Eva Longoria Opens Up About Turning 50, “Desperate Housewives” and Creating Casa Del Sol (March 2025)

Summary

Sunday Sitdown with Willie Geist – Eva Longoria Opens Up About Turning 50, “Desperate Housewives,” and Creating Casa Del Sol

Original Air Date: September 14, 2025
Podcast Host: Willie Geist
Guest: Eva Longoria

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Episode Overview

Willie Geist sits down for an uplifting, candid, and often hilarious conversation with Eva Longoria as she approaches her 50th birthday. The talk covers Eva’s journey from a rural Texas ranch to Hollywood fame, her milestone birthday philosophy, acting and directing highlights, family, cultural identity, philanthropy, and her entrepreneurial ventures—including her tequila brand, Casa Del Sol. They finish by making strawberry-mint margaritas together, embodying Eva’s infectious zest for life.

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Major Discussion Points & Insights

1. Turning 50: Philosophy and Reflections

• Eva’s take on aging:
  Eva expresses excitement rather than apprehension about turning 50, describing it as “just a number” and something she looks forward to (04:10). She’s always been future-focused and high-spirited, embracing every decade with optimism.

  “For me, it's just a number. And I've always looked forward to being older...I really, always in, my glass is half full...50 is just like that.” – Eva (04:10)

• Emotional stock-taking at 50:
  Eva emphasizes the importance of curating experiences and people in her life now, focusing less on saying ‘yes’ to everything and more on thoughtfully choosing what matters:

  “I think the second half of my life will be about saying no and just really curating my experiences, curating my people and making those moments more special.” – Eva (05:03)

2. Family & Representation in Hollywood

• Starring in a family movie for Disney:
  Eva discusses starring in the new Disney+ family adventure, Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Road Trip. She enjoys projects she can watch with her six-year-old son and values positive Latino representation:

  “It just happens to be a Latino family. So that representation also was something I was really proud of...to be in a movie that lives in joy and lives in family...That's what I want to do. Sign me up.” – Eva (09:09)

• Impact on son and legacy movies:
  Eva reflects on the rarity of wholesome, fun family films today, citing classics her son enjoys, like The Sandlot and Goonies (10:25).

3. “Searching for Spain” & Cultural Roots

• Travel series inspiration:
  Eva shares how Searching for Spain was inspired by Stanley Tucci’s Searching for Italy and her own prior series, Searching for Mexico. She reverse-engineered her dream job—being paid to explore food and culture globally:

  “I want to eat and drink my way through the world. I'm going to get a show that pays me to do that.” – Eva (13:35)

• Purpose behind showcasing Mexico and Spain:
  She discusses using food series to combat stereotypes and broaden perspectives of Mexico in particular:

  “I wanted to help repair [Mexico’s image], and it did. A lot of people came out of Searching for Mexico going, ‘I had no idea how diverse, stunning, beautiful...’ Because when you're talking about the food of a culture, you're talking about its people.” – Eva (14:05)

• Personal genealogical journey:
  Eva recounts her family lineage from Spain to Texas, exploring identity complexities as a Mexican-American of Spanish descent. She emphasizes pride in all aspects of her roots (16:41–18:31).

4. Early Life and Path to Hollywood

• Childhood on a Texas ranch:
  Eva’s upbringing was rural and grounded, filled with chores, barefoot adventures, and seasonal eating (21:22–23:20). She attributes her practical resourcefulness and values to this experience.

• Path to acting:
  She never dreamed of Hollywood as a child and entered a scholarship pageant at 21 for college funds. Winning led her to another pageant and ultimately a trip to Hollywood—where she decided, somewhat impulsively and naively, to try acting, approaching it with a business mindset (23:43–26:14).

  “I didn't go like, oh, look, Salma Hayek...My role models in life were my mom, my sisters...I land in Hollywood and...I think I'm going to be an actor.” – Eva (26:14)

• Breaking into television:
  Eva details the incremental, persistent process: two years as an extra, then minor roles, leading up to her first major success on Desperate Housewives (28:02–29:32).

5. Fame, Media, and Social Pressures

• Experiencing sudden celebrity:
  The explosion of Desperate Housewives brought new challenges—paparazzi, a lack of privacy, and a shift in media dynamics as technology changed. Eva compares the paparazzi-centric era of the mid-2000s with today's social media saturation (30:32–32:21).

• Social media and self-esteem:
  Eva and Willie discuss the pitfalls of social media for youth, especially girls, and the resulting FOMO, unrealistic beauty standards, and perceived inequality (33:13–34:45).

  “It's brought more to—in your face, as opposed to before when we kind of happily lived with, like, isn't everybody on my block living...We all live the same.” – Willie (33:35)

6. Producing, Directing, and Creating Opportunities

• Producer-director at heart:
  Eva reveals she always gravitated toward producing and directing, even before acting, appreciating the control and opportunity creation those roles allow (37:40). She’s passionate about lifting up other talents and providing access and infrastructure, especially for Latina women:

  "Some people have the talent and not the access...So really, building that infrastructure for them to get there easier is really exciting to me." – Eva (39:21)

• Flamin’ Hot:
  Discusses the gratification and cultural impact of her acclaimed (directorial debut) film and its role as a Latino pop culture touchstone (39:45–41:10).

7. The Eva Longoria Foundation and Philanthropy

• Philanthropic mission:
  Eva talks about the expansion of her foundation, focused on empowering women through education and entrepreneurship, and her recent million-dollar donation to support wildfire recovery “second responders.”

  "If you help a woman, she helps her family. If she helps her family, it improves communities, and so on and so on..." – Eva (42:30)

• Receiving the Bezos-Sanchez Award:
  Describes the transformative $50 million Civility Award which allows her foundation to scale its impact (41:44).

8. Entrepreneurship: Casa Del Sol Tequila

• Birth of the brand:
  Eva explains launching her tequila venture, emphasizing Casa Del Sol’s unique aging process (in cognac barrels) and its female master distiller (50:27–51:43).

• Social impact:
  Employment opportunities for women in Mexico, such as crafting the vegan leather neck for the bottle, are highlighted as intentional, woman-centric company values (51:47–52:31).

  “Whenever the DNA of the company is founded by a woman, there's a lot of things we do different.” – Eva (52:30)

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Memorable Quotes

• On thriving at 50:
  “I want to age well. And I think with, like, technology and modern medicine, we're gonna live longer. So it's about how many of those years will I be healthy and agile and mobile.” – Eva Longoria (04:40)

• On saying ‘no’:
  “I am of the philosophy of say yes...But I think the second half of my life will be about saying no and just really curating my experiences...” – Eva Longoria (05:03)

• On representation:
  “I don’t walk through the world that way...So to be able to be in a movie that lives in joy and lives in family...that’s what I want to do.” – Eva Longoria (09:19)

• On building bridges in Hollywood:
  “Some people have the talent and not the access...building that infrastructure for them to get there is really exciting to me.” – Eva Longoria (39:22)

• On identity:
  “Not feeling American enough, not feeling Mexican enough...my family was under five different flags without ever moving...we never crossed a border, the border crossed us.” – Eva Longoria (17:56)

• On philanthropy:
  “If you help a woman, she helps her family. If she helps her family, it improves communities, and so on and so on.” – Eva Longoria (42:30)

• On tequila:
  “Tequila is an art. It’s like really one of the oldest traditions in Mexico. It’s the greatest, you know, ambassador of the country.” – Eva Longoria (51:45)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [03:41] Toasting 50 with Margaritas: Birthday talk and Eva’s approach to aging.
• [07:08] Family Movies and Representation: Discussion of the Disney project and importance of Latino joy in media.
• [12:27] “Searching for Spain” & Food as Cultural Activism: Behind the series and Eva’s intentions.
• [16:41] Exploring Genealogy: Eva traces her family’s journey from Spain to Texas.
• [21:22] Childhood on the Ranch: Rural upbringing, family values, and food traditions.
• [23:43] Accidental Acting Career: Winning a pageant, Los Angeles, and breaking into Hollywood.
• [28:02] The Rise to Fame: Early TV jobs to Desperate Housewives stardom.
• [30:32] Dealing with Fame and Privacy: Paparazzi, shifting media landscape, and social media challenges.
• [37:40] Directing and Producing: Early behind-the-scenes roles and empowering underrepresented voices.
• [39:45] Flamin’ Hot and Storytelling: Directorial debut, cultural significance.
• [41:28] Eva Longoria Foundation and Wildfire Support: Philanthropy, Bezos Award.
• [45:49] Casa Del Sol Tequila – Margarita Making: Strawberry mint margaritas, tequila trivia, and business as social impact.

