Salma Hayek is currently having a moment that defies every dusty Hollywood trope about "aging out." Honestly, it’s wild. Most actresses hit fifty and the scripts start thinning, but Hayek? She’s basically busier than she was in the Desperado days. We are talking about a woman who just fronted the 2025 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue at nearly sixty years old, and she didn’t do it by pretending to be twenty. She did it by being exactly who she is: a self-described "imperfect but wild" powerhouse.
If you’re looking for Salma Hayek now, you won't find her hiding in a mansion in London or Paris. She’s everywhere. From producing global content to staring down the camera in a bikini that "broke the internet" on her 59th birthday, she is rewriting what the "third act" of a career looks like.
The "Sacrifice" of Playing It Safe
Lately, Hayek has been leaning into roles that are a far cry from the "bombshell" caricatures she was forced into during the nineties. A huge project on the horizon is Romain Gavras’s film Sacrifice. It’s a dark, edgy action-comedy where she stars alongside Chris Evans and Anya Taylor-Joy. She’s playing a pop star named Gloria Bracken who gets caught up in a radical group’s kidnapping plot.
It sounds chaotic. It probably is.
But that’s the point. She’s choosing projects that have teeth. We also saw her in Without Blood, directed by her longtime friend Angelina Jolie. That movie is heavy—it’s about the soul-crushing cycle of war and trauma—and it shows a side of Salma that’s raw and stripped back. She isn’t just "Salma Hayek the Icon" anymore; she’s Salma Hayek the dramatic heavyweight.
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A Different Kind of Business Empire
People often forget she’s half of a massive power couple. Her husband, François-Henri Pinault, runs Kering (the luxury group behind Gucci and Saint Laurent). But don't assume she's just sitting back on a $7 billion cushion. She has been very vocal about the fact that they keep their finances separate. She actually likes the "pressure" of making her own money.
She’s a strategist.
- Global Production: Her company, Ventanarosa, isn't just looking at Mexico or the US anymore. She’s studying the "Squid Game" effect—trying to figure out how to take Latino-led stories and make them global sensations.
- The Kering Foundation: She’s turned the "Caring for Women" dinner into something that rivals the Met Gala. It’s not just a party; it’s a high-stakes fundraiser that has raised millions to fight gender-based violence.
- The Beauty Game: While everyone else is launching celebrity skincare lines, she’s sticking to her roots. She swears by Tepezcohuite, a bark extract used in Mexican hospitals to treat burn victims.
What Most People Get Wrong About Salma Hayek Now
The biggest misconception is that she’s a gym rat. She’s not. In fact, she’s kind of the opposite. She has famously said she doesn't do traditional workouts because she lacks the discipline for a "no pain, no gain" lifestyle.
So how does she look like that?
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She uses "non-robotic rituals." Basically, she dances every single day. If her makeup artist puts on a Bad Bunny track, she’s going to stop and move. She also practices a form of "restorative yoga" where she engages her muscles during mundane tasks—like holding her arms a certain way while brushing her teeth or walking up stairs using her glutes instead of her knees. It’s multitasking, but for your body.
The Secret Meditation
She also credits a very specific, almost spiritual, form of meditation. It’s not the "sit still and think of nothing" kind. It’s a sensory experience that she says "dances inside of you." She’s admitted that if she skips it for too long, she can actually see her face start to "drop." It’s her alternative to Botox, which she still claims to have never touched.
Instead of needles, she uses:
- Frequency Machines: Radio-frequency and micro-frequency treatments for skin tightening.
- Rosewater: She never washes her face in the morning. She thinks the natural oils produced overnight are a gift from the skin, and she won't strip them away.
- Bone Broth: A cup a day for collagen. Old school, but effective.
Facing the "Imposter Syndrome"
You’d think after decades in the spotlight, she’d be bulletproof. But when she was asked to do the Sports Illustrated cover in 2025, she actually panicked. She talked about having major "imposter syndrome" and being "absolutely insecure" during the fitting.
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She felt like she didn't belong in the "club" of tall, skinny models.
But then she got to Mexico. She got in the water. She realized she was "the ocean and the wind." That shift in mindset—from "Am I good enough?" to "I am the element"—is what makes Salma Hayek now so compelling. She’s vulnerable about her fears, which makes her confidence feel earned rather than manufactured.
Living the "Wild and Free" Life
Beyond the red carpets, Salma’s life is a bit of a zoo. Literally. She has dozens of rescue animals, including horses, dogs, and a pet owl named Kering that she meditates with.
She’s also leaning into her natural aging. You’ll see her posting "filter-free" selfies showing off her gray hairs. She calls them "white hairs of wisdom" and refuses to spend her "remaining youth pretending to be younger." She’d rather spend that time eating—she’s a self-proclaimed foodie who hates dieting—and traveling with her daughter, Valentina Paloma.
Actionable Takeaways from Salma’s Playbook
If you want to channel some of that Hayek energy into your own life, you don't need a billionaire husband or a movie contract. You just need to change your approach to yourself:
- Audit your "Morning Wash": If your skin feels dry, try skipping the morning cleanser and just using a spritz of rosewater or cool water.
- Find "Non-Robotic" Movement: Stop forcing yourself into a gym routine you hate. If you like dancing, dance for 15 minutes. If you like walking, take the dog.
- Embrace "Strategist" Philanthropy: Don't just give money; give your focus. Salma succeeds because she treats her charity work with the same "tactical" mindset she uses for her business.
- Stop Comparing to the '90s: Whether it's your own youth or an old beauty standard, stop measuring yourself against a version of the world that doesn't exist anymore.
Salma Hayek is proof that your most powerful years aren't behind you. They're usually waiting for you to stop caring about the rules and start listening to your own rhythm. She isn't just maintaining her relevance; she’s redefining what it means to be a woman in the spotlight in 2026.