Eva Longoria worked as a part-time headhunter because she refused to be a struggling actress. The 51-year-old entertainer landed a role at a temp agency when she arrived in Los Angeles from Texas to make ends meet while she tried to chase her dream of becoming a Hollywood star.
Eva recalled to Fortune magazine, "The first day I landed in LA, I got a job. I was like, 'I’m not going to be a struggling actor. I’m going to figure this out.'"
She still screened talent, figured out salaries and closed placement deals during downtime on her first big acting job, The Young and the Restless, in which she played Isabella Brana from 2001 until 2003.
© Mondadori PortfolioThe Latina powerhouse remembered, "In my dressing room, I was doing the headhunting. I was negotiating 401(k)s and salaries, interviewing and reading resumes and placing people. And then they would be like, 'Eva, ready on set.'"
She gave up her headhunting gig when she received a financially viable pay rise during her third year on the CBS soap opera. "I knew I could always go back to corporate America if acting didn’t work out."
In 2004, the actress scored her breakout role as Gabrielle Solis on ABC's Desperate Housewives, appearing in all eight seasons that ended in 2012. Then, Eva went on to star in the likes of Brooklyn Nine-Nine, John Wick, make her feature-length directorial debut with 2023's Flamin' Hot.
© Arnold JerockiShe even stepped into business, launching TV and film firm UnbeliEVAble Entertainment, and luxury tequila brand Casa Del Sol. Eva, who has an estimated net worth of $80 million, always thought she would be a success.
In March, the star explained to People, "So many people have guided me in my life. I have nine aunts, three sisters and 18 female cousins. I was surrounded by smart, independent and successful women.”
© Colby Tallia/amfAR"I didn’t have to look far to see the woman I wanted to be. I was like, 'Oh, I’m going to be like my sisters. I’m going to be like my mom.' That instilled in me this idea that I always knew I would be successful. I didn’t know what I was going to do - whether I would be a dentist or a lawyer - but I knew I’d be successful. And that came from the community around me."
