Salma Hayek Loves Being Called ‘Hot’ After Turning 40, But Is Still A Feminist

Salma Hayek still loves being called hot, but the actress said the compliment takes on a little more importance now that she’s over 40.

The 48-year-old actress was honored this week at Spike’s 2015 Guys Choice Awards, receiving the Decade of Hotness award. It’s also an award that shows just how far the self-professed feminist has come in Hollywood.

The actress said she once struggled to be known for her acting chops rather than her looks, but Salma Hayek says she now takes it as an honor to be called hot.

“Now?! They want to give me a decade of hotness – I’m like, ‘Bring it on!’ ” she said. “You really like to be ‘hot’ after you’re 40.”

The award not only gives a nod to how hot Salma Hayek still is, but also the long odds she overcame to make it in Hollywood. Hayek recalled in a 2002 Vanity Fair interview that even though she was a star on Mexican television, many people doubted she could make it in Hollywood.

“I had studio heads say to me, ‘You could have been the biggest star in America, but you were born in the wrong country. You can never be a leading lady, because we can’t take the risk of you opening your mouth and people thinking of their maids.'”

But to suggest that Salma Hayek is only known for being hot would be ignoring the other great works she has done. The actress co-founded Chime for Change, an organization that promotes health and education for women and children across the globe. The agency is building schools in Turkey and Lebanon for Syrian refugees and funding a woman who developed an inexpensive incubator for maternity hospitals in developing areas.

Hayek said she is proud of the work she’s done for women and proud to call herself a feminist.

“I am a feminist because I love women and I am ready to fight for women. I am a feminist because I am proud to be a woman, and I am passionate about making the world a better place for women,” she said. “I am a feminist because a lot of amazing women have made me the woman I am today. I am inspired by women every day, as friends and as colleagues.”

Now, with two decades of success in Hollywood and still keeping her good looks at 48, Salma Hayek has new ideas about what it means to be hot. She shared a bit about what makes someone hot, saying, “When you like somebody it comes out of you, almost naturally, and you’re motivated. Love motivates you.”

[Image via Getty Images/Christopher Polk]