Salma Hayek Parenting Quotes About Daughter Valentina, Stepkids

There is nothing Salma Hayek loves more than spending time with her daughter, Valentina Paloma Pinault. The Eternals star and her husband, François-Henri Pinault, welcomed their daughter in 2007. Over the years, Salma has spoken out about how she balances her busy Hollywood career with motherhood.

“I like being a mother,” the Mexican-born actress told The Guardian in March 2013. “For some people, it’s so much work that it can be a burden. But it’s not for me, maybe because I had my daughter, Valentina, later on in life, at 41. I have never been apart from Valentina for more than a week — even when my husband, François-Henri Pinault, and I went on our honeymoon, we were only without her for one week.”

Salma and François tied the knot on Valentine’s Day in 2009, two years after their daughter was born. He was already a dad to three children from previous relationships. During Valentina’s childhood, the pair decided to keep her out of the spotlight. They later began bringing her to more red carpet events, sharing pictures of the youngster on social media and revealing more about her personality.

“Valentina and I are not very similar personality-wise,” Salma shared with HOLA! in May 2017. “But she doesn’t have stage fright on camera. In my family, everyone is very confident, graceful and light. Valentina and I are the ones who panic on stage. But she gets in front of the camera with no problem!”

Salma also said that growing up, her mother, Diana Jiménez Medina, would always give her a lot of useful advice when it came time to start thinking about her future career path. However, the Frida actress explained that she is not passing that same advice down to Valentina because she is “growing up in different circumstances.”

“I don’t say the sort of things to Valentina that my mom said to me because her life is different,” she shared. “What my mom taught me was very important to me, but I don’t pass that on to my daughter because she needs the opposite.”

Still, Salma’s mom has always been her biggest fan and was beyond happy to see her daughter become a mom.

“I always knew that Salmita would be something big in her life because of her personality, her way of always working for what she wants, but she surprises me — because Salma is unstoppable,” Diana said.

Keep scrolling to see Salma’s best parenting quotes.

On Having a Baby in Her 40s

Salma starred in the 2015 fantasy film Tale of Tales, portraying the Queen of Longtrellis, a character she was able to relate to on a personal level.

“I had a child late in life. In Tale of Tales, I identified with my character’s desperate desire to have a child, and maybe feeling that you could never be happy or complete, that your life is not complete, without this,” the Emmy winner told Red Magazine in May 2017. “I’ve had that yearning, that longing and that pain. … I always wanted to have a lot of children, and I was not able to. My body, as a miracle, had one. The huge blessing I’ve had is that my husband has three other children. So I have four. And they are all so different.”

On Having a Maternal Instinct

The Grown Ups actress always wanted to be a mom. She explained to HOLA! that she always had a natural maternal instinct.

“Every woman has a maternal instinct inside and I think that it’s important that all humans try to have that experience and apply that maternal instinct to some living creature,” she said. “You don’t have to have children, but be responsible and take care of animals or a plant. Take care of another being. Feeling responsible helps you develop as a human being. It doesn’t have to be a sacrifice but an intention that you give of yourself, and contribute to another living being’s life. That’s very rewarding. You learn a lot about yourself when you do something for someone else.”

On Spending Time With Valentina

The actress and producer is always on the go, starring in blockbuster films and beauty campaigns. With her busy work schedule, Salma still prioritizes spending time with her little one.

“I try to be with Valentina as much as possible, even when I’m working. … It takes a lot of work and mommies are very tired because most of us work and life is exhausting, especially if you are an older mom like me, but you have to make the effort,” she said.

On the Perfect Timing

During a June 2021 interview with The Sunday Times Salma shared how she knew it was the right time to become a mom in 2007.

“I had reached a place in my career [where] I’d done a lot of things, I was so excited to be a mother,” she said. “I didn’t feel like it would take anything away.”