Actor, Producer, Director, Activist

Eva Longoria

Award-winning actress, director, producer, entrepreneur and philanthropist Eva Longoria has been leading the charge of diverse and female representation – both in front and behind the camera. An industry staple, Longoria is constantly honing her craft, seeking new projects, expanding opportunities for others and paving the way for future women and minority producers, directors and industry leaders in Hollywood and beyond.

Longoria will next be seen on the big screen in the jazz era film Sylvie’s Love opposite Tessa Thompson. The film is slated to premiere at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival. The period drama from

writer-director Eugene Ashe and producer Nnamdi Asomugha, is the story of an aspiring television producer who falls in love with, a talented saxophonist, over the course of the summer of 1957.

Known for her portrayal of ‘Gabrielle Solis’ on Desperate Housewives, Longoria starred in the series for eight seasons opposite Teri Hatcher, Felicity Huffman and Marcia Cross. It is for her work on the series that she received SAG Awards for “Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series” in

2005 and 2006. Individually, she was nominated for a Golden Globe Award in 2006. She was also named the ALMA Awards’ Person of the Year in 2006. Other past acting credits include Paramount’s live-action feature film Dora and the Lost City of Gold, Overboard, Dog Days, Telenovela, Grand Hotel, Jane the Virgin, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Mother Up!, The Young and the Restless, General Hospital and Beverly Hills 90210.

Later this year, Longoria will prepare to direct two feature films – the workplace comedy 24/7 and Flamin’ Hot, the highly anticipated Fox Searchlight biopic about the creator of the spicy Flamin’ Hot Cheetos snack for which Longoria beat out multiple high profile film directors vying for the job. In addition to directing 24/7 for Universal, Longoria will star opposite Kerry Washington and serve as an executive producer. Directing two feature films is a huge step for the entertainment industry as a whole as according to Stacy Smith’s USC Latino Inclusion Study, only one Latina in the past 12 years has directed one of the top 1,200 grossing films. Longoria will now be the first Latina to direct two major studio films back-to-back.

Long before taking the helm of these two feature films, Longoria established herself as one of the most in-demand television directors. Past credits include the ESPN 30 for 30 documentary Versus as well as episodes of Black-ish, Jane the Virgin, Glamourous, The Mick, LA to Vegas, Telenovela, Devious Maids, Go Sebastian Go.

On the production side, Longoria is one the most significant trailblazers and most sought out producers through her company UnbeliEVAble Productions. Currently under the largest deal 20th Century Fox Television and Universal Pictures has ever made with a Latina, the company chooses purposeful projects that accurately represent the stories of the Latinx and other underrepresented communities. Longoria was heavily wooed into the groundbreaking deal as a result of her strong track record of producing Latinx content including ABC’s Grand Hotel, which was the first major network drama to feature a majority Latinx cast and female directors, a decision that Longoria resolutely made. Other projects from UnbeliEVAble Productions include the Emmy Award nominated Netflix documentary Reversing Roe, HBO docu-film A Class Apart and the Lionsgate film John Wick. Longoria was also the first and longest running executive producers of the American Latino Media Arts (ALMA)

Awards, which celebrate and highlight the best American Latino contributions to music, television and film.

Longoria also recently teamed up with Emmy Award-winning writer Lena Waithe, MACRO, and The Black List to launch ‘The MACRO Episodic Lab, Powered by The Black List,’ which offers people of color the opportunity to develop and produce an original digital or television script by providing important tools and resources.

Named by The Hollywood Reporter as ‘Philanthropist of the Year,’ Longoria is a lifelong philanthropist and activist who has lent her voice to causes she is passionate about ranging from using her birth announcement to discuss migrant children being held in camps at the border to creating opportunities for women and people of color. In the wake of the #MeToo Movement, Longoria joined forces with Reese Witherspoon, Natalie Portman and other leading Hollywood women to co-found Time’s Up. Powered by women, Time’s Up addresses systemic inequality and injustice in workplaces across all industries that have kept underrepresented groups from reaching their full potential. Committed to empowering Latinas everywhere, Longoria established the Eva Longoria Foundation (ELF) in 2012 to help Latinas build better futures for themselves and their families through educational programs, scholarships, mentorship and entrepreneurship. Longoria also co-founded the non-profit Eva’s Heroes in 2006, which is dedicated to enriching the lives of adolescents and young adults with developmental challenges by providing an inclusive setting built on the four tenets of: interact, grow, learn, and love. Longoria is also the spokesperson for Padres Contra el Cancer, a nonprofit organization that is committed to improving the quality of life for Latino children with cancer and their families that is the only Latino program in the United States that focuses on addressing the needs of the entire family. Most recently organized the ‘Letter of Solidarity’ with America Ferrera in response to the El Paso,

Texas shooting. The letter ran in The New York Times and was signed by over 200 Latinx community leaders urging others to turn this time of despair into a time of action.

On the branding side, Longoria has served as a Global Brand Ambassador for L’Oreal Paris for over 15 years. She also has her own fashion line The Eva Longoria Collection, which has shown at NYFW and a home collection line with JCPenney. She is a New York Times bestselling author for her cookbook Eva’s Kitchen and has created the fragrances ‘EVA’ and ‘EVAmour.’

In 2013 Longoria received her master’s degree in Chicano Studies from California State University, Northridge, writing her thesis on “Success STEMS from Diversity: The Value of Latinas in STEM Careers.”

A native of Texas, Longoria currently resides in Los Angeles with her family.