Person

Eva Longoria Baston

Born:

1975

Occupation(s):

Actress

Philanthropist

Political Activist

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Eva Longoria Baston is a Hollywood actress, producer, and director. She has donated to several charities and launched the Eva Longoria Foundation to support Latina entrepreneurs and children. 1 She has been a campaigner for and donor to the Democratic party since 2004, endorsing many Democratic candidates and co-founding the left-of-center Latino Victory network that focuses on recruiting and supporting “progressive Latino champions.” Longoria and her family reportedly reside in Mexico and Spain. 2

Background and Education

Eva Jacqueline Longoria was born on March 15, 1975, in Corpus Christi, Texas. She grew up in a Mexican American ranching family, graduated from Texas A&M University, then went to Los Angeles and began an acting career after winning the Miss Corpus Christi beauty pageant. 1 3 While acting, she continued her education and received a master’s degree in Chicano studies and political science from California State University in 2013. 4

Family

Eva Longoria was married to actor Tyler Christopher from 2002 to 2004 and to basketball player Tony Parker from 2007 to 2011. In 2016 she married Mexican businessman Jose Baston. In 2018, she and Baston had a son, Santiago. 1 3

Acting Career

Eva Longoria had several successful television acting roles in “The Bold and the Beautiful,” “General Hospital,” “Beverly Hills 90210,” and “The Young and the Restless.” In 2004, she took the role of Gabrielle Solis, a main character in “Desperate Housewives,” which aired from 2004 to 2012. 1

Longoria has also appeared in several films. In 2005, Longoria launched UnbeliEVAble Entertainment, a production company that provides women and ethnic minorities with job opportunities, and produces shows that “represent the stories of the Latinx and other underrepresented communities.” 5 6

In addition to acting and directing, Longoria has worked as a model for L’Oreal Paris and a spokesperson for Pepsi. By 2012, Longoria was one of the top-paid television stars in the world. 3

Philanthropy and Advocacy

In 2012, Eva Longoria became the national spokesperson for Padres Contra el Cancer which helps Latino children with cancer, and she founded Eva’s Heroes which focuses on support for young people with intellectual special needs. She also supports the farmworker-organizing group Coalition of Immokalee Workers. 3

In 2012, she founded the Eva Longoria Foundation to support Latina women’s opportunities for education and entrepreneurship. The foundation provides training and microloans to Latina women to open small businesses, and coordinates mentorship programs and scholarships, and organizes workshops and programs to encourage STEM education for Latina youth. 4 7 8

In 2018, she co-founded Time’s Up with other leading Hollywood women to combat sexual harassment in Hollywood. 9 10

In March 2024, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos awarded Longoria a $50 million Courage and Civility Award for significant contributions to society. Longoria plans to donate the amount to the Eva Longoria Foundation. 11

Longoria is on the Visionary Alliance of the National Hispanic Media Coalition that advocates for Latino civil rights and promotes Latino representation in media and telecommunications. 12

Political Activities

Eva Longoria has campaigned for Democratic presidential candidates since 2004. In 2008, she was a strong supporter of former president Barack Obama and in 2012 was named a national co-chair of the Obama 2012 presidential campaign and spoke at the Democratic National Convention. 13 14 She co-founded the Futuro Fund along with businessman and political activist Henry R. Munoz III to ensure that Latino voices were heard and their votes counted during President Obama’s re-election campaign. 15

In 2014, Longoria co-founded the left-of-center Latino Victory network along with Munoz to “build a pipeline of Hispanic candidates in elections at all levels of government.” Latino Victory recruits “progressive Latino champions” to run for both national and local offices across the country, endorses them, and supports their fundraising efforts. Latino Victory has three arms: the Latino Victory Fund is the political action committee that “supports progressive candidates who support Latin values,” the Latino Victory Foundation does research and Latino leadership development, and the Latino Victory Project is the lobbying and advocacy group. 4 16 17

In 2016, Longoria endorsed former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for President. 18

In 2020, Longoria co-founded Momento Latino, a coalition of Latino activists, leaders, and artists to address issues that impact the Latino community. 9 19

In 2020, she endorsed Democratic Presidential candidate Joe Biden and kicked off the Democratic National Convention. 20 21 She continued her support in his 2024 re-election campaign, claiming that then-former President Donald Trump “has demonized Latinos throughout his political career.” 22

After the 2020 election of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, Longoria came under fire for her comments during an MSNBC interview indicating that the “U.S. Latinas are the ‘real heroines’ of the 2020 election victory.” Many people felt that she was downplaying the role that Black women played in the election and that “Black women were being erased for their contributions to the Biden victory.” 23

In August 2024, Longoria endorsed Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris at the Democratic National Convention and coined the phrase “She, se puede,” a derivative from the Spanish slogan “Si se puede” meaning “Yes it can be done.” 24 She campaigned heavily for then-Vice President Harris during the final weeks of the election. In an interview with Marie Claire after President Trump’s second election, Longoria stated, “The best person doesn’t win.” She then indicated that she was leaving America to live in Mexico and Spain and felt sorry for most Americans who will be “stuck in this dystopian country.” 2 Later, she indicated that she had not left the U.S. because of who won the election, but had moved before the election. 25

