Salma Hayek is looking back at a pivotal moment in her decades-long career.
The “Fools Rush In” star reflected on her iconic role as Frida Kahlo in the Oscar-winning film “Frida,” and what it meant to her to be part of the team that brought the artist’s story to life, 24 years after the film’s premiere.
24 Years Later
Hayek took to social media on Sunday, October 25, on the 24th anniversary of her history-making role in the 2002 film, “Frida.”
“24 years today since the release of ‘Frida’. There was a time when I was told this film would never happen. That a story like Frida was not ‘easy’ for Hollywood. That it was too Mexican, too intense, too political, too different. In other words: that it wouldn’t work,” she shared alongside a photo dump of photos and clips from the set. “But I didn’t just want to play ‘Frida’. I wanted to help tell her story in the way I felt it deserved to be told. So I also became a producer and spent years bringing this film to life, protecting its essence, finding the right people and pushing until it finally became real.”
Hayek continued, “And I think, in a way, Frida taught me how to do that too. She was never a woman who easily accepted ‘no,’ made herself smaller to fit in, or stopped creating because the road became difficult. The harder I fought to tell her story, the more I realized that same strength was exactly what I needed to keep going.”
She went on to say that the road to getting the film made was “not an easy” one, as she was told no multiple times, but the fight was well worth it.
“There were many no’s, many obstacles, and many moments when walking away probably would have been the easier choice. But Frida was never a woman who fit neatly into a box… and neither did her story,” Hayek added. “In the end, every year of waiting, every fight and every closed door was worth it.”
Hayek made history with her role in the film, becoming the first Mexican actress to be nominated for Best Actress at the 75th Academy Awards. The film received a total of six Oscar nominations, including Best Original Score and Best Makeup and Hairstyling, both of which it won.
Who Is Frida Kahlo?
Frida Kahlo was a Mexican painter known for her many portraits, many of which were self-portraits. She was born in July 1907. While she struggled to make a living off of her art for many years, the significance of Kahlo’s work on Mexican culture lives on today.
“This film was never only about Frida. It was about art, identity, pain, humor, love, and that incredible ability to transform what we live through into something that lasts,” Hayek continued on Sunday. “Looking back, I still feel an enormous sense of pride. Not only because I had the privilege of playing her, but because I helped build and produce a film I believed in long before it existed. For telling the story of an extraordinary Mexican woman. For bringing a piece of Mexico to the world. And for refusing to take no for an answer.”
She concluded, “Sometimes, the stories that are hardest to tell are the ones that most need to exist. ❤️.”
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’90s Icon Reflects on Oscar-Winning Film That Almost Didn’t Happen 24 Years Later