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Memorable Moments

• Eva’s Margarita Philosophy:
  “As I've learned, margarita is agave, lime, and tequila. That's all it is…It's like a vinaigrette.” (46:09)
• Introducing Beyonce to Tajin:
  “I introduced her to it, and then years later...she goes, tahin has changed my life.” (48:15)
• On entrepreneurial joy:
  “I love building things, whether it’s a brand, whether I’m cooking...and tequila is an art.” (51:45)
• Groundedness from upbringing:
  “Anyone who's known me for 30 years will tell you, I'm the exact same person I was then and I am now...I have a nicer house, I have a lot of shoes.” (29:32)

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Final Thoughts

This episode offers not only a celebration of Eva Longoria’s career milestones and 50th birthday but also an inspiring portrait of a woman who relishes growth, cherishes her cultural heritage, and uses her platform to advance representation and empower others. Her humor and openness make the conversation lively, while her practical wisdom and big-hearted approach to philanthropy and entrepreneurship shine through.

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For more candid, insightful conversations, subscribe to “Sunday Sitdown with Willie Geist” or tune in to Sunday TODAY on NBC.

Transcript

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Are you ready to get spicy?

[Willie Geist]

These Doritos Golden Sriracha aren't that spicy.

[Commercial Narrator]

Sriracha sounds pretty spicy to me.

[Willie Geist]

Um, a little spicy, but also tangy and sweet.

[Commercial Narrator]

Maybe it's time to turn up the.

[Willie Geist]

Heat or turn it down. It's time for something that's not too spicy. Try Doritos Golden Sriracha, spicy but not too spicy. Hey guys, Willie Geist here with another episode of the Sunday Sit Down. My thanks as always for clicking and listening along. Got a great one for you this week with Eva Longoria. First got to know Eva in 2004 when she played Gabrielle Solis on Desperate Housewives, the show that over the course of eight seasons became kind of a national sensation. A very steamy show, a spicy show, made her a household name. Since then she's had a million acting projects, but also has become a really prominent producer. She's been a director in Hollywood, philanthropist, activist. She kind of does it all. She just turned 50 years old and that's a topic of conversation between the two of us because I'm about to turn 50 myself. So we commiserated over that. You'll hear a little bit later on. We mix up a margarita in celebration of her birthday. She's really talented behind the bar and in the kitchen. Which brings us to one of her projects right now. It's called Eva Longoria Searching for Spain. It's that CNN series started Stanley Tucci in Italy. And in her case, she's going to Spain to the roots, the foundation of her Mexican American heritage where her family was 400 years ago, experiencing the culture and the food and the people, just as she did with Searching for Mexico, a series a couple of years ago she did on CNN as well. So she's got that going on. She's got a new Disney plus movie called Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, no Good, Very Bad Road Trip. It's a road trip movie based on the famous books. Just so much that she has in the Hopper right now and frankly, always has in the Hopper. She does tv, she does movies, she does her. Eva Longoria foundation is working to support people after the wildfires. She's just one of those forces of nature that you respect and admire. And she's so talented as an actress and a producer, but also just like a cool, fun person, smart person to hang out with. Grew up on a working ranch, a small ranch outside of Corpus Christi, Texas. You'll hear her talk about that and the improbable road from that place to the heights of Hollywood, how she did it, how she got there. A lot to talk about right now with Eva Longoria on the Sunday Sit down podcast.

[Eva Longoria]

Cheers again.

[Willie Geist]

You make a really good margarita.

[Eva Longoria]

Just for the record, this is our second margarita in case things go sideways.

[Willie Geist]

Full disclosure.

[Eva Longoria]

Yeah.

[Willie Geist]

Number two, you're good at it, though. Like you said, bartending may be a hidden talent.

[Eva Longoria]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I think it is. I should have been a mixologist.

[Willie Geist]

There's still time for you.

[Eva Longoria]

You know what?

[Willie Geist]

There's still time for you.

[Eva Longoria]

Second career.

[Willie Geist]

Happy birthday.

[Eva Longoria]

Thank you.

[Willie Geist]

We are in the same boat.

[Eva Longoria]

Yeah.

[Willie Geist]

You're gonna be 50. Yeah. In about a month.

[Eva Longoria]

It's a milestone.

[Willie Geist]

It is. How do you feel?

[Eva Longoria]

Great. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know. It's. For me, it's just a number. And I've always looked forward to being older. Like, when I was 15, I was like, I can't wait to be 21. And then when I was 20, I was like, I can'T wait for my 30th birthday. And then when I was 30, I was like, 40s are gonna be amazing. Like, I really. Always in my glasses half full.

[Willie Geist]

Yeah.

[Eva Longoria]

Can't wait. And 50 is just like that. I was like, oh, my gosh. I feel like life's going to be good.

[Willie Geist]

Yeah.

[Eva Longoria]

I don't know. I don't know. I have that.

[Willie Geist]

I agree. I feel that way, too. Everyone's like, oh, how you doing? I'm like, you know what?

[Eva Longoria]

It's a good time to stop trying being a woman. Everybody's like, are you okay? And I'm like, I'm fine. You know, I don't mind aging. I want to age well. And I think with, like, technology and modern medicine, we're gonna live longer. So it's about how many of those years will I be healthy and agile and mobile. And, like, I wanna still hike up a trail and I wanna run around with my son and I wanna, you know, work out and I wanna travel. And when I see my mom's 80 now and she's like a traveler, everywhere I go, she goes. And this last trip was, you know, a little like, oh, maybe she's not gonna be able to walk as far. Oh, we can't really go there. And when I see that, I go, God, I wanna. I wanna be 100 and still, you know, hiking up a mountain.

[Willie Geist]

Yeah.

[Eva Longoria]

So that's my thing is, like, how do I age? Well, right? Yeah.

[Willie Geist]

And that's the physical part. But when you take stock of your life, too, what a great moment to say, how am I doing? This is like, this is it.

[Eva Longoria]

Yes.

[Willie Geist]

And you have to feel pretty good about how you're doing, don't you?

[Eva Longoria]

Yeah. I mean, I would think you would wanna feel good about how you're feeling, but. Yeah, it's such a. You have to do an emotional inv. Everything I've done has been amazing. But, like, what do I want the next 50 years to look like? And for me, I've said, like, I am of the philosophy of say yes. Say yes to that opportunity, say yes to that trip. Yes, you know, yes to those people you want to work with. Yes to that movie. And that's really gotten me to where I am. But I think the second half of my life will be about saying no and just really curating my experiences, curating my people and making those moments more special. Because then you go, you know, you see all these things on Instagram. It's like, when you're 50, you only have maybe 30 more Christmases and 40 more sunrises, and you're like, what? And when you filter down, really, the truth of time, you're going to want to make each one of those things feel special.

