Salma Hayek thought she'd left it too late to have children.

The 'Frida' actress was 41 years old when she gave birth to daughter Valentina, now seven, but admits she worried she wouldn't be able to conceive as she got older.

She said: ''I had my child so late in life. I thought I wasn't going to be able to and it was such an important thing to me.''

Salma - who met husband Francois-henri Pinault in 2006, giving birth to their daughter a year later - decided to give up work after having her daughter, but is thankful her spouse encouraged her to continue with her career as she thinks being a working mother sets a good example.

She told People magazine: ''It's important that your kids understand that they are the most important thing but it's not all about them. You set an example that you are also your own person and you have to continue to grow in the field that you are working.''

And the brunette beauty admitted she and her fashion mogul spouse disagree over who their daughter is most like.

She said: ''I think she is more like him and he thinks she is more like me.

''I think she looks like him and he things she looks like me.''