References

  1. “Eva Longoria Biography.” IMDb. Accessed January 8, 2025. https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0519456/bio/
  2. Jacqueline Burt Cote. “Eva Longoria Issues a Blunt Political Response to Election Results.” Parade. November 13, 2024. Accessed January 9, 2025. https://parade.com/news/eva-longoria-issues-blunt-political-response-election-results
  3. “Eva Longoria.” Biography. Updated August 28, 2019. Accessed January 9, 2025. https://www.biography.com/actors/eva-longoria
  4. David Rennie. “The political passion of Eva Longoria.” The Economist. May 3, 2016. Accessed January 9, 2025. https://www.economist.com/1843/2016/05/03/the-political-passion-of-eva-longoria
  5. “Eva Longoria.” Hola! October 4, 2022. Accessed January 9, 2025. https://www.hola.com/us/latinapowerhouse/20221004337718/eva-longoria/
  6. “Eva Longoria: The Inspiring Journey of a Hollywood Icon, Activist, and Entrepreneur.” Iconik Magazine. October 31, 2024. Accessed January 9, 2025. https://www.iconikmagazine.com/post/eva-longoria-the-inspiring-journey-of-a-hollywood-icon-activist-and-entrepreneur
  7. Elisabeth Brier. “Eva Longoria Explains How She Reached Her Potential And How She’s Now Helping Others Do The Same.” Forbes. June 18, 2019. Accessed January 9, 2025. https://www.forbes.com/sites/elisabethbrier/2019/06/18/eva-longoria-explains-how-she-reached-her-potential-and-how-shes-now-helping-others-do-the-same/
  8. “Our Programs.” Eva Longoria Foundation. Accessed January 9, 2025. https://evalongoriafoundation.org/our-programs/
  9. “Eva Longoria.” Latino Victory – About. Accessed January 9, 2025. https://latinovictory.org/staff/eva-longoria/
  10. Jennifer Calfas. “Hollywood Women Launch Time’s Up to End Sexual Harassment. Here’s Their Plan.” Time. January 2, 2018. Accessed January 9, 2025. https://time.com/5083809/times-up-hollywood-sexual-harassment/
  11. “Eva Longoria to Donate $50 Million to Latina Communities.” DiversityComm. July, 2024. Accessed January 9, 2025. https://diversitycomm.net/diversitycomm/eva-longoria-to-donate-50-million-to-latina-communities/
  12. “Visionary Alliance.” NHMC. Accessed January 11, 2025. https://www.nhmc.org/visionary-alliance/
  13. “Obama campaign names 35 national co-chairs.” The Washington Times. February 22, 2012. Accessed January 9, 2025. https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/feb/22/obama-campaign-names-35-national-co-chairs/
  14. Rachel Shapiro. “Eva Longoria Targeting Latino and Female Communities With New Obama Campaign Role.” The Hollywood Reporter. February 27, 2012. Accessed January 9, 2025. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/eva-longoria-obama-campaign-co-chair-295097/
  15. “Eva Longoria.” Eva Longoria Foundation – Our Leadership. Accessed January 10, 2025. https://evalongoriafoundation.org/leadership/
  16. Abby Livingston. “Eva Longoria is famous for her acting, but she’s increasingly recognized as a political player in Texas and beyond.” KSAT.com. October 29, 2020. Accessed January 9, 2025. https://www.ksat.com/news/texas/2020/10/29/eva-longoria-is-famous-for-her-acting-but-shes-increasingly-recognized-as-a-political-player-in-texas-and-beyond/
  17. “About Us.” Latino Victory. Accessed January 9, 2025. https://latinovictory.org/about/
  18. Daniella Diaz. “Who have celebrities endorsed for the 2016 election?” CNN Politics. March 20, 2016. Accessed January 9, 2025. https://www.cnn.com/2015/10/27/politics/gallery/celebrity-endorsements-2016-election/index.html
  19. Marc Malkin. “Eva Longoria Baston, Rep. Joaquin Castro Help Launch Momento Latino.” Variety. July 13, 2020. Accessed January 9, 2025. https://variety.com/2020/politics/news/eva-longoria-joaquin-castro-momento-latino-1234704918/
  20. Neha Prakash, Bianca Rodriguez. “Who Celebrities Are Endorsing In the 2020 Presidential Election.” Marie Claire. November 3, 2020. Accessed January 9, 2025. https://www.marieclaire.com/politics/g33798127/celebrity-endorsements-2020-presidential-election/
  21. Ecleen Luzmila Caraballo. “Why Eva Longoria at the 2020 DNC Should Come as No Surprise.” Remezcla. August 18, 2020. Accessed January 9, 2025. https://remezcla.com/culture/eva-longoria-democratic-national-convention-emcee-details-and-recap/
  22. Valeria Garcia and Amy Lamare. “Eva Longoria endorses Joe Biden and Kamala Harris’ re-election campaign in Arizona…after slamming Donald Trump.” Daily Mail. May 13, 2024. Accessed January 9, 2025. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-13412943/Eva-Longoria-endorses-Joe-Biden-Kamala-Harris-election-campaign-Arizona-slamming-Donald-Trump.html
  23. Nicole Chavez. “Eva Longoria apologizes and clarifies why she said Latinas were the ‘real heroines’ of the election.” CNN Entertainment. November 9, 2020. Accessed January 9, 2025. https://www.cnn.com/2020/11/09/entertainment/eva-longoria-black-women-voters-apology-trnd/index.html
  24. Bhavik Grover. Meaww.com. August 23, 2024. Accessed January 9, 2025. https://news.meaww.com/what-does-she-se-puede-mean-eva-longorias-new-tagline-for-kamala-harris-goes-viral-at-the-dnc
  25. Edward Segarra. “Eva Longoria says she didn’t move out of US because of Donald Trump’s election win.” USA Today. November 18, 2024. Accessed January 9, 2025. https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/celebrities/2024/11/17/eva-longoria-moving-united-states-donald-trump/76386916007/
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