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.
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.'
When I started acting, I was told over and over again, 'You're no good.' But I said to myself, 'You've got to keep it up.'
I have a small house so I borrow everything except art, that's what I love.
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.
I do have a Mexican accent, but that doesn't mean that I'm a Latin vamp.
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.
Love food and I love to eat.
So you have to keep waiting and then they give you the script and it's terrible. Then you have to go to the rewrite and they're very upset because you didn't like it. I went through that for seven years.
I proved to myself that if I believe in something and set my mind to it I could actually accomplish it.
I love to cook when I have the time. I don't cook French or Mexican food with exact recipes. I just go to the supermarket and buy things that look good, and I mix it all together and invent something. Ninety-five percent of the time, I'm lucky. Sometimes not so lucky, and I say, 'Let's go out to dinner.'
There has never been a female director who has won an Oscar. There has only been one woman who won at the Cannes Film Festival.
My grandmother was energetic and fearless - a talented poet and songwriter. She was also interested in chemistry and history and medicine, taking care of the people in her hacienda in Mexico, delivering babies. She could have become anything, but this was the 1930s, and she was forced into an arranged marriage.
They thought I was crazy in Mexico when I said, 'I'm going to Hollywood.' Nobody thought I could make it.
Being a mother is more exhausting than working, and sometimes I push myself too hard and burn myself out. I can appreciate how exhausting it must be for women who have to do everything themselves all the time.
When it is important for you to say something and you find a vehicle to say it, then go for it. It is so rare when that happens so I think every minute spent fighting for it is always worth it. Even if nothing ends up happening, it's still worth the fight.
Everybody has a weakness. Mine is food.
Every woman who thinks she is the only victim of violence has to know that there are many more.
I believe eating well, and with people you love, is about feeding your body, heart, and soul - I used juicing to ensure I covered my nutritional bases every day, and as a tool to restore inner balance if my body needed a break from too much indulgence.
My new movie, Fools Rush In, is a romantic comedy and the girl I play in that is very warm, very sweet.
My heart has been stolen too - but I've gone and got it back every single time!
I think it's not a femme fatale when someone is not doing it to manipulate men or be like a black widow. She loves him. She does it out of love. She wants him so badly to stay with her.
I'm good at working, but I'm very good at playing.
I am so, so lucky. I am the luckiest girl in the world, really. And still with access to everything I could possibly want I still say 'Oh dear, what am I going to wear today?' There's no ending to that question!
My driving abilities from Mexico have helped me get through Hollywood.
I think if you are young and you have children, you still have so much to prove. When you have children later in life, you lose a bit of that urge for working.
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.
My accent was horrible. In Mexico, nobody says, 'You speak English with a good accent.' You either speak English, or you don't: As long as you can communicate, no one cares.
Life is tough; and if you have the ability to laugh at it, you have the ability to enjoy it.
I have always been an active part of my community.
If you're paralyzing your face in your 20s and 30s, you're not exercising the muscles that give it strength. My feeling is, laugh, cry, move your face.
If you look at any other group of people suffering injustice, women are always in the worst situation within that group.
I don't ever want to have to depend on anyone completely.
My English was limited to vacationing and not really engaging with Americans. I knew 'shopping' and 'eating' English - I could say 'blue sweater,' 'creme brulee,' and 'Caesar salad,' - so I came here thinking I spoke English.
I really do love Diana Ross; I grew up listening to her records. I grew up in a little town in Mexico, so while we got the music, we never got the experience of watching her.
You can have a spiritual awakening and discover a new side of you at any age. And best of all, love can happen at any age. Life can just start to get exciting when you're in your 40s and 50s. You have to believe that.
