THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. Friday, August 9, 2019 |M7
came in for a burger.
In college at Texas A&M, I ma-
jored in kinesiology, the study of
body movement. I wanted to be a
physical therapist. During my se-
nior year, I was coaxed into com-
peting in Miss Corpus Christi USA
and won. The contest included a
free trip to Los Angeles as one of
the prizes. I thought Hollywood
would be a fun vacation before
going on for my master’s degree.
In L.A., WilhelminaModels
wanted to sign me. But when I
showed up, they said, “Oh, you’re
5-foot-2.” I decided to remain in
L.A. I roomed with another girl
from the pageant. Then we found
two other girls and shared a one-
bedroom apartment in Hollywood.
My big break came on “The
Young and the Restless.” I began
playing the role of a scheming
husband-stealer in 2001. Two
years later, the character’s story
line ran out. Two weeks after
leaving the show, I was hired by
ABC for “L.A. Dragnet.” This time
the show was canceled.
ABC wanted to hold on to me,
so they gave me the pilot script of
“Desperate Housewives” in 2004.
That show lasted until 2012.
Today, my husband, Pepe, and I
and our son, Santiago, live in a
contemporary home in Los Ange-
les. My favorite space is the
kitchen. I enjoy cooking. When
our family comes over, we all
wind up in there watching the
smallest TV in the house. It re-
minds me of growing up.
There’s a lot of my mom in me.
I always feel like I’m not getting
enough done.
—As told to Marc MyersEva Longoria, 44, is an actress,
producer and director. She stars
in the film “Dora and the Lost City
of Gold,” which opens Aug. 9, and
is the executive producer of the
ABC series “Grand Hotel.”M
y family emi-
grated from Spain
to Mexico—then
known as New
Spain—in the
1600s. In the mid-1700s, my sev-
enth great-grandfather, Pedro
Longoria, and his family joined a
mission to populate a region in
the north to keep the British and
French out.
The mission came with an in-
centive—the promise of land
grants that were tax-exempt from
Spain for 10 years. My family
wound up with 4,500 acres just
north of the Rio Grande.
The land was still Mexico then,
but after the Texas Revolution in
1836, the border pushed south
and their land was in the U.S. So,
I’m ninth generation American.
I grew up on a ranch near Cor-
pus Christi, in an area where nine
members of my family lived on
part of our original land. Most of
my aunts were educators.
Our house was small. There
was one bathroom and a pond in
the back. I loved climbing the
fruit trees. We had a vegetable
garden and raised chickens and
other animals.
My mother, Ella, was a role
model. She taught me the impor-
tance of a strong work ethic. My
father, Enrique, was a mechanical
engineer at the Corpus Christi
Army Depot. He taught me to
hunt and fish before I was 7.
I was the youngest of four girls.
My older sisters, Esmeralda and
Emily, and I looked out for our
oldest sister, Liza, who was born
developmentally disabled.
Mom took care of all of us
equally. She was so nervous for
Liza at school that she went with
her and sat in her class every day.
She still had dinner on the table
each evening at 6 p.m.
My mother even applied to be a
teacher’s assistant and was as-HOUSE CALL|EVA LONGORIA
A Pioneering Spirit
The actress grew up on a Texas ranch that her family owned for centuries
signed to my sister’s class. She
followed Liza from grade to grade.
She set a powerful example. As
a result, my sisters and I never
left Liza out of our social lives.
When we wanted to join the Cor-
pus Christi Boys & Girls Club, they
told us they weren’t equipped to
handle children with special
needs. We persuaded them to ac-
cept all four of us with the prom-
ise that we’d look after Liza.I didn’t act in school, but I
loved entertaining my parents.
When I was little, my parents af-
fectionately referred to me as the
family’s “ugly duckling,” so I was
probably eager to stand out. Peo-
ple would say to my parents,
“Your daughters are so beautiful.
And who’s this?” In response, I
developed a sense of humor.
My family didn’t have much
money, but in my teens, I still
wanted a quinceañera—a tradi-
tional party for my 15th birthday.
To pay for it, I secretly took a
part-time job at the local Wendy’s
when I was 13. I told the manager
I was 16. My parents found out
only when one of my teachershit. My own favorite is chalupas.
It was the first dish my mom
taught me to cook.
Hobby:I sew everything: dresses,
curtains, costumes and the best
hemlines on jeans
Childhood skill:I can start a fire
in the middle of nowhere with a
rock and kindling.Favorite childhood TV
show:“Three’s Company”
Best advice from mom:
“Never forget where you
came from.”
Best advice from dad:
“Laugh at life.”
Best lesson from sister Liza:
Compassion
Liza’s outlook:When we were
young, Liza’s jacket was stolen
off her shoulders at school. I
asked, “Who stole your jacket?”
She replied, “It must have been
someone who was cold.”
Favorite family dish:My
chicken tortilla soup is a familyLONGORIA’S LOVES
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CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: SHAYAN ASGHARNIA FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL; EVERETT COLLECTION; LONGORIA FAMILY
Eva Longoria at the Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif., above.
Right: Ms. Longoria at age 4, on right, at her grandfather’s ranch in
Corpus Christi, Texas, with sisters Esme, left and Emily, center.
MANSION
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