Salma Hayek & Penelope Cruz's Friendship Endured Even Though Hollywood Tried To Tear Them Apart
One of Hollywood’s best friendships has to the enduring bond between Salma Hayek and Penelope Cruz. The two actresses have been friends for decades after Cruz took Hayek under her wing when she first arrived in California, and they’ve been BFFs ever since.
Now, Vogue Arabia has a cover story about Hayek with Cruz as her interviewer and fans get an inside look at what makes their relationship tick, especially in the competitive landscape of the entertainment industry. As Latina actresses, they often find themselves up for the same movie, but they haven’t allowed that to affect their friendship one bit. “We never lie to each other,’ Hayek explained. “When it came to work, we always told each other what we were doing. And we said: ‘OK, we want to get this movie, but if I’m not going to get it, I hope you do.'” It’s that supportive angle that has helped them to be each other’s biggest cheerleaders instead of frenemies.
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Hayek added, “[Our bond] allowed us to navigate the hypocrisy and fakeness of Hollywood. There were some projects that you wanted more than me and I wanted other ones more than you. We were able to negotiate it.” Cruz even recalled the time a producer tried to pit them against each other, but their love for each other ruled the day. “Do you remember when a producer told us both that we got the same part, but he didn’t know we were so close, and we were telling each other?” Cruz asked.
“Of course,” Hayek responded. “It was hard for people to understand how two women, who on the outside would look like competition, were so close. And we still are!” The friendship isn’t just about their Hollywood careers, though, they have also navigated the “different stages of life together,” including “dating, trying to have a career, dreaming together, falling in love, getting married, having children.” The Magic Mike’s Last Dance star pointed out that Cruz was the first person to believe that Hayek’s relationship with French fashion entrepreneur Fran?ois-Henri Pinault was the real deal. “When I met Fran?ois, you told me I sounded different when I talked about him,” Hayek said. “And the same with Javier [Bardem, Cruz’s husband]. I don’t know if I could call you anything other than family.”
What’s surprising is that the women have only done one movie together, 2006’s Bandidas. It’s time for them to take their off-screen chemistry and make their own female-buddy movie to show off their magical friendship. Hayek and Cruz’s strong bond defies the belief that Hollywood is full of fake friends because these two are soul sisters.
Before you go, click here to see celebrity co-stars who became best friends.
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