Quotes from Salma Hayek

If it wasn't because of my high heels, I would still be in Coatzacoalcos with 10 children.

I've stolen a couple of hearts and they are in my private collection!

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.

What is important is to believe in something so strongly that you're never discouraged.

...you have to understand that motherhood has to be your priority. It's important work.

I was privileged to grow up in Mexico at a time when you could play in the streets. We lived not too far from the ocean, and we would be outside all the time with the neighbours' kids, running free. What better place could there be for a child?

I realize now that I've hoped to be great - as an actress, as a mother - because I want to embody the greatness of women who didn't get to be all they could have been. Their dignity, their courage, and their brilliance make me strive to be better. They're a part of me.

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.'

I will not have Botox. You know why? Because I eat! I eat the fat, I eat the vegetable, I eat everything. If you exercise and you don't eat enough, it takes its toll on the skin.

I want to work for a long, long time and keep growing in my work, and if I am very lucky and very blessed, maybe somewhere along the line there will be one movie in there that becomes a classic.

I like being a mother. For some people, it's so much work that it can be a burden. But it's not for me, maybe because I had my daughter, Valentina, later on in life, at 41.

I say that the most liberating thing about beauty is realizing that you are the beholder.

I have always been an active part of my community.

If you give me any problem in America I can trace it down to domestic violence. It is the cradle of most of the problems, economic, psychological, educational.

Every woman who thinks she is the only victim of violence has to know that there are many more.

No woman has to be a victim of physical abuse. Women have to feel like they are not alone.

I aim for a lifetime full of movies.

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.

You want to do movies that your children can watch, and that your children can have fun at and enjoy the experience of shooting.

It doesnt matter what you have faith in, just that you have faith.

Life is tough; and if you have the ability to laugh at it, you have the ability to enjoy it.

I have gotten a lot more attention than...other women that I find incredibly beautiful. And this has happened to me ever since I was a girl, when I was flat, had no teeth, was skinny and small as I could be. I always got more attention than anyone else. If I hadn't, I would have made sure I did.