Years ago, when Eva Longoria was starring in Desperate Housewives as the impulsive and outrageous Gabrielle Solis, a skeptic wondered whether she risked getting pigeonholed for choosing roles that so overtly emphasized sex and romance. She was too beautiful, too sexy, too much. No actor could sustain that level of heat forever. In the parlance of our current moment, it would behoove her to be a little more demure. Best if she covered up.<\/p>\n
But Longoria isn\u2019t one to take direction from detractors. Recalling the criticism now, Longoria arches a brow: Was she not supposed to want to be hot? She swerved in the other direction. Riding her particular wave of fame \u201cto the beach,\u201d she accepted offers to pose for men\u2019s magazines with zeal, even as she became a respected powerbroker in liberal political circles. She preened in bikinis and fundraised for the causes she believed in. She concealed the bare minimum with well-placed props. She made the most of it.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n Still, in dressing rooms and changing tents, she too, wondered whether these kinds of shoots had an expiration date. But her makeup artist reminded her to focus on the present. \u201cShe went, \u2018Honey, do them now,\u2019\u201d Longoria recalls. \u201c\u2018Because you\u2019re not going to do them when you\u2019re 50.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n In four months, Eva Longoria will be 50.<\/p>\n When we meet at the Beverly Hills Hotel in late September, Longoria is wearing fresh New Balance sneakers, has her hair swept into a ponytail that bounces and twirls like it should have had its own floor routine at the Paris Olympics, and speaks at such a rapid clip that I believe her when she tells me she could run a marathon right now if she wanted to. She has just landed in Los Angeles after months in Mexico and Spain, and jet lag is quite apparently no match for the stamina she has spent years cultivating.<\/p>\n There are women who dread the aging process, and those who make their tentative peace with it, and then there is Longoria\u2014the kind of actor who is never late to set, the kind of director who once made a pitch deck so impressive that a competing candidate for the gig had no choice but to concede he would have hired her too, the kind of person who has been preparing for this milestone like some people train for extreme sports.<\/p>\n (Image credit: Future)<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m cold-plunging; I\u2019ve got red lights on; I strength train with weights; I meditate; I\u2019m journaling,\u201d she tells me, enumerating her wellness practices. \u201cI wake up with the sun; I\u2019m doing the grounding; I have an Oura ring to track deep sleep; I\u2019m taking magnesium and other supplements; I\u2019m doing everything. Not because I don\u2019t want to age but because I do want to age.\u201d<\/p>\n The post-50 careers of women like Gwyneth Paltrow<\/a> and Jennifer Lopez<\/a> are a beacon for her, as is the sweet validation that she feels now, remembering all the people who once predicted she would flame out. \u201cFor me, age is just a number, but I\u2019m excited,\u201d Longoria continues. \u201cI refuse to believe my greatest success is behind me.\u201d<\/p>\n So of course when she thinks back to the conversations with her makeup artist and to the roles that required her to take her clothes off, she knows she can declare now what she couldn\u2019t have then: \u201cI\u2019m like, \u2018I would totally do that photo shoot at 50.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Jacquemus skirt and top; Joyas Antiguas Sardinero necklace; Magrit boots<\/p>\n<\/div>\n (Image credit: F\u00e9lix Valiente)<\/p>\n Round numbers get all the attention,<\/strong> but 49 was a banner year for Longoria too. In March, she walked the Oscars<\/a> red carpet after her directorial debut Flamin\u2019 Hot earned a nomination, having already clinched the title of Searchlight Pictures\u2019 most-watched streaming movie of all time. In April, she joined Siete Foods as an investor and advisor. It has since sold to PepsiCo for $1.2 billion. She soon jetted off to film Searching for Spain, the follow-up to her acclaimed celebrity.land miniseries Searching for Mexico, which found her sampling the best of the country\u2019s beloved cuisine\u2014and showcasing its sometimes misunderstood culture in the process. (Stanley Tucci inaugurated the series with two seasons of his own Searching for Italy.) In June, Longoria starred in the Apple TV+ series Land of Women (which she also executive produced). A few months later, she popped up for an uproarious arc on the new season of Only Murders in the Building on Hulu. Somehow, she also found time to speak at the Democratic National Convention, release a second cookbook<\/a>, be honored at the annual D\u00eda de Muertos Gala, and hit the trail for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz (but more on the election in a minute).