Eva Longoria

For many Americans, Longoria is still best known for playing the pampered Gabrielle Solis on ABC’s “Desperate Housewives,” or educating us about the skin care benefits of hy-a-lu-ron-ic acid in commercials for L’Oreal. “Housewives,” played to upward of 30 million viewers in its heyday and made her a household name. For Longoria, a ninth-generation Texan who grew up in Corpus Christi, Tex. — and never planned on being an actor — the role is perhaps most significant because of what it enabled her to do next. Longoria, 45, has emerged as a fierce and productive advocate for women and Latinos. Longoria has directed shows known for placing underrepresented groups at the center of stories, including “Jane the Virgin,” “Blackish,” and two of her own regrettably short-lived projects: NBC’s “Telenovela,” and ABC’s “Grand Hotel.” She is currently set to direct three big-screen projects, one of which will mark her feature directorial debut. Longoria actually was a student during the last few seasons of “Desperate Housewives”; a year after the show wrapped, she graduated with a master’s degree in Chicana/o studies from California State University at Northridge. She wrote her thesis on the value of increasing opportunities for Latinas in STEM fields (science, technology, engineering and mathematics), which is also one focus of the nonprofit organization she founded in 2012. In September 2020 she announced the creation of She Se Puede, a digital lifestyle community she launched with actress America Ferrera and other Latina activists. The nonprofit initiative’s name is a play on the slogan coined by famed activist and labor leader Dolores Huerta, who Longoria says has been a mentor to her since her pre-fame days. In July 2020, Henry Muñoz and Longoria launched Momento Latino, a coalition uniting more than 130 organizations toward the goal of systemic change in health care, the economy and education. In 2014 she co-founded the liberal Latino Victory Fund with Henry R. Muñoz III, a designer and businessman who was then the finance chairman for the Democratic National Committee. In 2012 as President Obama prepared to run for his second term, Longoria and Muñoz teamed with lawyer Andrés W. López to organize a fund that raised more than $30 million for his reelection campaign.