Audience: Do you remember your very first stair climb?
Eva Longoria: It doesn’t make me any younger! It was in 2005. A few days before, while passing in front of the window of a shop all that is ordinary in Los Angeles, I had come across a long gold mesh dress. It only cost me forty dollars! When a journalist asked me: “Who are you wearing?”, implying “Which label?”, I did not understand the question and I answered her: “How do I wear? I wear my dress , that’s all !” (laughs)
Three years ago, you imagined that you were going to die in Cannes, tell us!
Yes. During a walk with my son Santi, I began to suffer from stomach pain. Around 3 am, I was in so much pain that I went to the emergency room. Without anyone knowing, I was operated on in the wake of appendicitis. When the doctors told me that I had to stay in hospital for three days, I replied: “Don’t count on it! I’m here to work!” So I found a nurse to follow me, an IV shot close at hand, and the next day I walked the red carpet as if nothing had happened. Back in Los Angeles, I collapsed. I must have slept for two weeks! To this day, I can’t believe I did all that.
“I want the body of my 25 years but not the brain!”
Do you put a lot of pressure on yourself to look good?
My problem is that I have a big weakness for close-fitting clothes. I’m not a big fan of frills, additions… So when you wear a dress that sticks to your skin, you can’t afford to have a slack body! That’s why I don’t stuff myself with guacamole or fideo, the traditional Mexican pasta. However, I love it!
Does the idea of aging scare you?
No because, for my part, seeing the years go by has allowed me to become wiser, more reasonable. If a magician came to offer me to be 25 again, I would decline the offer. In a pinch, I might ask him to give me the body, but in no case the brain that went with it!
When did you realize that you could attract attention?
My three older sisters have blond hair and light eyes. For years, I envied them, me who was brunette with black eyes. I even thought I had been adopted! In fact, until I was puberty, my family used to call me “La Prieta Faya”, which in Spanish roughly means “the ugly duckling”. Until the day when it turned into a swan!
Yet you participated in a Miss contest in Texas…
I didn’t do this to tell the world, “Did you see how beautiful I look today?” No, this competition was an opportunity for me to pay for my studies. I had decided not to ask my family for anything. Matter of pride! I finally won the Miss Corpus Christi award, which allowed me to obtain a scholarship and go to live in Los Angeles to attend castings. I was 23 years old.
And what prompted you to make a film about spicy snacks?
It’s Cheetos, shades! (laughs) And it’s not the story of the Cheetos, but of Richard Montañez, a Latino who was raised in a migrant labor camp in California. One day, while he has become a janitor, a Cheetos machine breaks down. Montañez brings some home and seasons them with spices, reminiscent of Mexican street corn, then he tastes them at his direction. His idea will bring billions of dollars to his company, of which he will become the vice-president.
“During confinement, I drank wine with Victoria Beckham”
Is it true that your grandmother took a long time to understand your profession?
True ! When she turned on the TV and saw me jump into the arms of a man, she imagined that I was copulating with him! No matter how much I told her it was fiction, she didn’t believe me. How many times has she swung at me: “Stop lying, I know you went out with that boy mowing the lawn!”
What forged the woman of heart that you are today?
The person who inspired me the most was my sister Lisa, who was born with a mental disability. Thanks to her, very early on, I experienced mutual aid, volunteering, the outstretched hand. I dedicate time to my neighbor as I have always done with her. And I always put the negative things into perspective because I’m lucky enough not to take twenty minutes to tie my shoes. My sister shaped the way I think and live my life.
Is it true that during the pandemic and confinement, you were very often connected with Victoria Beckham?
It’s true ! We were talking all the time via Zoom. We had even found a nickname for these meetings. They were called the “Wine o’clock”. We uncorked a good bottle of wine and we toasted the health of the world in such bad shape! I’ve done a lot of zooms that involved drinking wine with my friends. It’s crazy to think that I was more connected with them than normal. If Covid has had a positive effect, this is it.
Key dates
1. March 15, 1975
Born in Texas to parents of Mexican descent. She obtained a degree in kinesiology. At 23, she was elected Miss of her city and left for Los Angeles.
2. 2003
She was chosen to play Gabrielle Solis in the Desperate Housewives series, a role she held until 2012, over 180 episodes.
3. 2007
She married French basketball player Tony Parker, from whom she divorced in 2011, before remarrying in 2016 with businessman José Bastón, with whom she had a son: Santiago.
4. 2022
In Cannes for the 17th time, she is presenting her first film, Flamin’ Hot, a biopic about the man behind a successful brand of aperitif biscuits.
See also: Eva Longoria: her black dress worn at Brooklyn Beckham’s wedding caused a sensation, where does she come from?
Interview by Franck Rousseau