<\/p>\n Herm\u00e8s coat top, shirt, pants; Mimoki hat; Aquazzura shoes<\/p>\n<\/div>\n (Image credit: F\u00e9lix Valiente)<\/p>\n Amid the palm fronds in Los Angeles, she laughs as she recounts this recent sprint of work. Some of the latest projects to populate her IMDb shot at once, necessitating an intense travel schedule and at least one wig. When she wrapped them, Longoria was exhausted, gratified, and on no discernible circadian clock.<\/p>\n As in wellness, so too at work\u2014she wants to do and taste and experience it all. One of her few recurring anxieties is that there are places on this wondrous planet she will never visit. \u201cI get depressed thinking I\u2019m not going to see it all before I die,\u201d she says. \u201cThat makes me sad. I\u2019m like, I know I\u2019m going to Africa, but I\u2019m not going to get to go to all of Africa. I know I\u2019ve been to South America, but I\u2019m not going to be able to see all of South America.\u201d<\/p>\n So no wonder that when people come calling with opportunities, especially those that will take her to new landscapes, Longoria defaults to yes. She wants to be out there, doing. \u201c\u2018She\u2019s available,\u2019\u201d Longoria tells me, repeating the response she tells her agent to give to the flood of overtures she gets to act, to donate, to produce, to fund. \u201c[People] are like, \u2018Isn\u2019t she shooting right now in Atlanta?\u2019 \u2018She\u2019s available.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n The truth is multitasking suits her. When Longoria first moved to Los Angeles from Corpus Christi, Texas, in her twenties, she kept a job as a corporate headhunter even after she snagged a role on The Young and the Restless. While Desperate Housewives aired and Longoria entered her thirties, she decided to earn her master\u2019s degree in Chicano Studies from Cal State at night. Twice a week, she\u2019d take classes from 7 p.m. until 10 p.m., heading back to set the next morning before sunrise. So perhaps it\u2019s not a surprise that she was never going to stick to acting. After Desperate Housewives wrapped, Longoria joined its creator\u2019s next show Devious Maids as an executive producer. She was tapped to direct an episode of the series and went on to direct episodes of Jane the Virgin, starring Gina Rodriguez, The Mick, and Black-ish. When I last spoke to Longoria in 2020, she explained that she wasn\u2019t one of those actors who discovered directing. She was a born \u201cproducer and director who fell into acting.\u201d<\/p>\n Saint Laurent by Anthony Vaccarello top, skirt, tights, belt, earrings, bracelets, and shoes; Guante Varad\u00e9 gloves; Stylist’s own shawl<\/p>\n<\/div>\n (Image credit: F\u00e9lix Valiente)<\/p>\n Another network TV star turned filmmaker, George Clooney has known Longoria since they met on the Warner Brothers lot decades ago, where he maintains that \u201cit was impossible not to notice her.\u201d The two have since traded notes on how and when to navigate making the switch from roles in front of the camera to ones behind it. And while he would never presume to give her advice, \u201cwe did talk much earlier about being in charge of your career\u2014not just relying on what some producer thinks of you as an actor, having more say in the work you do, whether that\u2019s producing or writing or directing,\u201d Clooney writes in an email.<\/p>\n Clooney and Longoria have fundraised together and connected over their mutual involvement in political activism. He is adamant that in that time he has been more fan than mentor. \u201cShe kicked ass,\u201d he continues, referring to her work on Flamin\u2019 Hot, the perhaps-not-true-but-still-addictive tale of Richard Monta\u00f1ez, the Mexican-American janitor reputed to have invented the iconic Cheetos flavor. \u201cTalent doesn\u2019t sustain you in this business. It requires hard work, determination, and brass balls. We know countless stars who flamed out. The reason she\u2019s still so relevant is because she won\u2019t take no for an answer.\u201d<\/p>\n (Image credit: Future)<\/p>\n Guilty, Longoria tells me. She is as relentless as Clooney says. \u201cI say if I get a no for something that I really want a yes for, I\u2019m always [like], \u2018Okay, I\u2019m asking the wrong question or I\u2019m asking the wrong person,\u2019\u201d she says.<\/p>\n Practically, that approach means that Longoria ends up handling much of what someone else might deputize her team to do. Cris Abrego, who launched the production company and talent agency Hyphenate Media Group with Longoria, has watched her in action. \u201cEva picks up the phone,\u201d he says. \u201cWe don\u2019t call people and say, \u2018We\u2019re calling on behalf of Eva Longoria,\u2019 because nine times out of 10, she\u2019s calling herself.\u201d<\/p>\n When Longoria wanted Becky G to sing the Diane Warren-penned \u201cThe Fire Inside,\u201d which scored Flamin\u2019 Hot its Oscar nod, she made a personal call to pitch the singer on the project. \u201cIt was a no-brainer,\u201d Becky says now. \u201cEva knew my story better than anyone\u2014how I used to sell Cheetos in school\u2014so when I saw that a powerful Latina woman was putting a spotlight on someone from our community as the hero, that doesn\u2019t happen so often. I was all in.