Salma Hayek Thinks Society Is Hard On Women

Salma Hayek, Mexican-born ‘Frida’ star believes Latino women were only given supporting roles in films until she and Lopez pushed the boundaries.

Salma told Marie Clare magazine: "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."

The 40-year-old who has just announced her pregnancy and engagement to businessman François-Henri Pinault believes women should not feel pressured into starting a family too early.

She said: "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!"

Salma is executive producer of hit US TV show ‘Ugly Betty’ and has just formed a film production company with MGM studios to support Latino projects.

The ‘Lonely Hearts’ star said: "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."

Salma Hayek "I don't like the way the Bible views women"

Salma Hayek has never been a fan of the Bible because she hates the way the good book depicts women and reveres sex. The Mexican actress insists she still believes in God and Jesus Christ, but she'll always have big problems with the Bible.

In an interview for women's magazine Marie Claire, which the star conducted before announcing her pregnancy, she explains, "I don't like the way the Bible views women - this thing about the Virgin Mary conceiving a child without having sex - so if you conceive a child by having sex, there's a subliminal message that there's something dirty about it.

"And this is what makes us divine - I mean, the possibility of creating another life should remind women that we are creators, that we are made like God in our ability. There is nothing greater than to create another human being."

The interview appears in the current May issue of the Marie Claire.

Salma Hayek Thought She Was Deformed

Salma Hayek is stunned to find herself a sex symbol in the US, because growing up in Mexico she was considered "deformed".

Salma, 40, reveals she was deeply unhappy about her looks, because she was regarded the opposite of true beauty.

Pregnant Hayek said, "I have had my struggles. I am five foot, two inches and in Mexico it was important to be tall. I grew up in a world where beauty was not only tall, it was white and blonde with blue eyes. And I'm dark, have brown eyes and brown hair and I'm short. "People used to say that the short thing was a deformity. I was really upset about my height.