Eva Longoria is an Oscar presenter this evening, and she deliberately brought the glitz to the red carpet. The 47-year-old actress stepped out in a sheer white lace dress with a low plunge neckline and lots of crystals by Zuhair Murad. When asked by E!’s Laverne Cox what story her outfit was telling on the red carpet, Longoria said she wanted to dress like “a disco ball. People can dance around me, I’m that sparkly.”
Longoria was recently at South by Southwest, where she presented her directorial debut Flamin’ Hot, a film that captures the story of Richard Montañez, “a Mexican American factory worker at Frito-Lay who claims his blend of homemade spices was the basis for Flamin’ Hot Cheetos,” per CBS News.
Of the project, Longoria told CBS in an interview published today, “I felt in my bones nobody else could direct this movie.” She added that the film is more about expanding Latino representation on screen and on set and capturing their lived experience, rather than the titular snack.
“You know, we never set out to do the history of the Cheeto,” she explained. “There’s a lot of people in his life that said, ‘No, no, no, ideas don’t come from people like you. You know, no, no, that opportunity is not for somebody like you.’ I’ve felt that.”
She reflected on her Desperate Housewives breakout role success too, explaining bigger things are coming from her. “People always go, ‘Oh my God, that show you did back then, that was amazing. Must have been the highlight of your career.’ And I was like, ‘Yeah, but wait, wait ’til you see what’s coming.’ And they say, ‘What’s coming out?’ ‘I don’t know! I don’t know, but it’s going to be good!’”
Senior News and Strategy Editor
Alyssa Bailey is the senior news and strategy editor at ELLE.com, where she oversees coverage of celebrities and royals (particularly Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton). She previously held positions at InStyle and Cosmopolitan. When she’s not working, she loves running around Central Park, making people take #ootd pics of her, and exploring New York City.
