This Famous Actress and ‘Late Bloomer’ Worried She Would Never Become a Mom Until She Became One at 41

• This Hollywood actress was a "late bloomer" who once worried she would never become a mother.
• She became a mom at 41.
• She previously opened up about her childhood and her parents.

This Hollywood actress is revered for the incredible career she forged for herself in the entertainment scene She is also known for her stunning appearance and as one of Tinseltown's entertainers who embraces aging.

As a young girl, she grew up in Mexico in a city called Coatzacoalcos with her parents and brother. Her father worked as an executive for an oil company, while her mother pursued a career as an opera singer.

With the help of funds from her husband, the star's mom dedicated time to helping people who wanted to study music but did not have the financial means to do so. Together, the husband and wife funded many music scholarships, and the wife opened up a local school that introduced the youth to opera and had great programs.

Teachers were flown to Mexico to train the students, and according to the actress, some even went on to find work as professional singers.

The movie star's mom had such a passion for opera and singing that she even recalled how sometimes she would get embarrassed when her mom would sing at every opportunity she got. In a past interview, while answering some questions about her then-new film, she told stories about how her mom would sing in front of her friends and the public.

"[...] and it wasn't like cool music, and she was always like vocalizing, you know, and so my friends would come to the house and, sometimes, you know, you'd ask her, 'Can I go to the movies?' and she would answer singing, 'What movies?' in front of your friends[...]," she said.

Naturally, as an adolescent, she found what her mom did very uncool, but she also mentioned how she learned to appreciate it as she got older. Growing up, she described her place of residence as a close-knit community where she and her brother often spent much time outside, near the ocean, playing with their friends in the neighborhood.

They would do everything from playing football on the street or the beach to running around with the free spirit of simply being kids. Recalling the fond memories of her childhood and where she grew up, she rhetorically asked, "What better place could there be for a child?"

The little girl who enjoyed her childhood and would sometimes be embarrassed by her mom's singing is none other than Hollywood icon Salma Hayek, 57. When Hayek was a young girl, she was enrolled in a Catholic school at her own desire.

In fact, the "Frida" star said that she actually pushed her parents to let her go when they didn't want her to. While there, Hayek admitted to getting up to some harmless teenage fun where she would prank some of her peers.

She said, "[...] They were not bad. They were funny little things because all the American girls would go to the boarding schools only for girls; they would do rollers in their hair and like put makeup, and they were like 13/14. They would make a lot of noise. I wanted to sleep till the last minute. They would wake up so early, so one day, I decided to go in there and change all the alarm clocks, like an hour earlier [...]."

She would be sent to detention for her antics, and even while on punishment, she would still pull pranks. Eventually, her actions winded up getting her dismissed from the school; however, she still won a medal for spirit before she left.

Aside from her creative pranking, Hayek was quite clever in school despite having dyslexia. In fact, she was younger than her classmates and graduated high school by the time she was 15.

Although she was smart, the fact that she was younger than her classmates meant that she was slightly behind in terms of her physical development. Thus, while her female peers' bodies had started to mature, she said boys would call her "La Nadadora," which Hayek said implied that she "had nothing" to show for in terms of physical assets.

Nonetheless, her brilliant mind saw her attend Universidad Iberoamericana the following year after high school, studying international relations and political science. However, halfway through her studies, she decided that she wanted to become an actress, much to the surprise of her parents.

However, she managed to get their go-ahead, as her dad initially thought it would just be a passing phase. Far from being something fleeting, Hayek grew into an incredibly successful actress and mentioned how there is no one more proud of her career than her dad.

Interestingly enough, before becoming an actress, she wanted to be a professional gymnast. As a child, she had quite a knack for the sport, and at one point, it was a dream of hers after seeing an Olympic star on television one day.

Although her gymnast dreams didn't work out, she still accomplished her dream of becoming an entertainer. Years after building her illustrious acting career, Hayek, who called her grandmother her biggest inspiration, worried she wouldn't accomplish another goal of hers: becoming a mother.

For Hayek, motherhood has always been an extremely important journey and achievement.

Although the 57-year-old achieved a lot of success early on in her life, when it came to her personal life, she only met her husband, François-Henri Pinault, when she was 39 and married him in 2009. Despite only finding her love later on in life, the "Desperado" talent previously said she was grateful to be a "late bloomer."

She also referenced this term to the fact that she became a first-time mom at 41, after previously thinking she wouldn't get the opportunity to become one. In fact, the Hollywood beauty said that she believes she is a better mom to her daughter because she had her at a time when she was more self-assured.

In addition to her daughter, Valentina Pinault, Hayek is also the stepmother to her businessman husband's other children. Of motherhood and how it has changed her and her perception of womanhood, Hayek stated, "You will never be as vulnerable as you are when you have a child, and because of this, you have to be stronger than you've ever been. You have to be respectful that they are an individual and finding that balance [sic]."

In this same line of thinking, Hayek once mentioned that when it comes to raising her daughter specifically, she is careful not to apply the same lessons her mom taught her when she was growing up. Although she said they were good life lessons, she has had to flip the script to suit better the context of the environment in which her daughter is growing up.

Although she admitted that motherhood is not without its challenges and exhausting moments, Hayek adores being a mama bear, as she knew what it was like to yearn deeply for a child. She prizes being a mom over and above anything else and makes sure to spend ample time with her kid, previously citing that she has never been without her daughter for more than one week, even on her honeymoon.

For Hayek, motherhood has always been an extremely important journey and achievement. She remains blessed and grateful for the fact that something she previously feared would never happen for her eventually happened, and at what she felt was the exact right time.