Salma Hayek spoke out Marie Claire’s May issue about expecting her first child at age 40 – and she believes that women should not feel rushed to have children until they feel ready.
Motherhood is not for everyone. It is for me, but there’s no reason women should feel rushed to have a child. Society thinks if you don’t have children, you’ve failed as a woman, even if you are CEO of a company. You’ve got to be beautiful, smart, skinny, tall, rich, successful at your job, married to the right guy – and have genius children. And by the way, you also have to be a nun!
On top of enjoying motherhood this year, she is also the executive producer of one of the year’s biggest hits, ABC’s Ugly Betty. In showbiz, persistance is key.
Everybody thinks I’ve got a new job, but I’ve been trying to get shows on the air for years. The secret is never giving up.
The demands to maintain a perfect physical appearance in the industry are intense, but she is determined to challenge people’s ideas about women – especially Latin women.
The stress [of appearing physically perfect] is sensational. But then, you have to keep everything in perspective. It’s a dress, hair, makeup – c’mon, let’s go! We have to stop this obsession that starts when we’re teenagers: ‘Am I pretty enough?’ I started out in Hollywood at the same time as Jennifer Lopez. Before us, Latinas only had roles that were part of the backdrop, as the maid or the prostitute. We changed that. Of course, you’re always looking for those Meryl Streep parts, but I am grateful for the things I did.
[Source]
