Salma Hayek on Hollywood: "You have to look 20 when you’re 40. It’s too much."
Salma Hayek “I am a feminist because I love women and I am ready to fight for women.” (Photo: Getty Images)
Last fall, Salma Hayek caused a stir when she told a reporter that she was not a feminist. It was a surprising statement, because Hayek was being honored as a women’s rights advocate at a Equality Now’s Make Equality Reality event along with feminist trailblazer Gloria Steinem. Hayek is the co-founder of Chime for Change, a global initiative supporting women’s and children’s health and education. While the media was quick to pounce, the rest of Hayek’s quote put it in context. “If men were going through the things women are going through today. I would be fighting for them with just as much passion. I believe in equality.”
Flash forward to today, when Hayek owned the label, not once, but three times in an interview with The Guardian. “I am a feminist because I love women and I am ready to fight for women. I am a feminist because I am proud to be a woman, and I am passionate about making the world a better place for women. I am a feminist because a lot of amazing women have made me the woman I am today. I am inspired by women every day, as friends and as colleagues.”
Hayek, who at 48 is still a total bombshell was also candid in the interview about the outsized expectations on appearance women in Hollywood are facing. “You still have to be a good wife and mother. And now you also have to be skinny, and you have to look 20 when you’re 40. It’s too much. We need to stop with the crazy expectations, give ourselves a break.” Hayek gave birth to daughter Valentina, at 41 and endearingly told Oprah that the advice that women lose weight while breastfeeding “is a lie!” At 42, Hayek married the father Francois-Henri Pinault is the CEO of Kering, the company that owns Gucci and Stella McCartney and has gone on to pair acting roles with her global advocacy.
In the interview, Hayek, not shying away from women’s issues this time, talked about the pay disparity in Hollywood that came to light in last year’s Sony hack, when it was discovered that Amy Adams and Jennifer Lawrence didn’t earn the same as their male counterparts in American Hustle. “The amount of pressure on women now, it’s crazy. You have to be much better than your male colleagues, just so you can maybe try and get the same salary as them.”
Whatever hurdles she’s been faced with however, Hayek hasn’t ever let them get in her way, starting from age 25 when Hayek was told that her thick accent wasn’t going to fly in American movies. But her breakout in Desperado proved to be just the beginning of a busy career. In addition to her acting work, Hayek has become a respected producer including the Oscar nominated Frida. Hayek is currently launching her new film, that she produced Kahlil Gibran’s The Prophet, on International Women’s Day at London’s Women of the World festival.
It’s clear that Hayek’s belief that she can do anything regardless of gender or background has paid off (a feminist mindset if there ever was one). However, Hayek has a sense of humor, and confidence, about the whole thing. “And they said I wouldn’t be working after 35! Ha.”
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