[Willie Geist]

Yeah.

[Eva Longoria]

Yeah.

[Willie Geist]

Well, from where I'm sitting, you're doing great at 50. Thank you. On everything, including all the projects you have in front of you, both on screen and off. We talked about the Tequila. You've got this really fun family movie out for Disney, Alexander. And the Terrible, horrible, no Good, Very Bad Day Road Trip. Well, that's the book. And then we get to Road Trip, which is the film.

[Eva Longoria]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Willie Geist]

So tell me about the movie and what drew you to it.

[Eva Longoria]

You know, I am a sucker for Disney films. I love Disney films. I am cut of the. I was raised on, like, the movie of the week on ABC when I had three channels. That's how old we are. We used to have three channels on a TV with aluminum foil. Yeah, we did, but. Yeah. And so I love the idea of doing a movie that my son can watch and that I can watch with him. He's now six and so he's like graduated out of animation a bit. He feels like that's for babies, so he wants to watch a real movie. And there's not a lot of those. Like I did Dora the Explorer, so he liked that. And then there's like all these other Parent Trap. He just got into the Lindsay, the original one. Freaky Friday, the original one. And so I was like, this is so fun because it's a family adventure movie. It's based on these books of this kid, Alexander, who has a lot of bad days, by the way. There's like 90 books.

[Willie Geist]

A lot of books. Yeah, yeah. Like 50 years worth of books.

[Eva Longoria]

Yeah.

[Willie Geist]

A lot of.

[Eva Longoria]

A lot of movies to be made about this bad day. And Marvin Lemus, who directed it, he created Gentified on Netflix with Linda Chavez, who. Linda Chavez wrote Flaming Hot, which was my feature film debut that I directed. And so it was all like part of the family. And Jesse Garcia plays my husband who starred in Flaming Hot that I directed. And so to be able to work with him. And then Paulina Chavez plays my daughter in the movie. I directed her five years ago in her first big show for Netflix and she was like 17. And I said, that kid is gonna be a big star. This girl, she's on Landman right now. I mean, she's phenomenal. And she's so kind and she's a Texan like me. And so it was kind of a no brainer. I was just like, these are all the peeps I want to be with. Again, it's about if I'm gonna go and do something, I want to do it with this types of people and I want to really enjoy this experience. And so that was an easy yes.

[Willie Geist]

That feels like the 50 philosophy.

[Eva Longoria]

Right? Applied it.

[Willie Geist]

Yeah. A lot of established actors and actresses that I talked to kind of say the same thing, which is, it's been a climb. I've done a lot. I've worked really hard to get where I am. Now you have the luxury, in some ways of saying, yeah, is this something I want to be a part of?

[Eva Longoria]

I mean, it's for sure a privilege to say no. Yeah, right. Like, no, I don't need to do that. And so if I don't need to do it or I don't want to do it, Then you land at an easy. No, but. But when it's a project like this, you land at a very easy. Yes. And we had so much fun making it. And it's really a fun road trip movie, but with the family. And it just happens to be a Latino family. So that representation also was something I was really proud of because a lot of times when we are in TV and film as Latinos, it's about our trauma and it's about our struggle, our identity. We're so confused about our identity. And I don't walk through the world that way. So to be able to be in a movie that lives in joy and lives in family and lives thematically in a different space than we normally see, I was like, that's what I want to do. Sign me up.

[Willie Geist]

I feel like it's so nice these days to have a movie that you can just sit down with, whether it's your son or anybody in their family.

[Eva Longoria]

Yeah.

[Willie Geist]

And there's no. You don't have to go. Right. It's like you can just put it on and, you know, it's funny, it's fun, but it's family in its heart, at its core.

[Eva Longoria]

Exactly.

[Willie Geist]

Which feels rare these days, unfortunately.

[Eva Longoria]

It's really rare. Like I said, my son has discovered Parent Trap. The sandlot. Freaky Friday.

[Willie Geist]

I love that.

[Eva Longoria]

And these were all made in the 80s.

[Willie Geist]

70S. Yeah.

[Eva Longoria]

70S, 80s, yeah. So I feel like, you know, I was like, what happened to those movies? Goonies. This is very much like Goonies.

[Willie Geist]

Yes. You know, right?

[Eva Longoria]

Another 80s classic. And my son loves these.

[Willie Geist]

It's kind of a caper, too. You're trying to figure out what's gonna happen.

[Eva Longoria]

And the curse. Yeah, we have a curse in our movie.

[Willie Geist]

There's a curse.

[Eva Longoria]

Curse of the one eyed.

[Willie Geist]

You're right.

[Eva Longoria]

One Eyed Jack.

[Willie Geist]

The statue. Jack. Jack. Yeah. Well, congrats. It's really fun. Thank you.

[Eva Longoria]

People are gonna love it.

[Willie Geist]

Hey, guys, thanks for listening to the Sunday Sit down podcast. Stick around to hear more from Eva Longoria right after the break.

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[Movie Trailer Voice]

The movie asks the question, would you sell your soul for greatness?

[Willie Geist]

What are you willing to sacrifice? Activate my.

[Movie Trailer Voice]

This Friday.

[Eva Longoria]

You want what I have, you have.

[Willie Geist]

To take it from me. What if I say no?

[Eva Longoria]

Kill, but don't push me.

[Movie Trailer Voice]

Experience fear like never before.

[Eva Longoria]

It's time for Me to show you.

[Movie Trailer Voice]

Exactly who I am. Kim. Directed by Justin Tipping. Rated R under 17. UNIM without parent. Only in theaters Friday. Get tickets now.

[Commercial Narrator]

Department of Rejected Dreams.

[Eva Longoria]

If you had a dream, rejected IKEA can make it possible.

[Willie Geist]

So I always dreamed of having a man cave, but the wife doesn't like it. What if I called it a woman cave?

[Eva Longoria]

Okay, so let's not do that. But add some relaxing lighting and a comfy IKEA hofburg ottoman.

[Commercial Narrator]

And now it's a cozy retreat.

[Willie Geist]

Nice. A cozy retreat, man. Cozy retreat, sir.

[Eva Longoria]

Okay.

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Find your big dreams, small dreams, and cozy retreat dreams in store online at ikea.us dream the possibilities.

[Willie Geist]

Welcome back. Now more of my conversation with Eva Longoria. I also love you were nice enough to share some episodes of Searching for Spain.

[Eva Longoria]

Did you see it?

[Willie Geist]

Wow.

[Eva Longoria]

Nobody has seen it.

[Willie Geist]

Wow. How did you get it? I caught the first episode.

[Eva Longoria]

Was the first episode in Madrid?

[Willie Geist]

No, Galicia.

[Eva Longoria]

Galicia. Yeah. Yeah.

[Willie Geist]

Galicia.

[Eva Longoria]

Wow.

[Willie Geist]

Spectacular. Really spectacular.

[Eva Longoria]

When we did Searching for Mexico, I was like, wow. First of all, when I saw Searching for Italy and Stanley really created this format, I was like, you know, you wanted to go to Italy. And then I had pitched Mexico, and they were like, great, because they wanted to do the spinoff. And we finished it, and it was stunning. Like, the amount of people that came up to me and did my Mexico tour or did the taco tour in Mexico City or did, you know, went to Oaxaca because of the show. I was like, oh, yeah. Now Spain, it's like, I thought we couldn't top Mexico. And Spain is not only stunning, but, like, very gastronomically diverse. So it's just. It was so fun. Look, I reverse engineer things I want to do. I was like, I want to eat and drink my way through the world. I'm going to get a show that pays me to do that.

