As a cochair

of President
Obamas
reelection
campaign and
executive
producer of
two highly
anticipated tv
shows, Eva
Longoria is in
high demand
post-desperate
and more in
control than
ever. Ladies,
this is how you
multitask.

Evalution
By Amy Elisa Keith
11_FEAT_EVAL_ship.indd 1

Photographs BY Justin Stephens

9/21/12 4:20:04 PM

month tk 2011LATINA .COM 2

11_FEAT_EVAL_ship.indd 2

9/21/12 4:20:37 PM

As an
actor,
you say
your
lines
and
hope
that it
turns
out well.
Now
Im in
charge.
potential in life, whether youre a dentist,
a lawyer or an actor.
Just as she is about to plunge into
another election topic, Longoria spots
actor and friend George Lopez in a corner. Playground-style, she yells out,
George! She giggles in embarrassment
as the entire patio now eyes their reunion.
Wrapping her arms around him like a little sister, Longoria pokes her head out,
smiling. Laughter and small talk ensue
before Longoria sits down and dives right
back in. Honestly, the main thing about
this election is that its going to be a very
clear choice.
From Planned Parenthood to immigration reform, Longoria is passionate
about dispelling the myths surrounding
the presidents policies, and says the
nations minorities are getting the message. Latinos are waking up and going,
Oh, wait a minute, I may have had this
view on this particular social issue, but if
I vote for this candidate my son cant go

to college on a Pell Grant, she says.

We have to have a bit more common
sense about what we want our country to
look like, she adds matter-of-factly.
A few weeks after her Latina interview, Longoria took that message to the
Democratic National Convention in
Charlotte, N.C. Her story of perseverance
and triumph instantly connected with the
DNC crowd.
In my family, there was one cardinal
priorityeducation, Longoria said in
her speech. College was not an option;
it was mandatory. So even though we
didnt have a lot of money, we made it
work. I signed up for financial aid, Pell
Grants, work study, anything I could.
And just like our president and first lady,
I took out loans to pay for school. I
changed oil in a mechanics shop, I
flipped burgers at Wendys, I taught aerobics and I worked on campus to pay
those loans back.
Never skipping a beat, Longoria
makes multitasking look effortless. And
that is certainly coming in handy as an
executive producer for her new dating
show on NBC, Ready for Love, which
debuts this winter.
What Longoria describes as an
authentic, noncheesy version of ABCs
The Bachelor, Ready for Love brings the
science of matchmaking to the typical
dating show for what she calls a modern approach to finding a soul mate.
She personally interviewed hundreds of
men to find three who were actually
ready for love. Her criteria? Plain old
intuition. Im a woman, Longoria says,
gesturing with her teal-painted fingernails. I can tell if they want to find their
soul mate or if they are just looking for
stardom.
Instead of the typical scenario in which
a random hot guy steps out of a limo to
dozens of just-as-random screaming
women, Longorias reality show taps professional matchmakers to find suitable
mates for each of the three bachelors:
Ben Patton, a financier from Dallas; Tim
Lopez, a musician from Santa Barbara,
Calif.; and Ernesto Arguello, a philanthropist from Miami.

H ai r b y Rica r d o Ro j a s f o r T h e G lam G o e s O n .com . M a k e u p b y Elan Bongio r no f o r C e l e s tin e A g e nc y. manic u r e b y

Da p hn e A ll e n d e f o r LO r al Pa r i s at Rona R e p r e s e nt s . St y ling b y Emma P r itcha r d f o r B A- r e p s .com .

resh off a flight from

Miami and gearing
up for a trip to Spain,
an ever-polished Eva
Longoria tucks into a
patio table at Hollywoods Chateau Marmont for yet another
busy day of work. With back-to-back
meetings, she settles in for her first
appointment of the day, her Latina interview, and sets up her mobile office, consisting of iPad, iPhone and Blackberry.
After checking a few e-mails and ordering a cup of Earl Grey tea, she sighs. Its
so funny, because I thought that after
Desperate Housewives Id slow down.
But the days of afternoon yoga classes
and shopping will have to wait, because
President Barack Obama is calling. Well,
its more like his campaign. I used to use
the show as my excuse, like, I cant do
that, cant make that event, Ive got the
show, says the 37-year-old tejana.
However, as a cochair for the presidents
reelection campaign, she is setting aside
the excuses (and a much-needed vacation) to take on new challenges with an
all-consuming schedule of conferences,
stump speeches and fund-raisers.
When they asked me to officially be
a cochair, it was not just to put my face
on something, quips Longoria. My mission is to educate the public on Obamas
record, specifically with two communities
that pertain to me: women and Latinos.
In truth, Longoria is certainly not one
to shy away from a challenge. In addition
to enfranchising voters, these days the
star is also focused on providing content
for and by Latinos with her production
company, UnbeliEVAble Entertainment.
Its a great position to be in, Longoria
says of transitioning from acting to executive-producing two anticipated TV
shows, NBCs Ready for Love and Lifetimes
Devious Maids. I want to be the go-to
person for amazing projects.
Longorias new career direction is a
cant-pass-up opportunity to tackle meatier issues and make history. She adds,
I want to have a platform that will allow
women to grow and attain their fullest

9 2 LATINA .COM November 2012

11_FEAT_EVAL_ship.indd 3

9/21/12 4:20:57 PM

Previous
spread:
Dress, Hugo
Boss Black.
Shoes, Jimmy
Choo.
This page:
Top, Hugo
Boss Red.

