Salma Hayek says she was told that both her age and nationality would prevent her from succeeding as an actress.
“They told me that my career would die in the mid-30s. First of all, they told me that a Mexican will never make it, because at the time, the new generations, it was impossible for a Mexican to have a leading role in Hollywood ”, Hayek, who stars next to Owen Wilson in the new film happinesssaid the PA news agency. “And it was like it wasn’t real – it was like that strange reality that has now become normal. But not at the moment. “
Now 54, Hayek says she is thrilled to have triumphed in a challenging industry.
“And I think it’s great, I’m proud of it, I want to scream to the world, because so many times I was told it couldn’t happen and I almost believed it, but I fought and won,” said Hayek, adding that she also wants other women to understand that there is no trouble blooming later in life.
“I want other women to realize this, because even in your 30s you feel the pressure, in the 40s you feel the pressure – and the late blooming is a beautiful thing,” she said. “And we are not ‘finished’ right now, or any other time. If you are creative, enthusiastic and curious about life, it can be exciting forever, all the time. “
One of the terrible challenges Hayek faced in the film industry includes his experience working with Harvey Weinstein in his 2002 hit film, Frida. Last week, Hayek told the Evening Standard that although the opportunity to work with Weinstein initially seemed like a “dream come true”, it soon turned into a nightmare. In the past, she said that Weinstein sexually harassed her repeatedly and even threatened her with violence.
“He was my monster,” she wrote in New York Times in 2017, claiming that Weinstein once told her “I’m going to kill you, don’t think I can’t.”
Almost a year since Weinstein was sentenced to 23 years in prison for rape and sexual assault, Hayek now says dealing with the trauma of his experience has been an ongoing journey.
“The most incredible thing is that I thought I was cured,” she said to Evening Standard. “And then it all came out again and I realized that I didn’t heal, I suppressed and got over it, I adjusted, I continued, then there was a layer of healing because it didn’t stop me from growing. But it was very painful for a long time. I didn’t know that there were so many other women affected and that it was so profound. It was very shocking. But the fact that we [took action] together they made it really healing. “
Hayek added that she “moved on” because “I have lived with this long enough and have disconnected from it now”.
Thriving today, Hayek is busy on and off the big screen. She has a 13-year-old daughter, Valentina, with her husband, businessman François-Henri Pinault. She also shares her life on social media, which includes frequent posting of sexy photos of herself sunning herself – something she considers “liberating”. She admitted, however, that while she likes to post pictures of herself, they are not exactly a realistic representation of her daily life.
“I’m happy to have taken a lot of pictures, I’m not ashamed of that, because it was the first week of vacation,” she said Entertainment Tonight Last week. “People are tired of it, but I’m going to let them take a break. They’ll think I’m wearing a bikini every day. No, they’re all from the same place.”
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