[Willie Geist]

She's good.

[Eva Longoria]

Life hack. Life hack.

[Willie Geist]

Not everyone can pull that off, you know. So glad you were able to do it.

[Eva Longoria]

Yeah. I was like, now I want to do Spain. Now. Next I'm going to do. Yeah, I just pick countries I want to eat and drink my way through.

[Willie Geist]

And the cool thing about it is is that it exposes to the audience those cultures that most people are never gonna see or maybe hopefully, if they're lucky enough, they can go plan one of those trips.

[Eva Longoria]

Well, a big reason I did Mexico was because we're at a time where it's a very villainized country.

[Willie Geist]

Yes.

[Eva Longoria]

And I wanted the people who go taco Tuesday at the same time are screaming, build that wall to make the correlation, you know, it's a beautiful country with amazing human beings. And I wanted to help repair, and it did. A lot of people came out of searching for Mexico going, I had no idea how diverse, stunning, beautiful. Not just gastronomically, but the people. Because when you're talking about the food of a culture, you're talking about its people. And so how can something so beautiful come out of something so villainized?

[Willie Geist]

That's a really good way to look at it. And it's also, you know, that's almost the medicine, right? That's inside the.

[Eva Longoria]

Yeah, I'm gonna hook you in with tequila and tacos and then I'm gonna convince you we are amazing people.

[Willie Geist]

Yeah, no, it's. And it's shot so beautifully too. I mean, it's very cinematic. What is it like for you, who's done almost everything you can do in front of a camera, to do something like this, which is different, you know?

[Eva Longoria]

Well, you're a TV personality and I'm an actress. So when I have to be myself, it's very hard. Like, I'm just like, yeah, what do I say? Do you have a script? What should I say in this moment? And so Mexico was like a little dipping my toe in the water of being just me and being genuinely interested in the conversations I was having. And I really, like meditated before I went down to Mexico and I said, I really want to be present in every scene. I don't want to be over prepped. I really want to kind of discover the questions on my own that are going to be interesting. Of this Mayan woman who speaks no Spanish and no English, and she's teaching me how to make a tamale. Like, I would like to ask my own questions. And so having like an authentic approach to this new job. And then Spain was even easier. Although Spain Spanish was different. So I was worried about my Spanish, but it went so well. And really, I think navigating, I think being curious is how I led in. And that really led me to that authentic space of. Of what you're gonna see on the show, which is I'm asking all the questions that all the viewers at home are asking. Like, how did they do that? What is that? Why do they do it that way?

[Willie Geist]

And it comes across that way that it's real and that you are curious. And one of the cool things about this new series, the Spain, is you sort of tie it right off the top to your ancestry, which is, my family was here 400 years ago, and now I'm standing Here in the very spot. Yeah.

[Eva Longoria]

Right there in the house.

[Willie Geist]

Yeah.

[Eva Longoria]

In the Longoria town.

[Willie Geist]

And what did that feel like? That'd be emotional.

[Eva Longoria]

Amazing. You know, I had been there before, but to go back with the show and the crew was really fun. But I growing up in Texas, as a Mexican American, I'm like, we're Mexican. And especially like in Texas, where I grew up in South Texas, everybody's Mexican. But when I went to Mexico, they were like, oh, you're American. And I'd be like, no, no, I'm. No, I'm one of you guys. And they were like, nope, no, you're definitely American. I didn't speak Spanish. You know, I didn't eat corn tortillas. I eat flour tortillas. Like, huge cultural differences. And so. And then my dad's saying, well, you know, we're of Spanish descent. I'm like, we're not of Spanish descent. So. Not feeling American enough, not feeling Mexican enough. And then my dad always saying we were from Spain. And so really, you know, navigating the genealogy back to Spain and seeing exactly where my 11 year old 13th great grandfather, you know, great, great, great, great, great, great grandfather left Asturias, got on a boat, took three months by himself. Could you imagine 11 years old going on a boat to New Spain, landing in New Spain, and then that's where our family story and history begins. And then getting up to Texas, which was Spain, and then Mexico, and then Republic of Texas, and then America, United States of America. So, you know, my family was under five different flags without ever moving. You know, we never crossed a border. The border crossed us. And so that, that navigating that identity and, and really appreciating all those things. I love being American. I'm a patriotic American. I am proud of my Mexican culture and heritage. And I love that I'm of Spanish descent. Like, I love it all, you know, And I think when you're a mutt like that, you get the best of everything. Yeah, yeah.

[Willie Geist]

Well, that's why I think it works so well is because it's really grounded in something. It doesn't feel like you're. It's not performative. It's like, this is real. This is where it began for me. Most people, if they visited Spain, have been to Barcelona and Madrid. What's really cool is you take them to these different areas.

[Eva Longoria]

Oh my gosh. Not only that, you know, during the dictatorship of Franco, he erased all regional identities. He wanted one Spain under one flag and one rule. And all of these little communities. Catalunya you know, has the language Catalan. In the Basque country, they have Euskera language. In Galicia, they have Gaelic language. They had all different languages and very different gastronomy. And he forbid it. And he kind of just homogenized the country into being one food culture, one language. And when he fell in 1975, these cultures came back with like a vengeance of being seen again. And so to be able to visit those regions, that is not Madrid and not Barcelona, which are too, by the way, stunning, was beautiful. To really go like. So what happened to, you know, this was a dish that we cooked in secret. You know, this was. This is called, you know, whatever, pan tomat, not tomato. Tomato, which is Catalan and all of those. Like, I could have been a historian if I wasn't a bartender, because I love the history of all of it. I was like, this is so fascinating. And then Andalusia in the south, which is, you know, controlled by the Moors. Spain in general, controlled by the moors for 800 years. But the influence is really felt in the south. So, you know, everything is al Andalus and very, very Arabic influence in the food.

[Willie Geist]

Yeah, that's I. That's why the food is obviously the center of it all. But I love the history and the geography and all those parts of it. You, in addition to being a great bartender, you cook a lot.

[Eva Longoria]

I do.

[Willie Geist]

Like, that's your. You're in the kitchen if you're home. Yeah, my happy place. That's your happy place?

[Eva Longoria]

Yeah.

[Willie Geist]

So this felt like a natural fit for you, I'm sure.

[Eva Longoria]

Oh, 1000%. Oh, yeah, yeah. And to get in there with these chefs, I get. We got to meet with, like, Michelin star chefs, and then the woman who's been cooking these, you know, things on the corner and that sells them every Sunday, you know, we really highbrow, low brow and everything in between. And it's my favorite thing to learn. Tips and tricks of, like, I never knew that. I didn't know that's what you do. And taking it, bringing it back into my kitchen.

[Willie Geist]

Nice tricks, right?

[Eva Longoria]

Yeah, great tricks. Cooking is definitely my. My happy place.

[Willie Geist]

So talking about your heritage and your roots going back to growing up on the ranch outside of Corpus Christi, youngest of four girls.

[Eva Longoria]

Yes. My poor dad.

[Willie Geist]

What was that childhood like for you? Was it a rural experience? Was it joyful? What do you remember about it?

