The story of how Salma Hayek fought for her dreams

Being sure of our own worth and our ability to face any situation represents the confidence we have in ourselves. This was the path taken by Salma Hayek, an unknown Latin actress who faced rejection, but did not stop believing in her potential to achieve everything she ever dreamed of.

O awesome.club believes it is important to share inspiring stories, so today he will talk about Salma Hayek, an example that we should always believe in ourselves.

Salma Hayek’s career began in her native Mexico. The actress was having a great time when she starred in the telenovela Teresa, and in the cinema, with the film O Beco dos Milagres, which earned her a nomination for the Ariel award. However, the actress wanted to go a step further and open paths in Hollywood cinema.

Hayek moved to Los Angeles, California to study acting. After a few small appearances, his first starring role arrived. With Antonio Banderas, she starred in The Ballad of the Gunman, the first of a series of productions with other recognized celebrities such as George Clooney, Will Smith and Penélope Cruz.

For Latin actresses, it was not easy to get space in big productions. In an interview with actress Drew Barrymore, she shared that during her career she received negative comments about her poor possibilities to play a leading lady.

On one occasion, an executive stated that, due to her background, she could not be a star, despite her great talent: “No matter how beautiful someone may think you are, no matter how good an actress you are, when you open the mouth, the public will only remember the immigrants, their maids”. Those comments didn’t deter her, and standing up to Drew, she said, “We are part of the generation of actresses who have also become entrepreneurs and producers, we are unstoppable women.”

The bad experiences didn’t stop the Mexican woman. In 1999, she founded Ventanarosa, a production company that has already developed films and television series with major companies. In 2002, Salma produced and acted in the film Frida, which received two Oscar statuettes and a nomination as best actress.

At the launch of the Monarca series, produced by Salma, she expressed that the story is about female empowerment and declared: “I hope that after watching this work, women will have the courage to remember that we can do absolutely anything”.

Salma is an advocate of breastfeeding and has promoted its benefits for babies. On a trip to Sierra Leone, taking advantage of her motherhood, she breastfed an African baby: “I was stopping breastfeeding Valentina, but I still had a lot of milk, so I fed the baby. You needed to see his eyes. Upon feeling the milk, she immediately stopped crying.”

In 2017, she was nominated as a breastfeeding ambassador in Mexico City and sent a video with a message in which she promotes this type of feeding: “Breast milk strengthens the baby’s life, protects, nourishes and helps a lot in the development of the child. It’s something you share.”

In addition, she publishes photos accompanied by messages about the importance of lactation, despite her tight schedule: “When I recorded Um Maluco on TV, I was breastfeeding Valentina and I did it until she was 14 months old. The benefits of breastfeeding are incalculable for babies. Search!”

“This character is very strong, but her strength has to be warm and I feel it in you”. Those were the words of director Chloé Zhao when choosing Salma as the new superheroine of the Marvel universe. Hayek announced her starring role as Ajak in the film Eternals, in which she plays the leader of the superheroes who will save humanity.

This role represented a great achievement for the actress, who highlighted the fact that a door was opened for all Latinos who had been waiting for such a moment. Through tears, she described the emotion she felt when putting on her costume: “I saw my dark face in a superhero costume; I saw my child’s face, which had a lot of value to dream big. I saw the faces of all the girls.”

After achieving a great career as an actress, producer, activist and businesswoman, in November 2021, Salma inaugurated her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In her speech, she recalled that on several occasions she had been rejected for leading roles: “Why don’t you go back to telenovelas? You will never find work here.” Salma constantly repeated to herself: “Nobody wants me here, they want me in my country”.

Despite the disappointment and sadness, she did not give up. She chose to fight for her dreams and said, “Work hard. Get ready. Don’t worry about what others will say. The most important thing is that you don’t listen to yourself when you’re depressed. Do your best in everything you do.”

What was the biggest dream you ever achieved? What was your path to achieving it like? We want to know your story!