It’s not every day that you get a phone call from a Duchess — and judging from Salma Hayek‘s reaction, once in a lifetime is good enough. We’re learning how Meghan Markle and Salma Hayek’s British Vogue work brought them together, and it all started with that fateful phone call. Apparently, Hayek was shocked to find out Meghan wanted her personally involved in the issue. Once she learned more about what Meghan was hoping to accomplish, she was honored to be included — and did some reflecting on why she might have stood out to Meghan as a pick.
In an interview with CNN, Hayek explains that she first got a call from British Vogue editor Edward Enninful, who then put the Duchess on the phone. “I was in the car and he said, ‘Listen, I’m going to put somebody on the phone. Are you in the car with people?’ But then it took a while for the other person to get on the phone. Then she got on the phone and introduced herself,” Hayek explains. Meghan detailed her proposition like this: “I’m putting my favorite women on the cover. And you’re definitely one of them. You’re one of the first ones.” Hayek — who had never met Meghan — was naturally quite surprised.
View this post on Instagram
Initially thinking Meghan would want to partner with one of her charities, Hayek was surprised to learn the Duchess wanted the actress’s presence specifically. “It was kind of interesting for me that she noticed me in this new wave of excitement about change,” Hayek tells CNN. “She really knew what she was talking about. I started on this path so long ago, and I did it quietly… A lot of the work I did was not about awareness, at the beginning I would go to the places, do the work. I started doing a lot of what people can’t see, a lot of strategy.”
Meghan’s no stranger to behind-the-scenes work: her entire Vogue cover was carried out in secrecy, and she likely did notice that Hayek was doing a lot of important work that doesn’t necessarily get immediate credit. One of Hayek’s recent endeavors (that’s rarely talked about) was working with Revlon to include domestic violence information and a hotline to call in their cosmetics pamphlets. This type of work is exactly what Meghan stands for, and may have encouraged her to seek out the Mexican-American actress.
Beyond the women’s professional admiration for one another, they also just seemed to get along. “I think we had a connection before we even talked to each other. The shock is that this person had been watching me and I had no idea,” Hayek muses. “It’s really beautiful and I really do think that we have a special connection.” Obviously, we weren’t there — but we think so too.
Leave a Comment