Id still be happy. I do have money, but I could be richer. I just dont want to pay the price some are willing to pay to have more money. I live in a small house. Im not the glamour girl who wears makeup every day. I live a wonderful life, and I lack for nothing. Maybe that does make it easier for me to say, "Be who you are" — but I always tell people they shouldnt be too impressed with wealth and fame. They shouldnt worship it. I am in this machine, but I havent completely given my soul to it."

"I wanted to win it for one specific reason — to send the Oscar to the Frida Kahlo House in Mexico, where Frida herself once lived. Its going to bring a tear to my eye now. I wanted every Mexican who walked into that museum to remember that what motivated me to make this movie, to dream this dream, had everything to do with where I came from — and I didnt stop dreaming until I finished the film. But the dream was the movie, not the Oscar."

"Id hear, "Because they paid the man, theres no money for the woman." How many times do you think I heard this? Over and over. Then I became a sex symbol. Now, how the hell did that happen? I dont exactly know the moment when it happened, but all of a sudden Im a bombshell. The way I discovered this was I did Desperado. I had a very hard time with the love scene. I cried throughout the love scene. Thats why you never see long pieces of the love scene — its little pieces cut together. Im crying most of the time so they have to take little pieces. It took eight hours instead of an hour. I nearly got fired. … Because I didnt want to be naked in front of a camera. The whole time, Im thinking of my father and my brother... And then when the movie comes out, I read the first review. What do they say about me. "Salma Hayek is a bombshell." I had heard that when a movie does badly here, they say it bombs. So Im crying. Thinking theyre saying, "That terrible actress! Its a bomb! Salma Hayek is the worst part of the movie!" I called my friend and said, "The critics are destroying me!" She says, "No, theyre saying youre very sexy." And then I look at all the reviews, and everybody said I was very sexy. So Im very confused. I said, "I wonder if thats good or bad." I hear, "Yes, thats good." Then I do Fools Rush In, and Im a pregnant woman. And they say Im sexy again! I go, "But Im pregnant!" Im not even naked in this movie, and they still say Im sexy. And then it became very depressing — I thought, I guess Im reduced to that now. Thats all I am in the perception of these people."