Salma Hayek

If you look at any other group of people suffering injustice, women are always in the worst situation within that group.

No woman has to be a victim of physical abuse. Women have to feel like they are not alone.

If a man lets all of my dogs sleep in the bed with us, then that is the most romantic thing. You must love my dogs in order to love me. A man who is nice to my animals and doesn't shoo them away - well, that's the height of romance.

You can be a thousand different women. It's your choice which one you want to be. It's about freedom and sovereignty. You celebrate who you are. You say, 'This is my kingdom.'

Every woman who thinks she is the only victim of violence has to know that there are many more.

I love being a wife and homemaker - because it's my choice. My husband doesn't expect me to do it. I don't mind doing things for him because he does so much for me; we both feel that way so there is no power struggle.

This is not love. It is a crime... You can't look the other way just because you have not experienced domestic violence with your own flesh.

I had to endure the worst time of all in terms of racial discrimination in Hollywood when i first started out. It was inconcievable to American directors and producers that a Mexican woman could have a lead role.

I said, 'I'm going to the United States to study with Stella Adler and do movies because nobody here has done it and my passion is films.' But I came here and I didn't speak English, I didn't have a green card, I didn't know I had to have an agent, I couldn't drive, I was dyslexic.

I don't see women and think of them as competition or with judgment. Women really move me. I feel connected to all kinds of women. I am angry because I think we've been mistreated throughout history in different countries, including America. I admire women.

There were many times when I had to emotionally come to terms with the fact that maybe I wasn't ever going to get married. And I started getting comfortable with that.

I'll tell you, there is nothing better in life than being a late bloomer. I believe that success can happen at any time and at any age.

I realize now that I've hoped to be great - as an actress, as a mother - because I want to embody the greatness of women who didn't get to be all they could have been. Their dignity, their courage, and their brilliance make me strive to be better. They're a part of me.