Hayek: "People always underestimate me. But if you stick around long enough, act out of conviction, and try to be honorable in everything you do, good things will come to you."

Hayek: "I proved to myself that if I believe in something and set my mind to it I could actually accomplish it."

Hayek: "I want to work for a long, long time and keep growing in my work, and if I am very lucky and very blessed, maybe somewhere along the line there will be one movie in there that becomes a classic."

Hayek: "I work hard, I make my own living and I love it. I like having financial independence."

Hayek: "For me, I have to say that I like to work a lot too, but I like not working better. The perfect scenario is when you just worked and you know something's coming up, then you have four, five, six months off. But you know you're going to have a job later."

Hayek: "I don't have stamina in exercise... but I have it in life."

Hayek: "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."

Hayek: "I don't ever want to have to depend on anyone completely."

Hayek: "I think it's important that kids have responsibilities and understand the value of things, but I think it's great I get to travel the world with my daughter."

Hayek: "I keep waiting to meet a man who has more balls than I do."

Hayek: "Imagine if I'd said, 'I have to be the best actress - I want that and nothing else.' I never would have directed. I never would have produced. I never would have done a beauty line. I would have just worried about getting a job or been frustrated that I wasn't getting the job that I wanted. I was ready to be a businesswoman."

Hayek: "Producing is hell, writing is frustrating, acting is really satisfying, directing is heaven."

Hayek: "If you give me any problem in America I can trace it down to domestic violence. It is the cradle of most of the problems, economic, psychological, educational."

Hayek: "I aim for a lifetime full of movies."

Hayek: "I don't believe in the so-called Latino explosion when it comes to movies. Jennifer Lopez doesn't have an accent. She grew up in New York speaking English, not Spanish. Her success is very important because she represents a different culture, but it doesn't help me."

Hayek: "Don't try to dress like me or wear your hair like mine. Find your own style."

Hayek: "I noticed in the past, a lot of guys who like strong women, they really freak out if you're not strong 24/7. Or they complain about you being strong, then the moment you're not strong, they're like, 'Oh, no, no, no.'"

Hayek: "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."

Hayek: "There is a subconscious way of taking violence as a way of expression, as a normality, and it has a lot of effects in the youth in the way they absorb education and what they hope to get out of life."

Hayek: "I'm good at working, but I'm very good at playing."

Hayek: "I didn't think marriage worked. I thought everybody who was married was secretly miserable - that it was something they just put up with for their children."

Hayek: "What is important is to believe in something so strongly that you're never discouraged."

Hayek: "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."

Hayek: "My driving abilities from Mexico have helped me get through Hollywood."

Hayek: "Hollywood has definitely grown, in embracing the inclusion of Latinos in the world, because, for some time, we didn't exist. We were not part of any stories."

Hayek: "If I go on a diet and work out, I'm always in a bad mood. I'd rather be a little heavier but nice."

Hayek: "Art and activism seem to go together naturally, the idea being that if you're an entertainer, you can have a voice, and if you have a voice, you can make a difference. But if I were not an actress, I would still try to extend myself beyond my little micro-universe of my job, family and personal joy."

Hayek: "I have tried my whole life to represent my Mexican roots with honor and pride."