Salma Hayek says it's 'healing' to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame decades after surviving a knife attack

• Salma Hayek was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Friday.
• She recalled being confronted and chased by a man on Hollywood Boulevard in the early 1990s.

Salma Hayek recalled being confronted and chased by a man with a knife on Hollywood Boulevard in the early 1990s.

The "Eternals" actress was awarded the 2,709th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at TCL Chinese Theatre on Friday in a ceremony attended by director Chloé Zhao, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, comedian Adam Sandler, and a crowd of fans.

Near the end of the event, Hayek, 55, took to the stage and gave a speech reflecting on her long career in the entertainment industry.

"I want to say that I'm very moved by tonight. It is —of course — a great honor, but also, for me, this night is very healing," Hayek said. "I'm going to tell you a horror story."

Hayek said that about two years after she arrived in the United States and "unsuccessfully" tried to start her career in Los Angeles, a few of her friends visited from Mexico and asked to visit Hollywood Boulevard.

The group was walking down the boulevard when a "poor man who was on the floor and was very messed up" called out to her, according to Hayek. She chose to ignore the man, but Hayek said he decided to follow the group.

"I kept walking and he took offense. He got up, took a knife out, and started coming after us. Especially after me, trying to stab me," Hayek said. "So I ran as fast as I could — nobody helped us."

She continued that she and her friends soon ran into a store, where they jumped over a counter and she grabbed a "stick" for protection. Hayek said the man then grabbed the stick and they began "wrestling" over the item.

Fortunately, Hayek said that two members from Hells Angels eventually intervened and disarmed the man before helping the group to safety.

"Every time I thought about Hollywood Boulevard, this is what I remember," Hayek said. "The truth is that when I went home that night, I said, 'What am I doing here? Nobody wants me. I mean, I almost got killed today.'"

Hayek then told instances of racism she experienced while in the United States.

"I remember the studio saying to me many times, 'Why don't you go back to the [Mexican] telenovelas? You'll never find a job here.' And of course this night, I almost got killed," Hayek said. "So I said, 'Nobody wants me here. They want me in my country.'"

She continued: "But I stayed. I stayed. And I want to say to everybody that's here, all my lovely fans: If you ask yourself what gave me the courage to stay, I say it was you because although they didn't know me, here in Hollywood, the studios, all the Latins that are in the United States knew who I was. They understood that I came here with dreams like they did."

Representatives for Salma Hayek did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

Hayek, who was born in Mexico, initially starred in telenovelas like "Teresa" before she moved to the United States to pursue a career in Hollywood. Her first American role was opposite Antonio Banderas in the 1995 film "Desperado."

She later starred in films like "From Dusk Til Dawn," "Dogma," and "Wild Wild West." Hayek secured her first Oscar nomination for her work as Mexican painter Frida Kahlo in "Frida."

Recently, she's started alongside Ryan Reynolds and Samuel L. Jackson in "Hitman's Wife Bodyguard," as well as playing the character Ajak in Marvel's "Eternals."