\u201d<\/p>\n Later, Longoria volunteered to direct Becky in the music video as well. \u201cI got to experience her as the shot-caller,\u201d Becky says. \u201cShe\u2019s been in this industry for so long, and watching her work like that was so inspiring. For her to take me under her wing is something I\u2019ll never forget. Who wouldn\u2019t want to learn from someone like her?\u201d<\/p>\n Loewe coat; Bulgari earrings and necklace; Christian Louboutin shoes<\/p>\n<\/div>\n (Image credit: F\u00e9lix Valiente)<\/p>\n Longoria\u2019s pointillist-level attention to detail paid dividends. Flamin\u2019 Hot became \u201ca four-quadrant movie\u201d\u2014insider speak for films that appeal to both men and women, under and over the age of 25. \u201cPeople were like, \u2018I saw it with my mom and my 17-year-old son and my grandma,\u2019\u201d she says. \u201cYoung, old, white, Hispanic, Black, Asian, female, male\u2014I made the movie for my community, but everybody loved it.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s the ultimate aim for her work. Can she create something so good and compelling that even unlikely audiences are drawn in? That\u2019s part of what motivated her to do Searching for Mexico. She hoped it could bring disparate groups of people together under the guise of entertainment. \u201cI feel like the strained relationship between us and Mexico needs to be repaired, and I think culture and food can easily celebrate the best things of a country,\u201d Longoria says. \u201cThe people who were screaming, \u2018Build that wall!\u2019 are the same people that are going to Taco Tuesday. And I\u2019m like, \u2018No, no, no. You don\u2019t get to margarita out and shit on the culture that gave you the taco and gave you the margarita. You have to go, \u2018This came from there. There must be good things.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Even weeks before the election, the sentiment sounds utopian. But when Longoria and I catch up after Donald Trump<\/a> has secured a second presidential term, it seems hopelessly quaint.<\/p>\n In 2016, Longoria took to her bed after Trump prevailed. \u201cI\u2019ve never been depressed in my life,\u201d she recalls. In addition to actual, bodily anguish, she felt serious doubt about convictions that had once felt undeniable. \u201cIt was like, \u2018Does my vote really matter? Am I really making a difference?\u2019\u201d she says. \u201cI was so untethered to the core of what I believe because I truly believed in my soul that the best person wins. And then that happened, and I was like, \u2018Oh, wait. The best person doesn\u2019t win.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Gucci jacket, top, and pants; Bulgari earrings<\/p>\n<\/div>\n (Image credit: F\u00e9lix Valiente)<\/p>\n This time, she didn\u2019t feel quite so floored. \u201cThe shocking part is not that he won,\u201d she says two days after the race is called for Trump. \u201cIt\u2019s that a convicted criminal who spews so much hate could hold the highest office.\u201d Longoria spent the better part of this past summer campaigning for Kamala Harris<\/a>. She rallied volunteers with Tim Walz. Countless celebrities endorsed the Democratic ticket, but Longoria is more than a famous surrogate. The Washington Post has called her a genuine \u201cpolitical power broker\u201d for the \u201cfierce and productive\u201d work she has done to organize women and Latinos. The Texas Tribune profiled her efforts to recruit and support Hispanic Democratic candidates up and down the ballot. It\u2019s been less than 24 hours since Harris conceded when Longoria calls me, and it\u2019s obvious that she is still processing the loss. \u201cI would like to think our fight continues,\u201d she says. But she can\u2019t pretend she knows what\u2019s coming next. The country \u201cis a scary place,\u201d she continues. \u201cIf he keeps his promises, it\u2019s going to be a scary place.\u201d<\/p>\n For years now, Longoria has spent most of her time outside of Hollywood. She and her husband Jos\u00e9 Bast\u00f3n, with their son Santiago, 6, are split between Spain and Mexico. Work takes them from Europe to South America and back. The movie and television business is in flux, but the globalization of it at least suits her. Longoria doesn\u2019t tend to shoot in Los Angeles, and she doesn\u2019t miss it.<\/p>\n (Image credit: Future)<\/p>\n \u201cI had my whole adult life here,\u201d she says, gesturing around her. \u201cBut even before [the pandemic], it was changing. The vibe was different. And then Covid happened, and it pushed it over the edge. Whether it\u2019s the homelessness or the taxes, not that I want to shit on California\u2014it just feels like this chapter in my life is done now.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m privileged,\u201d she adds later. \u201cI get to escape and go somewhere. Most Americans aren\u2019t so lucky. They\u2019re going to be stuck in this dystopian country, and my anxiety and sadness is for them.\u201d<\/p>\n Still, no matter her primary address, she continues to identify as a patriot completely, with all the associated baggage we carry. How could she not? Her family has been in Texas for nine generations. America might be battered, but Longoria knows intimately that you can be disappointed in something and still believe in it. She works in the entertainment industry.