Salma Hayek has spoken to Stylist about her fond memories of the late pop-star, Prince, who died of an accidental opiod overdose in April. 

The pair were famously close friends, with the singer even writing a song about his affection for the actress, with lyrics that address her daughter, Valentina: “Hey Valentina, tell your mama she should give me a call.”

Talking about the close relationship the pair shared, the 49-year-old Oscar nominee, says she has “millions of memories” which she keeps “in a very special place in [her] heart.”

The topic, clearly still raw since the pop icon’s passing, makes Hayek emotional, and the actress wells up as she recalls the times the two spent together:

“Sometimes I think about him and it makes me very sad but many times I think about him and – now I wanna cry, but – many times I think about him and I laugh, and I will laugh forever remembering a lot of the great, great times that we spent together.”

Prince also offered up sage wisdom to the actress, including the hilariously untactful: “’Sister, you better stay off the buffet’ – because I like to eat a lot,” she clarifies.

 “He also was somebody who really gave me courage in life and made me see myself in a different way because he really believed in me and I feel very, very fortunate that I had him in my life.”

The Mexican movie star was speaking ahead of the release of her latest film, Tale of Tales.

The film, that takes inspiration from three 17th century fairy tales by Giambattista Basile, sees the central women driven to extremes by deep personal desire. In it, Hayek plays a powerful and determined queen, so desperate to bear a child that she is willing to eat the heart of a sea dragon, and see others suffer in the process.

The story is somewhat relatable to Hayek, who herself spoke of longing for a child before giving birth to her daughter, Valentina, eight, with husband of seven years, businessman François-Henri Pinault.

Last month, Hayek made headlines after saying in an interview that sex was not the key to a happy marriage – and that it loses its charm if you do it too much.

But what does she think is the key to a happy marriage?

“Generosity to the other person, letting them be who they are, respecting who they are,” she muses.

The main thing, says the Frida star, is “understanding that you’re on a journey together and trying to motivate each other to grow and to understand the other person’s path,” as well as “being patient and being excited by what they’re doing and not trying to control it.”

To Hayek, physical appearance is not the thing that makes people attractive, instead she cites “the brain” as a person's most sexy feature. 

Watch the full interview below.