Eva Longoria on Living in Spain, Hosting, and Turning 50

Eva Longoria, whose decades-long career in Hollywood has seen her evolve from actress to director, is settling into the “second act” of her life, splitting her time between Spain and Mexico. She’s also celebrating her 50th birthday this spring. But whether she’s at home in Spain or in New York shooting the latest season of Only Murders in the Building, she’s usually cooking or eating (particularly any Mexican breakfast or Spanish rice dish).

“I cook every day,” she tells the Cut while nestled into the cozy sofa chairs in one of the residential suites of New York City’s Aman hotel, surrounded by one of her other favorite things: coffee (specifically, Nespresso, a brand for which she is an ambassador). She’s even making her own butter. Take note, Nara Smith.

Between hosting dinner parties with her favorite people, traveling, and shooting her upcoming series Searching for Spain, Longoria has taken some time to catch up on all her top award-season films. And despite her slight jealousy toward Stanley Tucci and his full food exploration of Italy, the Flamin’ Hot director says she thoroughly enjoyed his performance in Conclave. Yes, Eva Longoria is into petty pope drama, just like the rest of us.
She shared her taste with the Cut.

What does your morning routine look like?

I wake up and the first thing I do is walk downstairs and make a coffee. I love the ritual of something warm, the ritual of the smell, starting my day with a smooth, creamy latte. And Nespresso makes it so easy. I just love the smell of the coffee, the sound of the machine, the hot milk — the whole process for me has really been rooted in me since I was young. I used to make coffee for my dad when he was going to work at 6 a.m. That was my chore. And so the smell of it is so nostalgic for me.

You recently relocated from L.A. and are splitting your time between Spain and Mexico. What are some of your favorite foods or dishes from Spain and Mexico? 

Mexico has the best breakfasts in the world. In Europe, people eat a piece of bread or a croissant and coffee. In the United States, it’s eggs and bacon. But in Mexico, you have huevo rancheros, molletes, enfrijoladas, chilaquiles; I mean, a breakfast menu is, like, four pages at a restaurant in Mexico. In Spain, I love jamón and fuet, which is from Catalonia — that dried sausage — and all the arroz: not only paella from Valencia but all the different arroz, rices, they call it. Also, living in Europe, you have to buy things almost daily because there’s not a lot of preservatives. I got to Spain and I bought two loaves of bread, 18 bananas, and I was like, This is going to last a month, and it all went bad the next day. And I was like, What?

Who of your famous friends hosts the best dinner parties or happens to be a great cook? 

Me. I’m the host. I host everything — every set, every weekend barbecue, every birthday dinner — I’m the one in my group who does it.

What makes for a good dinner party? 

People. It’s not about the menu. It’s not about your table setting. It’s not about the ambience. It’s about the curation of conversation. Sometimes I’ll be like, So-and-so’s coming overnight, so I don’t think they would get along with so-and-so, or sometimes I’ll think, I actually think they’re so opposite, they would get along.

What’s the last meal you cooked for dinner? 

It was yesterday, when I landed here. I cook every day. I cook everything for my son. I’ve been making a lot of staples at home. I always make my dressings. I make mayonnaise and butter for the month. I make our sandwich bread.

Making the butter is top-notch. 

It’s easy! I make honey butter, I make salty butter, garlic butter.

What’s one restaurant (or two) you always have to go to when you’re in New York? 

Avra is a good one. Marea is a good one. Il Mulino is a classic — and Bilboquet. Between Bilboquet and Il Mulino, which are across from each other, that’s where I spend all my time.

Speaking of NYC, what was it like to play a heightened version of yourself in the last season of Only Murders in the Building? 

It was the best character I’ve ever played. I mean, it was so fun when they called me and they were like, “You’re going to play Eva [Longoria].” I was like, “What?” And it was written so well, and the greatest thing is the amount of talent on the show; to be with Eugene Levy, Melissa McCarthy, Meryl Streep, Zach Galifianakis, along with the trio (Selena Gomez, Steve Martin, and Martin Short), it was just so much fun — Paul Rudd! Every day on set, I was like, “Who else is on this show?”

Do you have any comfort, rewatch television shows or movies?
I’m watching all the award-season films right now: Emilia Pérez, Nosferatu. Conclave, I just saw; oh my God, Ralph Fiennes was amazing — and Stanley Tucci. So right now, I’m just catching up on all the films in our Academy screening room. Of course, I also watched Wicked and Moana and all the other ones.

Any New Year’s resolutions for this year? 

I’m turning 50 this year, so it’s a big milestone — not an age, just in like, Okay, what’s the second chapter of my second act of life going to look like? And just making decisions, daily decisions that will affect the rest of the next 50 years. It’s daily decisions that you execute that shape who you’re going to be, what you do, what defines you, your legacy. So, yeah, I don’t really do a New Year’s resolution, but right now, I’m kind of even zooming out even more and going, Okay, who do I want to be in the next 50 years?

What would you say is the best advice you’ve gotten in this first 50 years of life?

My mom always said, “Never forget where you came from,” and “Always remember your roots.” But I try to live by the golden rule: Treat people as you — do unto others as you want them to do unto you. And then also, this very famous Maya Angelou quote: “People will forget what you said, they’ll forget what you did, but they’ll never forget how you made them feel.” And so I always try to make my interactions with everyone full of light, love, and positivity and that they’ll leave it going, “That was so lovely; I don’t even remember what we talked about, but it was so pleasant.” So that’s a couple of different areas of advice.

Anything you’d consider the worst advice you’ve received?
In my directing career, I saw bad examples of some bad directors’ habits, and I was like, I definitely don’t want to run a set like that. I would want to be different.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.