Salma Hayek may be one of Hollywood’s most glamorous icons, but even she gets hit with major self-doubt.
The 58-year-old actress just landed the cover of this year’s Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, and while the final photos look flawless, Salma says the journey to that iconic cover wasn’t all glitz and confidence, it actually involved a lot of second-guessing and nearly backing out altogether.
On a recent appearance on the Today show, Salma Hayek opened up about her battle with imposter syndrome before the shoot, saying, “I said yes, and then when it was time to do it, I tried to back out.” Her reason? Bathing suits that “never fit” and a body she says doesn’t match the typical model mold. “There’s nothing my size, I always suffer,” she admitted, highlighting just how nerve-wracking the entire experience was for her.
Even now, after the shoot is done and the magazine is out, Salma says she still can’t believe it happened. “I remember when I was young and hot, I used to look at this magazine. I wanted to see who the new gorgeous model was, the new girl of the moment. And it never crossed my mind that I could be on that cover because they didn’t look like me,” she shared. For someone who once saw the Sports Illustrated cover as an unattainable symbol of mainstream beauty, actually being on it at 58 feels like a surreal twist.
Salma didn’t exactly have it easy getting ready for the shoot, either. Sports Illustrated reportedly sent her 200 swimsuits to choose from in an attempt to calm her nerves. She tried on more than 100, and most had to be altered to fit her body properly. Still, she powered through the anxiety and doubts, making the final product even more powerful, a celebration of beauty at every age and size.
What’s even more refreshing is how open Salma’s been about her skincare routine and approach to aging. While so many stars rely on Botox, fillers, and peels, Salma’s taken a completely different route. She told ELLE that she swears by tepezcohuite, a natural ingredient used in Mexico to help burn victims regenerate skin. “When I took it to the American labs, they were like, ‘Oh my God! How come nobody is using this’?” she recalled.
Thanks to ingredients like that, Salma says she’s never needed Botox or fillers to look fresh-faced, and honestly, it shows. Whether she’s walking red carpets or lounging poolside for a magazine shoot, Salma radiates a type of confidence that feels earned, not injected.
And let’s not forget, she’s not just an actress. She launched her own beauty line, Nuance, back in 2011, bringing her love of natural skincare to the shelves. Between her business success, her enduring film career, and now this major magazine cover, Salma’s redefining what it means to be sexy and successful in your fifties.
So yeah, she may have had a full-blown imposter syndrome moment before stepping in front of the camera, but Salma Hayek pushed through, and the result is nothing short of iconic.
