Salma Hayek: “Abuse Of Power Has Consequences”
Reader's Digest UK|September 2020
The Mexican film star on her journey from soaps to Marvel, being best friends with Penélope Cruz, and meeting “the love of her life”
James Mottram
Salma Hayek: “Abuse Of Power Has Consequences”

“I NEED TO TAKE WATER,” exclaims Salma Hayek, a little dramatically, when we meet in a five-star Berlin hotel. Dressed in figure-hugging black jeans and a white poloneck, she’s sporting gold-rimmed glasses and an excitable aura. After relieving her thirst, she digs into her handbag, touches up her lipstick and applies sanitiser to her hands. It’s just before the coronavirus lockdown when we meet but the Mexican star is evidently taking no chances.

So often a chatterbox when we’ve met in the past, Hayek is in a reflective mood today.

“The things that have happened in my life are unimaginable,” she says, musing on a glittering 30-year career that began in Mexican soap Teresa when she was 23. “I think at some point in your life you settle for doing the right thing the best you can, instead of thinking about what you want and what you didn’t get or what you’re not getting.”

Not that Hayek, 53, has much to lament. Married to French billionaire and Kering CEO, François-Henri Pinault, since 2009, her work has expanded far beyond acting on the silver screen. As a producer, she was behind the hit show Ugly Betty, winning a Golden Globe, and the movie Frida, which also saw her nominated for an Oscar for playing iconic artist, Frida Kahlo. As an entrepreneur, she’s launched a range of skincare and cosmetics called Nuance.

Now she’s back with The Roads Not Taken, the new film from acclaimed British director Sally Potter (Orlando, The Party), which might just explain why we’re talking about the way life can lead you towards so many disparate paths.

Esta historia es de la edición September 2020 de Reader's Digest UK.

Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.

Esta historia es de la edición September 2020 de Reader's Digest UK.

Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.

MÁS HISTORIAS DE READER'S DIGEST UKVer todo
EVERY SECOND COUNTS: TIPS TO WIN THE RACE AGAINST TIME
Reader's Digest UK

EVERY SECOND COUNTS: TIPS TO WIN THE RACE AGAINST TIME

Do you want to save 1.5 seconds every day of your life? According to the dishwasher expert at the consumer organisation Choice, there’s no need to insert the dishwashing tablet into the compartment inside the door.

time-read
3 minutos  |
Reader's Digest May 2024
May Fiction
Reader's Digest UK

May Fiction

An escaped slave's perspective renews Huckleberry Finn and the seconds tick down to nuclear Armageddon in Miriam Sallon’s top literary picks this month

time-read
1 min  |
Reader's Digest May 2024
Wine Not
Reader's Digest UK

Wine Not

In a time of warning studies about alcohol consumption, Paola Westbeek looks at non-alcoholic wines, how they taste and if they pair with food

time-read
3 minutos  |
Reader's Digest May 2024
Train Booking Hacks
Reader's Digest UK

Train Booking Hacks

With the cost of train travel seemingly always rising, Andy Webb gives some tips to save on ticket prices

time-read
4 minutos  |
Reader's Digest May 2024
JOURNEY TO SALTEN, NORWAY, UNDER THE MIDNIGHT SUN
Reader's Digest UK

JOURNEY TO SALTEN, NORWAY, UNDER THE MIDNIGHT SUN

Here, far from the crowds, in opal clarity, from May to September, the sun knows no rest. As soon as it’s about to set, it rises again

time-read
8 minutos  |
Reader's Digest May 2024
My Britain: Cheltenham
Reader's Digest UK

My Britain: Cheltenham

A YEAR IN CHELTENHAM sees a jazz festival, a science festival, a classical music festival and a literature festival. Few towns with 120,000 residents can boast such a huge cultural output!

time-read
6 minutos  |
Reader's Digest May 2024
GET A GREEN(ER) THUMB
Reader's Digest UK

GET A GREEN(ER) THUMB

Whether you love digging in the dirt, planting seeds and reaping the bounty that bursts forth, or find the whole idea of gardening intimidating, this spring offers the promise of a fresh start.

time-read
6 minutos  |
Reader's Digest May 2024
Under The GRANDFLUENCE Suzi Grant
Reader's Digest UK

Under The GRANDFLUENCE Suzi Grant

After working in TV and radio as an author and nutritionist, Suzi Grant started a blog alternativeageing.net) and an Instagram account alternativeageing). She talks to Ian Chaddock about positive ageing”

time-read
3 minutos  |
Reader's Digest May 2024
Sam Quek: If I Ruled The World
Reader's Digest UK

Sam Quek: If I Ruled The World

Sam Quek MBE is an Olympic gold medalwinning hockey player, team captain on A Question of Sport and host of podcast series Amazing Starts Here

time-read
3 minutos  |
Reader's Digest May 2024
Stand Tall, Ladies
Reader's Digest UK

Stand Tall, Ladies

Shorter men may be having their moment, but where are the tall women?

time-read
3 minutos  |
Reader's Digest May 2024