Salma Hayek
Mexican actress, born in Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz, Mexico.
Every day, I define myself. I know who I am today. I don't promise you anything for tomorrow we can have an interview and that's completely different!
And you know what else? I am grateful to the bombshell because if it hadn't gotten me where it had gotten me, I wouldn't be where I am today. But this bombshell thing; it's old now. It served me. And I got out of it in time to keep from serving it. I used to think, I can't wait until 35, when people think I'm too old to be a bombshell. Maybe I'll get the good parts. But it wouldn't have happened that way. ... Just because your boobs are saggy doesn't mean you get great roles. You're disposable.
I wanted to have a voice, and it was okay if I wasn't going to be so famous or so rich. And this the one thing I learned: How do you recognize what's 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, it's your dream. ... If you are are enduring the process, just desperate for the result, it's somebody else's dream.
I've 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. It's the only way it is real. I am suspicious of those who have to let the world know how much they love each other. It's a little sad when you have to brag about how much you love someone. That kind of declaration doesn't always reflect the moment of truth between two people who care deeply for each other. When that truth is there, you don't need others to know it. And when somebody truly loves you, you don't even need him or her to be affectionate. Affection is fantastic, but it doesn't necessarily mean there's love and the public display of affection is often just a show.
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. It's 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 didn't stop dreaming until I finished the film. But the dream was the movie, not the Oscar.
You have to be able to walk away from a relationship when it's time to walk away and you have to teach your children this. It's the best way to love your children, because then they'll 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 didn't 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 don't understand why we are uncomfortable. And then we want to know what would be the other option.