[Eva Longoria]

All of it. It was so free, you know, I don't. I still hate wearing shoes, as these ladies can tell. I mean, barefoot all the time, feet on the grass. We grew up with chickens. And we had to go get the eggs in the morning. We had to milk the cow for the coffee. Milk for the milk that was gonna go in the coffee and on our cereal. We had pigs and cows and, I mean, everything. And it was so. And we had an insane farm. I mean, my dad planted everything. My dad has such a green thumb. And we were never allowed to eat out. We never ate a restaurant, fast food, unless it was, like, graduation, maybe not Easter, Easter. We would eat at home, but we couldn't eat out. My dad, like, he's like, the land will give us everything we have. And so if it was squash season, we had squash for three months. If it was watermelon season, we had watermelon for three months. And I was like, I hate squash. I hate watermelon. Because that's. We ate seasonally. We ate from the ground. I remember running, grabbing a carrot from the ground and running and getting on a school bus. You know, it's like. Yeah. And I'm just, like, cleaning the carrot with the dirt and then eating it on the bus like it was. That's how I grew up. And I really think every child should have that experience, because I wish, you know, Santi and I lived on a ranch, and he could really. He has a great appreciation for nature and animals, but, like, in that sense, it's not like nothing else. But my mom, she would get paid once a month, and on payday, she would buy us a Domino's pizza, and we would eat it, and we would have to hide the pizza box in my neighbor's trash can if my dad had found out.

[Willie Geist]

So he didn't know about it?

[Eva Longoria]

No, he didn't know about Domino's Pizza on the last Friday of the month.

[Willie Geist]

That was a little treat for the ladies.

[Eva Longoria]

That was my mom. My mom was like, guys, we can eat out. So, yeah, I didn't grow up with all of that fast food and eating out. And so for me, even to this day, it is a privileged to eat in a restaurant. I'm just like, wow.

[Willie Geist]

Yeah, look at this. They brought water, and they'll bring more. Yes.

[Eva Longoria]

Yeah. Endless, endless tips and salsa.

[Willie Geist]

Well, just listening to that childhood, it seems like Hollywood could not possibly be farther away. Like, so was that when you're young? Are you thinking about that? Are you performing? Are you doing play? Nothing.

[Eva Longoria]

Nothing.

[Willie Geist]

Nothing like that.

[Eva Longoria]

I was performative in my family because I was the ugly duckling. Yep. Nope. Documentation is available if you need it. My sisters, my three sisters look alike. They're all blonde. They're all, yeah, my sister has hazel eyes. They're all very light skinned. And then I was born with black hair and dark skin and dark eyes. And they used to tell me I was adopted. And they used to tell me, you know, they found me on the side of the road. My sisters were very mean. And so I knew I wasn't the pretty one. And I was like, okay, I'm not the pretty one, so I'm gonna be the funny one. I'm gonna be the smart one. I remember thinking that. I remember saying that to myself, okay, if I'm not the pretty one, then I'll be the smart one. And really just shifting my whole personality. So it wasn't until college that I had to enter a beauty pageant, which was a scholarship pageant, because I was running out of money in my senior year of college. I was on a Pell grant. It got taken away, financial aid was squeezed, and I didn't have enough money to finish my senior year. And my girlfriend goes, you should enter the scholarship pageant. And I was like, what is that? I was 21 and I look at it, and if I had got fourth place, if I just could get fourth place, it would cover books. And I said, oh, my God, I'm try. I'm going to try. Never been in a pageant in my life. I went home and I go, mom, I need a gown. And she goes, what's that? We've never heard this word, gown before. And I said, I'm gonna be in this pageant. She goes, oh, honey, do you think that's a good idea? Like, she was like, you're not gonna win. You're just gonna be heartbroken. And I was like, mom, I'm not in it to win it. I'm just in it to I hope I get, you know, third or fourth place. So cut to I win it, and I get the full scholarship, tuition, board, everything. And then I got to finish my senior year, and because of that pageant, I had to go to the next pageant. And I was like, oh, no, no, no, I don't want to keep going. I just wanted to do this one. And they're like, right, so now that you're Ms. Whatever, you have to go to the next. And I was like, oh, my God. So then I did, you know, Miss Corpus Christi and won. And in that prize package was a trip to Hollywood. And I thought I had just graduated college with my bachelor's degree, and I thought, oh, that'd be a fun vacation. In between my bachelor's and my master's, I was Already signed up to get my master's. I was leaving to college, you know, to get my master's.

[Willie Geist]

And there's still no performance to this point.

[Eva Longoria]

Zero.

[Willie Geist]

Wow.

[Eva Longoria]

Nor did I have idols. I didn't go like, oh, look, Salma Hayek. Or look at my role models in life were my mom, my sisters, like that. I was like, oh, these are the women I want to be. They're all around me. And I land in Hollywood, and I don't know what happened. I just was like, I think I'm going to be an actor.

[Willie Geist]

This looks fun.

[Eva Longoria]

Seems easy. Yeah. No, and it wasn't. But, yeah, I went for a week, actually. Loved the weather, and it was just beautiful. You know, this was 1998. And I said, I think I'm gonna be an actor. And it was a time of, like, Ricky Martin's living la vida loca. And, like, there was a bit of a Latin explosion.

[Willie Geist]

J. Lopez.

[Eva Longoria]

Yeah, J. Lo. And they were like, you'll do so well here. And I go, okay, great. I'll do it. What is it? What is it? What do you have to do? You know? And I really approached it from a business standpoint of, like, so how does it work? You have to have a. How do I, you know? Well, you have to. Have to have an agent, a manager. How do you. How do you get an agent? Manager? Well, you have to, you know, do this. Well, how do I do that? And like, well, you gotta have experience. Well, how do I get experience? Well, you gotta do things for free. Well, how do I. What do I find those jobs? Like, I really was like. And I got a job while doing that, while trying to be an actor. And so really touching every rung of the ladder as a fresh, naive person, as opposed to going with this idea of, like, what Hollywood was, I think, really benefited me. Ignorance was total bliss being there. Cause I just approached it with like, so tell me everything. And there's no recipe for success either. You could do exactly what I did and not have the same result. But I just figured it out. And then here we are, drinking margaritas in the morning.

[Willie Geist]

All I'm thinking about, as you describe this experience, is what everyone back on the ranch is thinking. Do they say you're crazy?

[Eva Longoria]

Yeah, I remember. No, my mom didn't say I was crazy. She was happy. The main thing, she wanted me to get my bachelor's degree because everybody in my family has a master's degree. And so, believe me, I'm the disappointment of my family. And I said, mom, I'm gonna Be an actor. She goes, okay, well, you know, you can get a job anywhere now. You have your degree, you have your education. Education was so important to my. So they thought, as long as you have your education, you can get a job anywhere. But they didn't think much about the acting. They just thought, okay, she's going to California to work. And I did work. I worked for many years as a headhunter and had a job job, a 9 to 5. And so they were happy that I was fine, like, as long as she's fine. And then, you know, got one line and I was an extra for two years. And then I got one line and then I got three lines. And then I got five lines. And then I got a co star, and then I got a guest star. And then. So by the time I got Desperate Housewives, I remember when it aired and I was like, mom, you got to watch. It's going to be on Sunday night on abc. It's called Desperate Housewives. She's like, well, that's a weird title. And I was like, I know, but, mom, just watch it. She watches it and she calls me afterwards. She goes, honey, you were in it a lot. I go, yeah, Mom, I'm one of the stars. And she goes, are you going to be on next week? Mom, I'm going to be on every week. Every Sunday. I am going to be on this show. And she became famous in our town. And she's like, the mailman knows who you are. She was just so like, what is happening? And she would give my phone number out to everybody.

[Willie Geist]

Oh, no.

