The actresss career has been in overdrive for decades.
As she approaches turning 50, the Hollywood mainstay gets personal about why shes still not slowing down.
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She was toobeautiful, too sexy, toomuch.
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.
But Longoria isnt one to take direction from detractors.
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.
But her makeup artist reminded her to focus on the present.
She went, Honey, do them now, Longoria recalls.
Because youre not going to do them when youre 50.
In four months, Eva Longoria will be 50.
Not because I dont want to age but because Idowant to age.
For me, age is just a number, but Im excited, Longoria continues.
I refuse to believe my greatest success is behind me.
In April, she joined Siete Foods as an investor and advisor.
It has since sold to PepsiCo for $1.2 billion.
(Stanley Tucci inaugurated the series with two seasons of his ownSearching for Italy.)
In June, Longoria starred in the Apple TV+ seriesLand of Women(which she also executive produced).
When she wrapped them, Longoria was exhausted, gratified, and on no discernible circadian clock.
As in wellness, so too at workshe 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.
I get depressed thinking Im not going to see it all before I die, she says.
That makes me sad.
She wants to be out there, doing.
[People] are like, Isnt she shooting right now in Atlanta?
The truth is multitasking suits her.
So perhaps its not a surprise that she was never going tostick to acting.
AfterDesperate Housewiveswrapped,Longoria joined its creators next showDevious Maidsas an executive producer.
She was a born producer and director who fell into acting.
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.
Talent doesnt sustain you in this business.
It requires hard work, determination, and brass balls.
We know countless stars who flamed out.
The reason shes still so relevant is because she wont take no for an answer.
Guilty, Longoria tells me.
She is as relentless as Clooney says.
Eva picks up the phone, he says.
It was a no-brainer, Becky says now.
I was all in.
Later, Longoria volunteered to direct Becky in the music video as well.
I got to experience her as the shot-caller, Becky says.
Shes 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 Ill never forget.
Who wouldnt want to learn from someone like her?
People were like, I saw it with my momandmy 17-year-old sonandmy grandma, she says.
Its the ultimate aim for her work.
Can she create something so good and compelling that even unlikely audiences are drawn in?
Thats part of what motivated her to doSearching for Mexico.
She hoped it could bring disparate groups of people together under the guise of entertainment.
The people who were screaming, Build that wall!
are the same people that are going to Taco Tuesday.
And Im like, No, no, no.
You have to go, This came from there.
There must be good things.
Even weeks before the election, the sentiment sounds utopian.
In 2016, Longoria took to her bed after Trump prevailed.
Ive never been depressed in my life, she recalls.
In addition to actual, bodily anguish, she felt serious doubt about convictions that had once felt undeniable.
It was like, Does my vote really matter?
Am I really making a difference?
And then that happened, and I was like, Oh, wait.
The best person doesntwin.
Gucci jacket, top, and pants; Bulgari earrings
This time, she didnt feel quite so floored.
Its that a convicted criminal who spews so much hate could hold the highest office.
Longoria spent the better part of this past summer campaigning for Kamala Harris.
She rallied volunteers with Tim Walz.
I would like to think our fight continues, she says.
But she cant pretend she knows whats coming next.
The country is a scary place, she continues.
If he keeps his promises, its going to be a scary place.
For years now, Longoria has spent most of her time outside of Hollywood.
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 doesnt tend to shoot in Los Angeles, and she doesnt miss it.
I had my whole adult life here, she says, gesturing around her.
But even before [the pandemic], it was changing.
The vibe was different.
And then Covid happened, and it pushed it over the edge.
Im privileged, she adds later.
I get to escape and go somewhere.
Most Americans arent so lucky.
Theyre going to be stuck in this dystopian country, and my anxiety and sadness is for them.
How could she not?
Her family has been in Texas for nine generations.
She works in the entertainment industry.
Her words about empowering women and giving them a voice really hit home for me, Sanchez says.
I was almost moved to tears.
Longoria is planning to use the funds to boost the causes in which she has long invested.
And I was like, Oh my god, yes, the dolphins need help.
AIDSwe should find a cure.
I realized I wasnt making a dent anywhere.
We were spread so thin.
So I was like, I need to get specific on who I want to help.
That kind of decisiveness has driven Sanchez to clarify her own priorities.
Shes inspired me to be more vocal and involved in supporting our community, Sanchez says.
She motivates me all the time.
Schiaparelli dress
Longoria is exceptionally conscious of how much work there is to be done.
You have to earn it and win it every election cycle.
She is already strategizing how candidates in future elections might reverse the trend.
Either you participate in that or you let somebody else hold the power.
She learned that lesson years ago.
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.
Gina Rodriguez directs because I was like, Listen to me!
Get behind the camera!
America Ferrera, Lana Parrillaanybody that wants to come and hear my spiel, Im like, Yes.
Longoria doesnt pretend its easy.
After a glut of production in the pre-pandemic years, streamers have started to cut back.
And thats unfortunate for women, for people of color, for any marginalized community, Longoria says.
She only knows one way to contend with the odds.
I show up on time, Longoria says.
I show up prepared.
Our industry is famous for specifically men failing up.
Its like, He got that movie?
The last movie, he just…?
And they give him another [chance].
Thats great, but I couldnt do that.
I dont get a second chance.
Im comfortable outworking anybody in the room.
And pull it off.
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