<\/p>\n Christian Dior dress; Guante Varad\u00e9 gloves<\/p>\n<\/div>\n (Image credit: F\u00e9lix Valiente)<\/p>\n Earlier this year, Amazon<\/a> founder Jeff Bezos and his fianc\u00e9e Lauren S\u00e1nchez<\/strong> (who remembers interviewing Longoria in her previous life as a journalist) named Longoria a recipient of their annual Courage and Civility Awards, a prize that comes with $50 million to spend on the charities of her choice.<\/p>\n In Longoria-like fashion, Bezos and S\u00e1nchez called her themselves to deliver the good news, with S\u00e1nchez name-checking a recent speech Longoria had delivered in which she called for more investment in women and communities. \u201cHer words about empowering women and giving them a voice really hit home for me,\u201d S\u00e1nchez says. \u201cI was almost moved to tears. She always came across as smart and strong, but hearing her that day, I realized this woman is going to make a huge difference in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n (Image credit: Future)<\/p>\n Longoria is planning to use the funds to boost the causes in which she has long invested. She is also responding to the sudden influx of calls she\u2019s gotten to \u201csave iguanas and trees\u201d with as much grace as she can muster. She founded her own grant-giving organization \u201cbecause I was getting a thousand invitations a week\u2014dolphins in Japan, AIDS in Africa, sex trafficking in Thailand,\u201d as Longoria puts it. \u201cAnd I was like, \u2018Oh my god, yes, the dolphins need help. AIDS\u2014we should find a cure.\u2019 I realized I wasn\u2019t making a dent anywhere. We were spread so thin. So I was like, I need to get specific on who I want to help. I knew it was going to be women, and I wanted it to be Latinas\u2014the women who raised me. And then looking at the barriers to economic mobility, it\u2019s mostly education, culture, and political advocacy, so I decided, let\u2019s do these three buckets.\u201d<\/p>\n That kind of decisiveness has driven S\u00e1nchez to clarify her own priorities. \u201cShe\u2019s inspired me to be more vocal and involved in supporting our community,\u201d S\u00e1nchez says. \u201cShe motivates me all the time.\u201d<\/p>\n (Image credit: F\u00e9lix Valiente)<\/p>\n Longoria is exceptionally conscious of how much work there is to be done. Well before pollsters were tweaking their election models, Longoria was sounding the alarm to the party elite that Latinos were increasingly sour on the economy and susceptible to conservative appeals. \u201cWe\u2019ve been screaming from the highest rooftop that the Latino vote is not something to take for granted,\u201d she says. \u201cYou have to earn it and win it every election cycle.\u201d She is already strategizing how candidates in future elections might reverse the trend. \u201cI want to know how we can communicate that government and politics affects your life, whether you like it or not,\u201d she says. \u201cEither you participate in that or you let somebody else hold the power.\u201d<\/p>\n She learned that lesson years ago. Now she finds herself teaching it, and not only to elected officials and political leaders, but to the women in her own industry. The status quo will prevail until people upend it. Executives will tell the same stories until women and people of color decide to tell new ones. \u201cGina Rodriguez directs because I was like, \u2018Listen to me! Get behind the camera!\u2019\u201d she says. \u201cAmerica Ferrera, Lana Parrilla\u2014anybody that wants to come and hear my spiel, I\u2019m like, \u2018Yes.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Longoria doesn\u2019t pretend it\u2019s easy. After a glut of production in the pre-pandemic years, streamers have started to cut back. And when that happens, \u201cstudios go, \u2018Let\u2019s just tap into the same well that we have always tapped into for talent.’ And that\u2019s unfortunate for women, for people of color, for any marginalized community,\u201d Longoria says. She only knows one way to contend with the odds.<\/p>\n \u201cI show up on time,\u201d Longoria says. \u201cI show up prepared. Our industry is famous for specifically men failing up. It\u2019s like, \u2018He got that movie? Didn\u2019t he just\u2026 The last movie, he just\u2026? Didn\u2019t that bomb? And they give him another [chance]. That\u2019s great, but I couldn\u2019t do that. I don\u2019t get a second chance. I think for me, there\u2019s no better position than to be underestimated because then you can always over deliver. I\u2019m comfortable outworking anybody in the room.\u201d<\/p>\n Photographer <\/strong>F\u00e9lix Valiente | DOP<\/strong> Pascal Chah\u00edn Martin | Stylist <\/strong>Enol Blasco | Hair Stylist <\/strong>Jesus De Paula | Makeup Artist <\/strong>Iv\u00e1n G\u00f3mez | Manicurist<\/strong> Lucero Hurtado | Production<\/strong> NM Productions | Locations <\/strong>Thompson Madrid, by Hyatt<\/a>; La Fisna Wine Bar; Caf\u00e9 Barbieri<\/p>\n
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