[Eva Longoria]

Yes. The mailman's daughter wants to be an actress. Here, call my daughter. You know, the dentist has somebody that has a script. Ah, call my daughter. Mom, you've got to stop giving out my phone number. So it took a minute. It was a big adjustment for everybody around me, but not me. I don't know. I was like, okay. Anybody who's known me for 30 years will tell you I'm the exact same person I was then and I am now. I mean, I have a nicer house, I have a lot of shoes. But other than that, I don't know who said it. Is it Madonna or Cher? She's like, when she became famous, she didn't change. Everyone else around her changed. They didn't change. But I'm saying they were affected more of like, they had to do, they had to adjust. My mom was like, okay, we gotta be more private. My sisters were like, okay, this is happening. But my friends were like, oh, my God. We get to get restaurant reservations. But other than that, it was a really fun ride because you had a.

[Willie Geist]

Very memorable role on the Young and the Restless, So you had an audience there. But Desperate Housewives was something else completely just exploded when it started that year, it had to feel like something, though, right? Going. And all of a sudden, people go, oh, there she is. There she is. Or people taking your picture, interested in your life, and all that kind of stuff had to be some adjustment.

[Eva Longoria]

Yeah. And back then, it was. It was. I don't know what's worse now or back then, because back then, there was no Twitter, Facebook, no iPhone, no. No cameras on a phone.

[Willie Geist]

Right.

[Eva Longoria]

I mean, you had a BlackBerry that took a very grainy photo.

[Willie Geist]

Yeah.

[Eva Longoria]

But there was none of this. And so, because there was none of that, there was so much paparazzi, and there was a lot of stalking. I remember it was a problem in LA at a time because Lindsay Lohan got crashed into by one. You know, somebody had died on a car chase. Princess Diana happened at that moment, too. Like, it was a problem. There was, like, this stockiness of like, get the photo. Get the photo. Because we didn't. We. It wasn't accessible. Nobody was having access to our lives. So that was. I remember living through that. And at Housewives is like, kind of 2004 was. It was at the height of that. And then 2007, the iPhone comes out, and Twitter starts around that time, too. So we were able to give you access to parts of our life that we wanted to. Right. And so that hunger for those photos or the hunger for that story kind of lessened, but now our privacy is every. You know, is. It's not there anymore because now everybody. Everybody's a journalist.

[Willie Geist]

Yes. Yes, they are.

[Eva Longoria]

You know, everybody's a gossip columnist. You don't need the magazines anymore because there's. You know, everybody's reporting on our life because they can take a picture of you in the restaurant or anywhere. So I don't know what was better. You know what I mean?

[Willie Geist]

Yeah, yeah, I know. I'm sort of glad we grew up and made mistakes in the era before the iPhone. You know what I mean?

[Eva Longoria]

I was like, oh, God, if I was young. Now I don't know how these. These young kids are navigating.

[Willie Geist]

Oh, it's brutal. I have a teenage daughter. Oh, yeah, yeah. It's real. It's very real.

[Eva Longoria]

And that FOMO or, you know, beauty standards, why do they have that? And I don't. I also think, you know, it's a big reason why we have. We're feeling all of the inequality in our country is because everybody's only posting the best of their life on social media. And there's a lot of people, like, why do they have that? And I don't. Obviously, the system's broken. Obviously the system's somehow failing. Just me. And it's like, no, no, I'm sure it's failing them, too. They're just posting the highlight of that week or whatever.

[Willie Geist]

And by the way, that person was paid by something to post that. You know what I mean?

[Eva Longoria]

Yeah, but even that. Why are you paid and I'm not. That inequality feeling doesn't feel good. Doesn't sit well with you. I'm just saying it's. And it's brought more to. In your face, as opposed to before, when we kind of happily lived with, like, isn't everybody on my block living. We all live the same. We all live on this block.

[Willie Geist]

Right, Right. Yeah, it's hard. I mean, the teenagers now with Snapchat, they know where they all are at all times. They have a map that shows, oh, why are they at that house? I'm not there. Why is he there? It's like. It's just. They're tracking each other. I just can't imagine.

[Eva Longoria]

I can't imagine having a little girl. I have a little boy.

[Willie Geist]

Yeah, it's coming.

[Eva Longoria]

I know it's here. He's a tech genius. I don't. I did the no screen time before 2 years old, and he. You know, it's a chip that they now are born with.

[Willie Geist]

Exactly.

[Eva Longoria]

And I listened to a lot of parenting podcasts, and there was, you know, this one child. Ex. Child psychology expert, and she's like, you can't prevent technology from infiltrating their lives because that is our world now. But you can decide if they're prepared for it and what to give them access to. But, like, you can't cut them off. That time is over.

[Willie Geist]

It is. It's unrealistic.

[Eva Longoria]

So we have to prepare them for that technology. The maturity that you need to know. Likes don't mean anything. You know, that is an edited photo. That's not real. I know. That's AI, all of it.

[Willie Geist]

And news stories, too.

[Eva Longoria]

Oh, my gosh.

[Willie Geist]

I tell my kids, if you. If it sounds crazy, it probably is. Go check it on a different source. A source you've heard of. Because I hear things that, by the.

[Eva Longoria]

Way, I've fallen victim to it. You know, we're all in our own bubble. And I reposted. I'm in the LA fires, when the Mexican government sent firefighters to help, I posted a video. I was like, yay, how great. And it was a video from a different fire. But we they did Mexico did send firefighters. It's just the video I posted was from a different year. And I go right. So I don't like to, you know, you have to research and really think.

[Willie Geist]

About and you were just trying to highlight good work by somebody. It wasn't, you know, there's nothing to.

[Eva Longoria]

Various and it wasn't. Thank God it wasn't like a scandal. People just like corrected me like, hey, just so you know, that's not from right now.

[Willie Geist]

That's from before.

[Eva Longoria]

I was like, oh. But I hate that because I was like, oh, I should have looked it up.

[Willie Geist]

Stick around for more of my conversation with Eva Longoria right after a quick break.

[Commercial Narrator]

Whirlpool presents ickx. He got new shoes with toes.

[Eva Longoria]

Ew. He owned a race car that was also a bed. He smelled really familiar, like my dad. After he washed his clothes, he left them in the washer too long.

[Commercial Narrator]

Laundry can be a major ick, but your front load washer doesn't have to be the Whirlpool Front load washer with a fresh flow vent system. It's a trio of features that help keep your clothes and washer fresh, even if those clothes are tie dye. Whirlpool Everyday Care from producer Jordan Peele.

[Movie Trailer Voice]

The movie him asks the question, would you set up your soul for greatness?

[Willie Geist]

What are you willing to sacrifice?

[Movie Trailer Voice]

Activate my this Friday.

[Eva Longoria]

You want what I have.

[Willie Geist]

You have to take it from me. What if I say no?

[Movie Trailer Voice]

Experience. Fear like never before.

[Eva Longoria]

It's time for me to show you.

[Movie Trailer Voice]

Exactly who I am. Kim Directed by Justin Tipping. Rated R under 17. Unemitted without parent. Only in theaters Friday. Get tickets now.

[Commercial Announcer]

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[Willie Geist]

You know, they have Marc Jacobs, Nike.

[Commercial Narrator]

Yes, just so many good brands.

[Commercial Announcer]

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[Willie Geist]

Welcome back now to the rest of my conversation with Eva Longoria. I'm as impressed by everything you've done off screen as you have on, which is directing, producing, philanthropy, your foundation, all these things. So when did you decide? Okay, I do want to be director. We talked about Flamin Hot or I do want to produce things for other People. And I don't necessarily have to be on the screen for all that.

