When it is important for you to say something and you find a vehicle to say it, then go for it. It is so rare when that happens so I think every minute spent fighting for it is always worth it. Even if nothing ends up happening, it’s still worth the fight.

I aim for a lifetime full of movies.

I really do love Diana Ross; I grew up listening to her records. I grew up in a little town in Mexico, so while we got the music, we never got the experience of watching her.

If you give me any problem in America I can trace it down to domestic violence. It is the cradle of most of the problems, economic, psychological, educational.

I became obsessed with all these women who die never feeling they did anything extraordinary with their lives.

No woman has to be a victim of physical abuse. Women have to feel like they are not alone.

So you have to keep waiting and then they give you the script and it’s terrible. Then you have to go to the rewrite and they’re very upset because you didn’t like it. I went through that for seven years.

There’s a lot about the character. It doesn’t always happen, but there are some characters you really create a relationship with, almost as if they were your friend. And you never get into their heads again or think like them.

I keep waiting to meet a man who has more balls than I do.

My new movie, Fools Rush In, is a romantic comedy and the girl I play in that is very warm, very sweet.

And I highly recommend for all the women in the world, even if they’re 71, you can never take for granted that he loves you. It’s always good to flirt with him. It’s a great sport.

There has never been a female director who has won an Oscar. There has only been one woman who won at the Cannes Film Festival.

How I would describe my characters is absolutely different from how I would describe myself.

For my wrap present, Colin Farrell gave me a first edition book. I got so involved with this character and I was so sad when the movie was over that when I got home and I tried to read the book I got really emotional and I started crying.

For me, I have to say that I like to work a lot too, but I like not working better. The perfect scenario is when you just worked and you know something’s coming up, then you have four, five, six months off. But you know you’re going to have a job later.

I have a small house so I borrow everything except art, that’s what I love.

I know the only reason that I haven’t gotten many good parts is because I am Latin – and they tell it to my face a lot of times.

I want to work for a long, long time and keep growing in my work, and if I am very lucky and very blessed, maybe somewhere along the line there will be one movie in there that becomes a classic.

I’m good at working, but I’m very good at playing.

Some men have a silly theory about beautiful women – that somewhere along the line they’ll turn into a monster. That movie gave them a chance to watch it happen.

I do have a Mexican accent, but that doesn’t mean that I’m a Latin vamp.

My driving abilities from Mexico have helped me get through Hollywood.

My heart has been stolen too – but I’ve gone and got it back every single time!

When it is important for you to say something and you find a vehicle to say it, then go for it. It is so rare when that happens so I think every minute spent fighting for it is always worth it. Even if nothing ends up happening, it’s still worth the fight.

People often say that ‘beauty is in the eye of the beholder,’ and I say that the most liberating thing about beauty is realizing that you are the beholder. This empowers us to find beauty in places where others have not dared to look, including inside ourselves.

When I first came to Hollywood I was told to go out with an agent because it was good for my career. So I went to a party with him because it was good for my ‘career.’ Well, he thought the whole thing was a big date. Needless to say, I was very upset.

I directed a movie and now, I’m going to do the editing.

I don’t see women and think of them as competition or with judgment. Women really move me. I feel connected to all kinds of women. I am angry because I think we’ve been mistreated throughout history in different countries, including America. I admire women.

I think it’s not a femme fatale when someone is not doing it to manipulate men or be like a black widow. She loves him. She does it out of love. She wants him so badly to stay with her.

I also have a film coming up called Breaking Up, and my part in that was not written for a Latina, and my character is not particularly pretty or sexy or exotic.

Every woman who thinks she is the only victim of violence has to know that there are many more.

Producing is hell, writing is frustrating, acting is really satisfying, directing is heaven.

I proved to myself that if I believe in something and set my mind to it I could actually accomplish it.

I think it’s nice for women to try to be sexy for their man.

I have a farm and I love it there. There’s really nothing to do, but even watching the chickens, its fun.

I’ve stolen a couple of hearts and they are in my private collection!

What is important is to believe in something so strongly that you’re never discouraged.

They offered me that film before I did Frida and I said, no, I’m not capable of directing. Then after seeing Julie direct, I was inspired by it. She motivated me to do it, because we don’t have role models as woman for directors.

There is a subconscious way of taking violence as a way of expression, as a normality, and it has a lot of effects in the youth in the way they absorb education and what they hope to get out of life.