Infamous for her beauty. Acclaimed for her talent. Salma Hayek first burst into the Hollywood scene before being Latino was the new mainstream. From her early days in Mexican telenovelas, to her cameos in her first network success, Ugly Betty, to the Oscar nod she received for Frida, Hayek has sort of come full circle, proving as she might say, that a Mexican actress can do whatever she sets her heart and mind to. Along the way she’s also given us some pretty wise words to contemplate.
Here are just a few worthy quotes from the Mexican thespian:
10. “Before you do anything, think. If you do something to try and impress someone, to be loved, accepted or even to get someone’s attention, stop and think. So many people are busy trying to create an image, they die in the process.”
9. “Life is tough, and if you have the ability to laugh at it you have the ability to enjoy it.”
8. “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.”
7. “It’s very easy to feel someone’s pain when you love them.”
6. “I keep waiting to meet a man who has more balls than I do.”
5. “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.”
4. “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.”
3. “No woman has to be a victim of physical abuse. Women have to feel like they are not alone.”
2. “I do have a Mexican accent, but that doesn’t mean that I’m a Latin vamp.”
1. “When they told me I (might win), I was asked to tape a message saying thank you. But the thing is, this particular award isn’t televised. Now, believe me, I am so grateful they acknowledge all of our great Latin performers, but I refused to tape the acknowledgement. If we Latins are not worth their time on television, why should they be worth mine? I think we deserve better than that, so I told them I wouldn’t participate.”
