I do have thighs and a butt. I have cellulite.
— Salma Hayek
I have tried my whole life to represent my Mexican roots with honor and pride.
I have one friend that I've had since I was born, and she's from Coatzacoalcos. She's not really impressed or interested in the actor's life. My family isn't really either.
At one point in my life, I was very involved with social causes. I'm still involved, but now I have a family and it's important to me.
Everybody has a weakness. Mine is food.
I'm not a skinny girl. I push it. I'm at the limit of chubbiness at all times, but I'm happy at all times.
I'll tell you, there is nothing better in life than being a late bloomer. I believe that success can happen at any time and at any age.
I had to endure the worst time of all in terms of racial discrimination in Hollywood when I first started out. It was inconcievable to American directors and producers that a Mexican woman could have a lead role.
You can be a thousand different women. It's your choice which one you want to be. It's about freedom and sovereignty. You celebrate who you are. You say, 'This is my kingdom.'
I love being a wife and homemaker - because it's my choice. My husband doesn't expect me to do it. I don't mind doing things for him because he does so much for me; we both feel that way so there is no power struggle.
Love food and I love to eat.
If I go on a diet and work out, I'm always in a bad mood. I'd rather be a little heavier but nice.
No woman has to be a victim of physical abuse. Women have to feel like they are not alone.
My heart has been stolen too - but I've gone and got it back every single time!
They offered me that film before I did Frida and I said, no, I'm not capable of directing. Then after seeing Julie direct, I was inspired by it. She motivated me to do it, because we don't have role models as woman for directors.
There has never been a female director who has won an Oscar. There has only been one woman who won at the Cannes Film Festival.
Producing is hell, writing is frustrating, acting is really satisfying, directing is heaven.
I grew up in Mexico, not the U.S., and the fact is that there just aren't any parts for Latin actresses. I have to persuade people that my accent won't be a problem, but an asset.
I have always been an active part of my community.
I have a ranch, which is my favorite place in the world.
I've never had anything done on my face. I've never had dermabrasion or peels or injections of any kind, nothing.
I noticed in the past, a lot of guys who like strong women, they really freak out if you're not strong 24/7. Or they complain about you being strong, then the moment you're not strong, they're like, 'Oh, no, no, no.'
You can have a spiritual awakening and discover a new side of you at any age. And best of all, love can happen at any age. Life can just start to get exciting when you're in your 40s and 50s. You have to believe that.
I work hard, I make my own living and I love it. I like having financial independence.
Life is tough; and if you have the ability to laugh at it, you have the ability to enjoy it.
Don't try to dress like me or wear your hair like mine. Find your own style.
I love to cook for my husband and daughter. I enjoy going to the market for fresh vegetables.
It sounds trite to go after men who are nice but when you've been hurt a lot it becomes appealing.
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've stolen a couple of hearts and they are in my private collection!
When it is important for you to say something and you find a vehicle to say it, then go for it. It is so rare when that happens so I think every minute spent fighting for it is always worth it. Even if nothing ends up happening, it's still worth the fight.
There's a lot about the character. It doesn't always happen, but there are some characters you really create a relationship with, almost as if they were your friend. And you never get into their heads again or think like them.
Some men have a silly theory about beautiful women - that somewhere along the line they'll turn into a monster. That movie gave them a chance to watch it happen.
My new movie, Fools Rush In, is a romantic comedy and the girl I play in that is very warm, very sweet.
I don't believe in the so-called Latino explosion when it comes to movies. Jennifer Lopez doesn't have an accent. She grew up in New York speaking English, not Spanish. Her success is very important because she represents a different culture, but it doesn't help me.
I have never denied my background or my culture. I have taught my child to embrace her Mexican heritage, to love my first language, Spanish, to learn about Mexican history, music, folk art, food, and even the Mexican candy I grew up with.
I'm a country girl. I have to be in nature, so my daughter is exposed to it a lot.
I think it's important that kids have responsibilities and understand the value of things, but I think it's great I get to travel the world with my daughter.
I don't have stamina in exercise... but I have it in life.
I don't ever want to have to depend on anyone completely.
Hollywood has definitely grown, in embracing the inclusion of Latinos in the world, because, for some time, we didn't exist. We were not part of any stories.
You know how macho boys get when they're all together? Well, the set of 'Desperado' was like that. They were all trying to put me down, saying, 'Bring on the stuntwoman, Salma can't do that.' But I did everything.
I didn't think marriage worked. I thought everybody who was married was secretly miserable - that it was something they just put up with for their children.
I don't want to be size zero and I'm glad I'm not.
If a man lets all of my dogs sleep in the bed with us, then that is the most romantic thing. You must love my dogs in order to love me. A man who is nice to my animals and doesn't shoo them away - well, that's the height of romance.
People often say that 'beauty is in the eye of the beholder,' and I say that the most liberating thing about beauty is realizing that you are the beholder. This empowers us to find beauty in places where others have not dared to look, including inside ourselves.
Every woman who thinks she is the only victim of violence has to know that there are many more.
What is important is to believe in something so strongly that you're never discouraged.
There is a subconscious way of taking violence as a way of expression, as a normality, and it has a lot of effects in the youth in the way they absorb education and what they hope to get out of life.
So you have to keep waiting and then they give you the script and it's terrible. Then you have to go to the rewrite and they're very upset because you didn't like it. I went through that for seven years.
