Eva Longoria, the Corpus Christi, Texas native, recently shared a personal photo with her sisters, reflecting on her childhood and early experiences. In the image, she’s pictured with her three sisters—Elizabeth (Liza), Esmeralda, and Emily—posing in order of age on the patio of their grandmother’s house. Longoria recalls being the standout in the family due to her dark hair and skin.
As the only one with deeply tanned skin, Longoria says she struggled with her appearance as a child, often being called “la prieta fea,” which means “ugly dark one” in Spanish. “I hated that my skin was so dark,” she admits. However, as she grew older, she came to appreciate her complexion, noting that others now envy her skin tone. “I’m really, really proud of it now,” she adds.
Looking at the photo, Longoria recalls feeling confident in her appearance, particularly in her hairstyle. “I remember feeling pretty,” she says, reflecting on her feathered side-part that made her feel like she was “feeling myself” at the time.
Longoria’s big break came in 2004 when she was cast as Gabrielle Solis on the hit series Desperate Housewives. However, the journey to that role wasn’t without its challenges. “I had jet black hair when I was on The Young and the Restless,” she recalls. “But when I got Desperate Housewives, they said, ‘Your hair’s too dense for camera.’ They made me highlight it, and I was freaking out because I’d never had highlights in my life.”
Despite the initial shock, Longoria embraced her new look and later laughed about her early promotional photos for Desperate Housewives. “This is my pageant hair. I have a bit of volume up at the top, and my pageant pose is going on… I think I even did my own makeup,” she jokes.
The success of Desperate Housewives was unexpected at the time. Longoria recalls not realizing how significant her role was, saying, “I didn’t know it was a big moment for me. I didn’t think it was going to be an iconic day, but it turned out it was.”
As she looks back on those early years, Longoria can’t help but laugh at one detail: “Look how thin my eyebrows are. My advice to her is fill in your eyebrows. Girl, get an eyebrow pencil!”
Now, at 50, Longoria is more confident than ever, embracing the milestone with excitement. “I’m having a moment,” she says, expressing how her skin and health are thriving. She celebrated her birthday on a boat in Miami, surrounded by 150 friends, calling it “one of my favorite nights” in recent memory. “We danced our butts off,” she recalls with a smile.
Her health routine is key to her well-being. “I travel, I exercise, I’m running up and down with my 6-year-old,” she explains, adding that she wants to continue doing these things for as long as possible. Longoria’s approach to life has evolved as well: “When you’re young, it’s about saying yes to everything. Now that I’m 50, it’s about saying no and curating what I want my life to look like.”
Looking ahead, Longoria feels that her best years are yet to come. “Fifty really is the new 30,” she declares. “I refuse to believe my greatest success is behind me. I think there are 20 more of these in the future.”
Her latest project, the CNN documentary series Eva Longoria: Searching For Spain, premieres on April 27, marking another exciting chapter in her ongoing career. As she reflects on her life, Longoria is proud of the moments captured in photos that define who she is today.
