Salma Hayek Pinault Had 10 Pages of Notes for 'Fools Rush In'

(Image credit: Claire Rothstein)

In the '90s, Salma Hayek Pinault made a move that took "a lot of balls," as she puts it.

Speaking to Marie Claire for the cover story for our March Craftsmanship issue, the actress and producer reveals that she arrived on the set of 1997 rom-com Fools Rush In with 10 pages of notes.

First, she wasn't happy with the script: "it wasn’t funny or emotional," she explains.

Second, she felt her character needed a lot of work. When she shared that sentiment, though, she was met with reactions along the lines of "who do you think you are" and "how dare you," she says.

But Hayek Pinault knew she had to speak up. "The studio, the producers, the director and Matthew are all white men," she says, referring to her costar, the late Matthew Perry. "This character is a Mexican woman. Right now, I’m the only one that has the insight into what it’s like to be a Mexican woman. I’m sorry, you guys have no clue."

In life as in film, Hayek Pinault knows what she wants, and goes after it. "I’m one stubborn son of a bitch," she says. "I know what’s going to work. So, I go, and I go, until I find someone that finally sees it too."

It's that attitude that helped her get Ugly Betty off the ground and on the air in the States. "Nobody wanted it. Nobody thinks it’s going to work," she says.

Hayek Pinault, who executive-produced the TV series and appeared on a few episodes, was more than vindicated for pushing for its creation: 16 million people ended up watching the show's 2006 premiere.

These days, the star is working on a ton of different projects as a producer, a writer, and/or a director, both for TV and cinema. No slowing down in sight, luckily for us.

Iris Goldsztajn is a London-based journalist, editor and author. She is the morning editor at Marie Claire, and her work has appeared in the likes of British Vogue, InStyle, Cosmopolitan, Refinery29 and SELF. Iris writes about everything from celebrity news and relationship advice to the pitfalls of diet culture and the joys of exercise. She has many opinions on Harry Styles, and can typically be found eating her body weight in cheap chocolate.