[Eva Longoria]

I actually, when I moved to Hollywood, I feel like I was always a producer director that fell into acting. And I remember, you know, some of my first jobs, I was a pa. I was an ad. I was a talent booker for the Improv comedy club. They were like, if you watch all these VHS tapes, tell us who you like, and then we're gonna book them. And I was like, okay. So I did casting for this Latin Night at the Improv. I did. And that experience I really liked. And then once I fell into acting, I would see people behind the monitors, and I go, who are those? What are those people doing? And they're like, oh, that's the producer. That's the director. And it felt like they were calling all the shots. I felt like. I feel like they have more power than me on this side. And I felt like I was always a producer director before an actor. And so to get back to that feeling and wanting to create my own opportunities, I always feel like I have to be in control. And I didn't like, oh, I wonder what I'm gonna get next. Like, I wanted to create the next role for myself and for other talent that I thought, God, why don't you have a show? You're so talented. Why don't you have a movie? Oh, my gosh. And I feel like we have a lot of stories to tell. And that's really what drove me to create my production company, which is now my media company. And that's probably the work I'm most passionate about, is building these other companies to scale, to grow, and to be able to tell the stories from a different point of view.

[Willie Geist]

Yeah. And what's cool is with your success, you can sort of reach down and lift people up. Right. Other women, Latina women. People you see promise in. Who may not have the keys to unlock the doors in Hollywood.

[Eva Longoria]

Yeah.

[Willie Geist]

That you can help them through.

[Eva Longoria]

Some people have the talent and not the access and, you know, or the. The infrastructure of opportunity. Right. Like, they. They have talent, but, like, how do I get over there? Because if I'm over there, I know how to do that. I just. I don't know. I don't see the bridge. I don't see the road. I don't see the street. And so really, building that infrastructure for them to get there easier is really exciting to me.

[Willie Geist]

You're giving them the bridge. You mentioned Flamin Hot. It was so. What a great film. It's an amazing story. First of all that, when people heard the true story, they were like, what? How much fun was that? And how gratifying that it was so well received and won all the awards it won.

[Eva Longoria]

It is so gratifying when you do something because you really feel like people could benefit from this story. They could learn a lot from his journey. It's American rags to riches story 101. Like, it's a beautiful story. And then when it's well received with that intention, I was like, oh, oh, God, this is amazing. We had the screening at the White House, and that was amazing for Richard to witness that and go, I can't believe that Flaming Hot Cheetos is a multi billion dollar brand. It's gone beyond snack. It's like, there's ice cream, drink, clothing, makeup.

[Willie Geist]

Is there makeup?

[Eva Longoria]

Flamingot palette. Makeup, palettes and Flaming Hot sushi.

[Willie Geist]

Come on.

[Eva Longoria]

Flaming Hot ice cream.

[Willie Geist]

Wow.

[Eva Longoria]

Flaming Hot Mountain Dew. Flaming hot. I mean, all of it. It's. It's. It's really. And it's for us, it's just this, you know, for Latinos, it's. It's so in our zeitgeist of pop culture. Like, that brand does not belong to Frito Lay. It belongs to the Hispanic culture. That's our brand.

[Willie Geist]

He did a great job telling that story. And finally, I'll let you go. I know you have a busy day, but the Eva Longoria foundation and the work you've done for a long time, but most recently with the wildfires, how nice to be in a position to be able to help in the way you have.

[Eva Longoria]

Yeah, we donated a million dollars to recovery to second responders, because the first responders, once they're done, which, God bless them, they did such an amazing job for months. Weeks.

[Willie Geist]

Weeks, yeah. We probably extended past a month.

[Eva Longoria]

Yeah, right. Yeah. I can't remember. Felt like months. But, you know, God bless the first responders who really, you know, put their lives in line to put these fires out once they're gone. Like, who's going to rebuild these communities? Who's going to rebuild these homes physically, emotionally? And so donating to a lot of different organizations that are really supporting these second responders, the people that will go in and rebuild. And so to be in that position, obviously, was great. My foundation's not about natural disasters, but this was so close to home that I was like, we have to do something. I was lucky enough to get the Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez civil. I was lucky enough to be gifted the Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez courage and Civility Award. And it was $50 million to expand and scale the work of the Eva Longoria foundation, which is about women reaching their full potential through educational programs, entrepreneurship programs, cultural programs, civic participation programs. I really think the key to unlocking our country's potential is through women. If you help a woman, she helps her family. If she helps her family, it improves communities, and so on and so on. And so being able to have a bigger impact in creating that sustainable change for all of these women is a gift and a passion of mine. And it's interesting how I think everybody wants to do good. Everybody wants to, and they don't know how, or they don't know, you know, I want to donate. Where do I donate? I want to donate my time. How do I. Where do I volunteer? And so really, the Eva Longoria foundation being a place where, you know, we can connect the dots is important.

[Willie Geist]

Speaking of incredible women, I'm listening to you tell this story now, start to finish. You're a little girl pulling a carrot out of the ground on the way to the bus. And now you're talking about having this foundation where you can help all these other people.

[Eva Longoria]

Yeah.

[Willie Geist]

Do you ever stop and go, I can't believe how far I've come?

[Eva Longoria]

Yes and no. And I'm not arrogant, and I don't want to sound arrogant, but because of the family I grew up in, every woman in my family is successful, independent, smart, educated. So the woman I wanted to be, I could see all around me. So I knew I would be successful. I didn't know what I was going to do. I didn't know if I was going to be a dentist. I didn't know if I was going to be a lawyer. I didn't know if I was gonna be a seamstress, but I knew I'd be successful because I knew the women in my family were not gonna let me fail. And they showed me, you will be this. And hearing the word college as early as I can remember, hearing the word university, hearing the word there's a lot of families that they don't hear that word until their senior in college. And they're like, oh, what's that? And you're like, no, no, you've gotta. You have to hear this word and concept and idea way before that to track. And so, yeah, part of me goes, of course I'm here, you know, in this manera. I don't know how to in this way. Probably not. I didn't think I'd be famous, but I knew I'd be successful because I was resourceful. I was going to be smart. I was going to figure out a way to do what I needed to do and reach the goals that I had. And so, I don't know. I was born into a family that really made me into this person who is here drinking tequila with you.

[Willie Geist]

You've done it. Congratulations on all your success.

[Eva Longoria]

Thanks so much.

[Willie Geist]

On your new project.

[Eva Longoria]

Thanks so much.

[Willie Geist]

You know, Eva says she probably missed her calling as a bartender. And I can attest she's very good back there. She and I mixed up using her own tequila brand called Casa del Sol. A strawberry mint margarita. All as part of this rolling celebration of her 50th birthday and mine. So, Eva, what kind of margarita are we making today?

[Eva Longoria]

Today we're going to make a strawberry mint margarita with, of course, the best tequila in the world, Casa del Sol. Have you. Do you like margaritas?

[Willie Geist]

I do like a margarita.

[Eva Longoria]

Okay. I was about to not like you if you said no.

[Willie Geist]

I was about to be a bad wish start. I usually like, you know, just a classic margarita, but I'm open to the twist.

[Eva Longoria]

No, no. Me too, by the way. Wait. People complicate margaritas. Margaritas. As I've learned, I missed my calling. I was a bartender in my past life. But as I've learned, margarita is agave, lime, and tequila. That's all it is. And if you want a strawberry margarita, you muddle up strawberry agave, lime tequila. If you want a mint margarita, you put mint. You know, it's always agave, lime. There's like a basic recipe that's the foundation, almost like a vinaigrette. So I'm gonna put some here. I'm gonna put you to work. You muddle that, you have more. You know, it's so funny. I was. I was trying to do. I was doing a show like this in Spanish, and I didn't know what the word muddle was in Spanish. Like, you know, you. You muddle. I was like, oh, what's that word?

[Willie Geist]

Did you ever figure it out? I don't know it. I can't help you. Okay, we're a little muddled here.

[Eva Longoria]

Are you muddled good and well? So I'm gonna put some agave sweet. You only want a little. You don't want it? I don't like it too sweet, but I don't like it like tart either.

