Salma Hayek has gushed over her close friendship with fellow movie star Angelina Jolie.
The actor, 47, spoke candidly about her pal during an interview with Entertainment Tonight on Wednesday 13 September, while at the Toronto International Film Festival. When asked what she appreciates most about her friendship with Jolie, Hayek responded: “Everything.” She then described some of the things she learned from her friend, while noting that they have a lot in common.
“She’s been very, very enriching in my life, in so many ways, as mothers, you know. Most of all, as artists,” she said about her friend, who she starred in the 2021 Marvel film, Eternals, with. “The journeys I’ve had with Angelina have brought us even closer together.”
The two pals are both working parents in Hollywood, as Hayek shares a 15-year-old daughter, Valentina Paloma Pinault, with husband François-Henri Pinault. Meanwhile, Jolie and her ex, Brad Pitt, share six children: Maddox, 22, Pax, 19, Zahara, 18, Shiloh, 17, and 15-year-old twins, Knox and Vivienne.
During the interview with ET, Hayek said that while her friendship with Jolie wasn’t “planned,” it has continued “growing”.
“We get closer, and closer,” she said. “And it’s just natural. It’s just something that flows.”
This isn’t the first time that the From Dusk Till Dawn star has praised Jolie. During an interview with Deadline in August 2022, she applauded Jolie’s directing and producing skills, after working together on a new film, Without Blood.
“Angelina is the best director I’ve ever worked with. I absolutely loved working with her; enjoyed every second of it,” she said. “It’s a tough piece but it was so delicious to come to work every single day. She is a genius and I think this might be her best movie yet. She did an amazing job, really.”
Hayek also described how she was in awe of the Maleficent star’s work ethic, continuing: “I was completely blown away by her mind, her dedication, her technical knowledge, and her control of every aspect, as well as her vision which is so clear. She is so good with the actors, so passionate, and so focused.”
However, according to Hayek, she was the most “blown away” by was how kind Jolie was to “every single person on the set”.
“I talked about this with my co-star Demián Bichir and we were saying: ‘Wow, she’s really something,’” she concluded.
Following her 55th birthday in 2021, Hayek also took to Instagram to share the hilarious way she celebrated the occasion with Jolie, as they were filming Eternals together. In the footage, Hayek could be seen surrounded by family and friends at a party, before Jolie smashed the birthday girl’s head into the cake.
During an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, one month after her birthday, Hayek also revealed how that celebration came to be, noting that she didn’t initially plan on having a party.
“There was no birthday party. All of those people were crashers,” she explained. “I said: ‘I don’t want a birthday party this year.’ I had to work all day. Twenty-five people, that I told them there is no birthday party, showed up anyway.”
