Actor, producer, director and activist Eva Longoria, 49, was born in Texas to Tejano parents. She’s best known for her role as Gabrielle Solis in hit 00s drama . Longoria has a charity, , which supports young adults with developmental disabilities and that aims to improve the Latina education gap and Latino poverty.
She now stars in Spanish- and English-language comedy thriller series as a New York socialite on the run to her mother’s home town in rural Spain. I’ve been directing and needed something special to lure me out from behind the camera. A lot of TV is so depressing.
It’s always the end of the world or some dystopian future where the government’s collapsed – and that’s a little too close to home. I wanted escapism and fun. is adapted from this great novel by Sandra Barneda about three generations of women in the Spanish wine country.
Nobody needed to twist my arm to shoot there. Female storytelling is so important. The fact that there are so many Latinos working on this project makes me proud, too.
We filmed in the north-east corner of Spain, outside Figueres, and it was just stunning. Those beautiful vineyards you see in the show are real. I stayed in a tiny medieval village called Peralada.
A rooster woke me every morning and I’d walk to the only coffee shop in town. I spend the rest of my time between LA and Mexico City; it was bliss to be in nature and quiet. I always say that if I wasn’t an actor, I’d be a sommelier.
I’m obsessed with grape.