Salma Hayek reveals why she's happy she waited until her 40s to become a mother

She was 41 when she became a mother and now Salma Hayek has opened up about why she is glad she waited until her forties to have a child.

The Mexican-American actress, 54, has revealed she was pleased she was able to focus on becoming a successful Hollywood star first.

Speaking to The Sunday Times' Style magazine, she said: "I had reached a place in my career [where] I’d done a lot of things, I was so excited to be a mother.

"I didn’t feel like it would take anything away."

By 2007, when Hayek gave birth to her 13-year-old daughter Valentina, she had starred in a range of hit films, including Dogma in 1999, Frida in 2002, and Once Upon A Time In Mexico in 2003, as well as producing and appearing in the popular TV series Ugly Betty from 2006.

Additionally, she said that it was "not very hopeful" for her to have children for medical reasons, and that she had resigned herself to becoming a "crazy animal hippy lady".

However, Hayek then met her French husband – the father of her daughter, Francois-Henri Pinault, and chairman and CEO of luxury fashion brand Kering, which owns the likes of Gucci and Saint Laurent.

She added: "I had to abort that plan. He changed everything."

Speaking of her relationship with the businessman, who she married in 2009, Hayek – who currently stars in The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard – said he "celebrates my madness" and "finds the wisdom in my jokes".

He was also supportive during the actor's battle with COVID-19, which left her isolated in a room at home for seven weeks last year.

Hayek said had been suffering from long COVID, but had felt "better" since receiving her vaccination.

The family now lives in London, after moving from Paris in 2014.

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