Salma Hayek Interviews
Salma Hayek: Do I think we are going to get married? Probably
by Glamour
Salma Hayek wears many hats -- actress, producer, activist, and most recently, mother. With the September arrival of Valentina Paloma, her daughter with PPR CEO François-Henri Pinault, the 41-year-old multitasker has more on her plate than ever before.
Sitting down for a Glamour interview in her kitchen with V-Day founder Eve Ensler, Salma nurses her now 5-month-old baby girl and chats about her pregnancy (yes, she did have gestational diabetes), her hopes for Valentina, and just how it is you keep a relationship going when your fiancé lives on the other side of the world.
On the transition to motherhood:
I believe that change keeps you young. I’m a late bloomer; I always have been. I’m 41, and I know a lot of women think that this is the time when you start getting depressed. To that I say, “No, no, no, no, no!” I’m having the best time of my life.
The best thing that’s ever happened to me is this thing that has happened to so many women, which is having a baby. Every second is magical, every smile.
I cannot get enough of it, because I am not sitting here thinking, "What am I going to do with my life?" I’ve already established my career. I think it’s very good to have a child at this age. I’m in a great place.
On her pregnancy:
I really embraced pregnancy. I enjoyed it. It came to me and I said, “OK, this is where I go now.” I had diabetes while I was pregnant. I became huge. And I said, “This is what it takes for me to have this baby, and I really want it.”
Then you don’t know if it’s going to be healthy; you are completely out of control. So the experience really makes you humble.
On what has surprised her most:
Well, I have to confess something -- I wanted a boy. At the beginning I did. Probably because I was afraid. I think women suffer a bit more than boys, and there is always conflict between mothers and daughters.
But now that she’s here, I’m so happy she’s a girl. And I can’t imagine there ever being conflict between us, because I’m in a state of innocence where I love everything she does. If she does a poop and I have to change the diaper, I love that moment!
On how Valentina has changed her personally:
I don’t remember very well who I was before. Part of me feels like it’s so new and so strange to have a baby, and part of me feels like I’ve known [her] face forever. Somehow I am really relaxed within the chaos of having a baby -- and anyone who’s a mother knows it’s very hard to relax, because there is so much to do and worry about!
I just feel so fortunate to be her mother, and it makes me excited about the rest of my life, because I will get to witness her transformation every day. I feel I was born to have this girl.
On how François is with Valentina:
He warned me from the beginning that he gets very nervous when babies are so little -- he thinks he’s going to break them! But he plays with her, sleeps with her, loves her, kisses her. He’s not obsessed like me. But he’s had two [babies] before!
How their relationship works -- François lives in Paris, Salma in LA.
To most women it’s crazy. But every relationship is unique, and in order to make it work you have to be willing to listen -- not only to your partner, but to the relationship itself. You have to be brave enough to say, “This is who we are: We might not look like the perfect couple, or like our parents did, but this is our love story.”
On if she wishes they could be together more often:
Wishing is a good thing. But wishing you could be together more is so much better than wishing you could get the hell away from someone. [laughs]
François is very generous in his respect for me: He not only gets out of my way, but he’s completely supportive. He pushes me in the right direction. He challenges me with a sense of humor.
I feel lucky to have found a man who is so smart and successful in his own right, so there is no competition between us. He understands I was happy and had a great life before I met him.
On if marriage is something she cares about -- she and François are currently engaged:
Right now I am just enjoying my baby. Do I think we are going to get married? Probably. Will it make a difference? I hope not.
I don’t have a need for marriage. You want to grow old with someone, you want to have a partner and to have children -- we have all those things. Some people need the commitment. Maybe we’ll just make the party!
On her hopes for Valentina:
Life will always be a struggle, and we will always have to work on making the world a better place. But then, working at it is what brings people together.
I hope Valentina will be much more involved than I have been, and smarter about it than I was, because she will grow up in the middle of our conversation and it will be a part of her everyday life. I will make sure she has activists and artists to talk to, and she is very lucky in that respect, because I’ve surrounded myself with extraordinary human beings in many different areas. She will grow up listening to conversations that she’ll be privileged to hear.
Perfection is the end of evolution. So there will always be something to work on. And what’s great is that I know she’ll be part of it.
Salma Hayek on "After the Sunset"
BY THOMAS CHAU
Salma Hayek, in my mind, has always been one of the most beautiful actresses out there. If you're a fan of hers like me, then "After the Sunset" will prove to be a Salma Hayek overload for you, as she spends most of the film sporting different swimwear outfits on the beaches of the Bahamas.
She co-stars with Pierce Brosnan in "After the Sunset," the new romantic comedy heist film from Brett Ratner ("Rush Hour"). Salma plays Lola, the girlfriend of a infamous jewel thief (Brosnan) who decides to retire to Bahamas. But when one of the largest diamonds in the world finds its way to the island, temptation lures and a man finds that you just can't kick an old habit..
Here is what Salma had to say about her film at a press day in New York City recently.
Q: You get to show a lot of skin in this movie...
SALMA: We were in the Bahamas! What do you want me to wear, clothes? It was hot in there! (laughs) Are you complaining?
Q: Not at all! Was it fun shooting in the Bahamas?
SALMA: Sipping cocktails, listening to music, stealing diamonds. It’s a happy feeling.
Q: One could say that you're a femme fatale in this film. Do you like playing that kind of character?
SALMA: I think it’s not a femme fatale when someone is not doing it to manipulate men or be like a black widow. She loves him. She does it out of love. She wants him so badly to stay with her. I think it’s nice for women to try to be sexy for their man. .And I highly recommend for all the women in the world, even if they’re 71, you can never take for granted that he loves you. It’s always good to flirt with him. It’s a great sport.
Q: What did you think of the scenes of Pierce sleeping next to Woody in bed? Did that make it funny working on set?
SALMA: It was the first day and I wasn’t working. I came to spy on them. I was really nervous about the movie and the tone of the movie. I walked in and saw them. It was so funny. Immediately, I (deeply exhales) get it. We’re going to be alright, because there are some movies that if they have three or four scenes that are memorable enough, you think it’s worth it. I have to go see it.
Q: You were worried?
SALMA: I was worried about the movie. I’m a worrier; the tone, how is it? Is it funny? Is it too funny? Then I saw them and was relaxed. It was funny and like he said, endearing, there was something endearing about them.
Q: Your character sort of prances around her life in the sense that she's rich, she has freedom. Did you draw any comparisons to that being a celebrity?
SALMA: For me, I have to say that I like to work a lot too, but I like not working better. The perfect scenario is when you just worked and you know something’s coming up, then you have four, five, six months off. But you know you’re going to have a job later. Then it’s like heaven. That is paradise, when you get to take time off and have fun. I’m good at working, but I’m very good at playing.
Q: So what would you like to do "after the sunset"?
SALMA: You know what I do? I’m free. One day I sit and watch five movies on television and do nothing but eat. The next day, I decide to take a trip. I have a farm and I love it there. There’s really nothing to do, but even watching the chickens, its fun. You have no AD [assistant director] saying, it’s time to get back, she’s going to the bathroom, watching every move, paying attention to everything. It’s just nice to enjoy life, even if it’s simple. I don’t go to clubs. I like the simplicity of life, which is what my character tries to do