[Willie Geist]

Fresh lime juice. Yeah, I'm gonna.

[Eva Longoria]

I don't believe him. Hold on. You just taste this.

[Willie Geist]

Oh, this is. I like.

[Eva Longoria]

Hold on.

[Willie Geist]

Woman of high taste, making sure it's Fresh. Oh, yeah.

[Eva Longoria]

So you're gonna. You squeeze these limes.

[Willie Geist]

Oh, we have a squeezer now with your hand. Okay. But we do have a squeezer.

[Eva Longoria]

Oh, no, I'm just kidding. I was kidding. No, these look dry, so you might need the. They look. Look a little small for her operation, right? Let me get the ice. Do you like a spicy margarita?

[Willie Geist]

Sure. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, let's do it.

[Eva Longoria]

No, because I put Tajin on the rim.

[Willie Geist]

I like that, actually.

[Eva Longoria]

You do?

[Willie Geist]

I'm new to the Tajin, but once I discovered it, I was.

[Eva Longoria]

You know what? When I was shooting a l' Oreal commercial one day, Beyonce was with the brand at the time, and I was eating my fruit and cucumbers things with. With. With Tajin, and she. We were shooting together. She goes, what is that? And I go, tahin, you've never had Tajin on fruit? And she goes, no. And so I introduced her to it. And then, like, years later, I see her at, like, the Golden Globe. She goes, tajin has changed my life.

[Willie Geist]

Really?

[Eva Longoria]

Yeah. She loved it.

[Willie Geist]

I don't have a lot of Beyonce stories like that.

[Eva Longoria]

I have a Beyonce story.

[Willie Geist]

That's a good Beyonce. So we're gonna do Everything's Better with Casa Del Sol.

[Eva Longoria]

We know Everything's Better with Tequila.

[Willie Geist]

Wow. That's a nice hearty pour.

[Eva Longoria]

Well, there's two of us. Us. Oh, we need ice.

[Willie Geist]

Okay.

[Eva Longoria]

I forgot. I need a school. And. Yeah, because we're just gonna.

[Willie Geist]

You gonna shake? Yes, you shake. You do know what you're doing.

[Eva Longoria]

I do, clearly. Yeah, I do. One time, I threw my shoulder out doing this.

[Willie Geist]

Really? Wow.

[Eva Longoria]

All right, all right, so what we can do, we can do a dirty pour. Because I like to see the mint and the strawberry and all of that in the. In the thing.

[Willie Geist]

So you do the min. We put them in.

[Eva Longoria]

Yeah. All right, so let's do it. Yeah, pour it in there.

[Willie Geist]

I should have a strainer when I.

[Eva Longoria]

No, no, that's dirty pour.

[Willie Geist]

Okay. Okay.

[Eva Longoria]

There you go. See? I want that.

[Willie Geist]

Oh, yeah, I want that. Oh, that's nice.

[Eva Longoria]

Yeah.

[Willie Geist]

Oh, that's a little dirty.

[Eva Longoria]

That's super dirty. Let me help you. There we go.

[Willie Geist]

There it is.

[Eva Longoria]

I like it when you get all the good stuff. Really changes the color.

[Willie Geist]

That's beautiful.

[Eva Longoria]

Isn't it beautiful?

[Willie Geist]

It really is pretty. Look at that.

[Eva Longoria]

Let me make it more beautiful. All right, this is yours. Let me see. You know what? I should have tasted it first. Let's see. I'm gonna. I'll judge you right now.

[Willie Geist]

It's nice.

[Eva Longoria]

That's so nice, so refreshing.

[Willie Geist]

It's really good.

[Eva Longoria]

Hold on. So much. I.

[Willie Geist]

Right?

[Eva Longoria]

Oh, it's really nice.

[Willie Geist]

Cheers, Eva.

[Eva Longoria]

Cheers. Oh, so much fresher.

[Willie Geist]

It's really good.

[Eva Longoria]

Nice. So did I convince you to have a something, something in your margarita?

[Willie Geist]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Eva Longoria]

You know what I like? I like cucumber mint in the summer.

[Willie Geist]

That's good too. Yeah, right?

[Eva Longoria]

It'll be a little.

[Willie Geist]

And the half tajin is nice because you can hit it on the sip when you want it. Back off if you need to.

[Eva Longoria]

You know what?

[Willie Geist]

It's great. Smart.

[Eva Longoria]

That's a good system. Usually I like. I usually do all Tajin all over, and then I get. I only drink half of it, and all the tajin's gone because I lick it all off, right? And then I do a new glass, and I put more tajin. I like a spicy margarita with jalapeno and.

[Willie Geist]

Oh, so you. You're all in, like, on the spice? On the spice.

[Eva Longoria]

You're, like, all in. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Willie Geist]

How much fun is it to be a part of the tequila brand?

[Eva Longoria]

So great. So great. I want. You know, I. I was. I'm a wine girl. I love wine. And Covid happened, and Covid drove me to cocktails because I was like, I cannot drink this much wine every day. And so I started experimenting and. And doing cocktails, and there was just so fun and different. And then, you know, they approached me. They were looking for somebody who liked the brand story, and it's a great brand story. We have a female master distiller, which is still really rare in the region. And, you know, we really differentiate with the taste profile because we age in cognac barrels, where most tequilas age in American whiskey barrels. So we have French oak. We have, like, this smooth finish. Should we do shots? We should do shots.

[Willie Geist]

No, I'm just kidding, by the way. I was up for it.

[Eva Longoria]

You were about to say yes.

[Willie Geist]

You left that much more pause.

[Eva Longoria]

I know, but I know because I don't want to. I'm still drunk for my birthday.

[Willie Geist]

That's true.

[Eva Longoria]

So I.

[Willie Geist]

This is a rolling celebration.

[Eva Longoria]

Yes. This is hair of the dog for me right now. Okay. I'm so, like, tequila's coming. Coming out of my pores, so I was hoping you would not. I knew you were gonna say yes to the shot, but I'm saying if you take a shot of Articula, you go, oh, yeah, you can act. There's hints of that cognac, and it's so smooth. Yeah.

[Willie Geist]

It's cool to Be involved too. Right. To like.

[Eva Longoria]

Yeah.

[Willie Geist]

The process of the whole thing and how it's made.

[Eva Longoria]

I love building things, whether it's a brand, whether I'm cooking, whether, like, I just like being creative. And tequila is an art. It's like really one of the oldest traditions in Mexico. It's the greatest, you know, ambassador of the country. And for me to be able to have my hands in almost every aspect from the bottle. You know, these are vegan necks and vegan leather. Sorry, this is a vegan leatherneck. And there's so many women in Mexico that can't leave the house to work. And so they're not financially independent. And so we get to send the material over to their house. They cut it, they stamp it, they sew it, and they bring back their work and we can compensate them for their work where without them ever leaving the house.

[Willie Geist]

And so that's really cool.

[Eva Longoria]

You know, there's a lot of things, whenever the DNA of the company is founded by a woman, there's a lot of things we do different.

[Willie Geist]

That's a really nice touch and a beautiful bottle too, isn't it? Yeah. Memorable, you know? Yeah. Thank you. Cheers.

[Eva Longoria]

Cheers.

[Willie Geist]

My big thanks again to Eva for a great conversation and for that margarita. My big thanks to all of you for listening again this week. If you want to hear my conversations with our guests every week, be sure to click follow so you never miss an episode. And don't forget to tune in, of course, to Sunday Today every weekend on NBC to see these interviews with your own two eyes. I'm Willie Geist. We'll see you right back here next week on the Sunday Sit down podcast.

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