11_FEAT_EVAL_ship.indd 4

9/21/12 4:21:15 PM

While the single Longoria didnt find

love for herself on the show (I dont need
help in that arena, she says with a
laugh), she did glean a few dating tips for
the future. The matchmakers thing is to
get out of your own way, says the actress,
who split with boyfriend Eduardo Cruz,
brother to Penlope, in June and has
since confirmed dating New York Jets
quarterback Mark Sanchez. Thats good
advice.
These days, however, the showrunner
is more likely to be found in the editing
room than canoodling on a romantic
date. As an [executive producer], Im
definitely a control freak with the final
product, she admits, having wrapped
Love the day before our interview. Im
involved in music, editing, everything top
to bottom.
Longoria says her new executive role
is a welcome change from her days on
Desperate Housewives, which ended its
eight-year run in May. As an actor, you
say your lines and hope that it turns out
well. Now Im in charge. Im an underbudget kind of [producer], too, she
laughs. Im always thinking of how to do
something cheaperIm Mexican!
That combination of business acumen
and cultural pride also catapulted her to
be an executive producer alongside
Housewives creator Marc Cherry for their
new show, Devious Maids, which premieres on Lifetime in 2013.
She came to Desperate Housewives as
an unemployed actress and she left a star
who was very aware of her position in the
entertainment industry, says Cherry. He
jokingly adds, Shell probably end up
being better than me.
Set amongst the champagne wishes
and caviar dreams of Beverly Hills, the
cable showwhich moved from ABC to
Lifetime due to what Cherry describes
as scheduling conflictsfollows the
hilarious experiences of five domestic
workers played by Judy Reyes, Dania
Ramirez, Roselyn Sanchez, Ana Ortiz
and Edy Ganem.

11_FEAT_EVAL_ship.indd 5

While Longoria says Cherry initially

expressed concern about a possible backlash to portraying Latinas in stereotypical roles, his coexec stepped up with her
usual confidence. I told him that if youre
saying that, [then] youre telling me that
maids and domestic workers stories
arent worth being told; that theyre less
human. That they dont have any story to
tell. Thats absurd, she says defiantly.
Wearing multiple hats in show business is nothing new. Yet even though
Longoria looks to a fellow minority
mogul (Oprah Winfrey) as her role model,
shes thinking bigger than a talk show or
a magazine to capture the audience of
over 50 million Latinos in the U.S. Im
trying to break the mold.
Shes already broken records by topping Forbess list as the highest-paid TV
actress in 2011 (she tied with Tina Fey).
And shes happy to take third place this
year, passing the lofty crown to Sofia
Vergara. The fact that for two years in a
row weve had Latinas as the highest-paid
actressesthats not too shabby.
But its not the money or even the bigbudget projects that feed Longorias desire
for media domination. Sure, designer
suits and a killer pair of stilettos help, but
being smarter than the next guy is what
makes her feel in charge.
Education makes me feel powerful,
she says. Saber es poder. Its a true clich.
And she fits the clich into her own
life, whether that means pursuing a masters degree in Chicano studies (at Cal
State Northridge; she expects to finish
next year) or writing her thesis on education. Armed with facts, Longoria revels in
explaining the history of U.S. immigration
to political satirist/TV host Bill Maher and
holding her own alongside Vice President
Joe Biden at public appearances.
As an actor theres a stereotype that
we cant be smart, we cant be political, we
cant be civic minded or engaged. We just
have to stay in front of the camera and
look pretty, says Longoria. No. Im
human. I can do more.

9/21/12 4:21:35 PM

3 Rising
Latina
Political
Stars
Young male Latino leaders like
Marco Rubio and Julin Castro
have received lots of attention in
recent months. But there are
plenty of mujeres to keep your
eye on in the political realm.
Here are three.

Mary Gonzlez

The Democrat, 28, will be the

countrys first self-identified
pansexual legislator when shes
elected this month (she won her
partys primary in May and has
no Republican opponent on the
ballot). Gonzlez asserts that
gender identity does not play a
role in whom she is attracted
toand shes taking that and
her fight for the rights of LGBT
people and other minorities to a
staunchly conservative place:
the Texas House of
Representatives.

Bettina Incln

The 32-year-old Mexican and

Cuban Florida native is the
Republican National
Committees director of Hispanic
outreach. Incln has been called
the woman with the single
toughest job in the Republican
Party because of the GOPs
difficulties attracting Latino
voters. Incln, who has worked
on several high-profile
campaigns, also hosted a radio
show on the Cristina channel on
SiriusXM and is poised, postelection, to become a soughtafter political analyst.

Gaby Pacheco

Bodysuit,
American
Apparel. Skirt,
Juicy Couture.
Shoes, Jimmy
Choo.

11_FEAT_EVAL_ship.indd 6

The 27-year-old from Ecuador,

who holds three degrees from
Miami Dade College, declared
her undocumented status
publicly in 2006, and entered
the national scene in January
2010 when she, along with three
other undocumented students
from Miami, walked 1,500 miles
to Washington, D.C., to raise
awareness for the DREAM Act,
which failed to come to a vote in
the Senate later that year.
Currently, Pacheco is the
political director for United We
Dream, a network of youth-led
immigrant organizations across
the country.
Adriana Maestas

9/21/12 4:22:03 PM