Salma Hayek is not afraid of 60 — far from it. Speaking exclusively to PEOPLE at the 2026 Women in Film Honors in Beverly Hills on Thursday, the actress said entering a new decade has been far less daunting than she once imagined. "Very optimistic. It sounded so scary in the 20s, in the 30s, in the 40s, even in the 50s. It's not scary at all. Once you get here, it's not bad at all," she said.
Hayek turned 60 on September 2. She attended the honors ceremony — presented by Max Mara at The Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills — with her husband, French businessman François-Henri Pinault, and spoke to PEOPLE on the red carpet about the milestone.
"I'm still doing what I love, and I have the blessing of my family and friends and health and energy and dreams. Let's go," she added.
Hayek also discussed her next chapter: her feature film directorial debut, Arena, an epic romantic adventure she wrote herself. "I just directed my first film and that's very exciting," she said. The film does not yet have a release date. Asked whether she plans to direct more films, she said: "Well, let me finish this one. Let's stay in the present. It's great. The present is great."
The milestone follows a busy few months for the Frida star, who became a grandmother for the first time weeks before her birthday. Her stepson François Pinault Jr. welcomed his first baby with his wife, Lara Cosima Henckel von Donnersmarck, and Hayek shared a clip on Instagram on August 16 cuddling the baby boy, named François, saying she plans to call him "Panchito." She marked her own birthday with an Instagram post captioned "60 and grateful."
Hayek, who shares a 19-year-old daughter, Valentina, with Pinault, has spoken over the years about embracing the aging process. Her comments at the Women in Film Honors — an evening celebrating women's contributions to the industry — made her the most-searched name on Google in the United States on Saturday, as interest in the ceremony and her remarks spread.
