It couldn't have been the easiest thing in the world for a kid from the South Bronx to get to where you are now.
When I told my parents I wasn't going to college and law school--which was aiming really high where I came from, but it was an attainable goal--they thought it was really stupid to go off and try to be a movie star. No Latinas did that--it was just this stupid, foolish, crapshoot idea to my parents and to everybody who knew me. It was a fight from the beginning.

How do the folks feel about your foolish, crapshoot idea now?
It was just a matter of me winning that little battle and gaining their support. When I did finally make it, they were happy.

What was your big break?
Definitely In Living Color, because it brought me out to L.A.

Were that show's bad-boy comedians on constant booty call, or did they pretty much leave the Fly Girls be?
We were separated. We rehearsed in different rooms, and we only taped on one day, when they weren't there. But we knew them and they were great to us. It was a good show...hip and cool.

What enabled you to rise so far so fast? I mean, Money Train alone would have derailed most young actors' careers.
I was the only one who came out of that movie smelling like a rose. People just seem to respond to me when I go in to read for them. The same weekend Francis [Ford Coppola] hired me for Jack, and I got Blood and Wine after auditioning for Bob Rafelson six times. It just happens, I don't know why.

There must be something you consciously do that impresses these legendary directors.
It's all about controlling the emotion, you know? Anybody can scream, anybody can cry. It's about just being in the moment and doing whatever comes natural.

There were mass auditions all over the country to find the actress to play Selena. What gave you the edge?
A lot of people came out for the auditions who probably looked a lot more like Selena than I do. But I believe they were trying to find somebody who could capture who Selena was, what she was like inside and why she was such a special person.

Which was?
She was happy. She loved life, and she loved what she did. She worked with her family and had great family values. She embraced her culture.

And people have embraced her like a saint, especially after her death. It must be daunting to play someone who's so passionately worshipped.
It's a very touchy subject; she didn't pass away that long ago. She's so fresh in everybody's mind, so it's definitely a huge challenge. Even people who didn't remember her now know what she was like, how she acted. They know everything about her. They're definitely going to be looking at me with a critical eye--I know that. But to me, it's a challenge. Actresses are always complaining there are no challenging roles--but here's one of those roles.

The Mexican-American press initially gave you a pretty hard time. Was that because they resented a New York Puerto Rican playing a Chicana symbol?
There was some of that. The day I did the Astrodome concert, it was filled with 33,000 people, and I really didn't know how I'd be received. Up to then, the press had been really weird--not just because I was Puerto Rican but because it was Selena, you know what I mean? Any actress who would have been cast would've gone through the same thing, so I tried not to take it personally. But her fans were great once they saw me perform. I shook some hands, got to know them, and they got to know me. They saw I was a regular person, not somebody out there trying to make them forget Selena. In general, I think the Latin community is pretty happy that the project was made with a Latin writer-director, a Latin actress and an all-Latin cast and crew.

Which doesn't happen often. Any ideas why Latino cinema has had such a tough time getting established in the United States?
African-Americans banded together and said this was something they were going to do, and I think it's something the Latino community has to do, too. We need to realize there is strength in numbers, and if we say we're going to write our own stories and do our own things, then we can force our way in.

The force certainly seems to be with you. You got paid $1 million for your roles in Selena and U-Turn, which is the most a Hispanic actress has ever earned.
If you think about it, it's pretty sad that I'm the highest-paid Latina actress. Look at what my salary is, especially in this business! I just feel like Latinos have been underpaid in every way long enough. So I'm happy if I can help further the community in any way.

You didn't get paid as much for Anaconda, but we hear you had a good, kick-ass time filming it in the South American jungle.
I'm the hero! I play a first-time documentary director who goes down to the Amazon. She's all excited, but then things start going wrong, and she has to take charge of everything. Me and Ice Cube save the day! The action really takes you through it. I got pretty bruised up. But I love action movies. I would be an action star--if I had the opportunity--in a minute. They're tough to do. It's hard on your body to do those things 12, 14 hours a day, but I love it.

I'd reckon your dance training comes in handy when it's time to do action scenes.
Definitely. I'm very athletic and agile, too, so that all helps. I don't look stupid doing the moves. You know, some women are not good for that; they're good actresses, but they're not good for the physical stuff. You have to be able to sell that. They have to believe you could actually hold your own in the boxing ring with Wesley Snipes.

Evidently you're not bad at Hollywood infighting, either. You managed to stave off Sharon Stone's attempt to get your role in U-Turn.
That's not what happened. I met Oliver Stone first, and he loved me. Then I went off to film Anaconda and research Selena. Sharon Stone got interested in the part, and I thought, "That doesn't work, the role's an Apache Indian." I figured they'd just change it for her, and I was much too busy to care. But they couldn't agree on a price, so Oliver called me back. That's how it all went down.

What's U-Turn about?
It's a film noir based on a story by James M. Cain [Double Indemnity, The Postman Always Rings Twice]. I play Nick Nolte's wife in this little Arizona town, and Sean Penn's a drifter who comes through. She's just one of those women who wants to get out and is looking for somebody to get her out.

And was Stone the lunatic we've heard he is?
He's not crazy, he's a genius. I love Oliver, loved working with him. He was totally great to me--a real actor's director.

What do you do when you're not making movies back to back?
I don't have much of a social life. But I'm a regular girl. I like to shop, I like to go to the mall and hang out and get facials, get my nails done and buy shoes. I'm thinking about recording some Spanish music. And I've still got a lot of publicity to do over the next few months. Right now, just being at home sounds real nice.

Especially since you just got married. Who's the lucky guy?
His name is Ojani Noa. He's from Miami. I met him in a restaurant where he was working.

Is he good-looking?
Yeah, he's good-looking. He's done some modeling.

Does he want to be an actor, too?
He was talking about it, but I'm like, "After you've seen what I've been through, working nonstop these past six months, you want to be an actor? You retard!" But I don't know, I guess I make it look easy.

Last question on Ojani, speaking for the male population of the Western hemisphere: What has he got that the rest of us don't?
He's got me!