Eva Longoria sheds light on her goals to empower Latin women in the US and it's so inspiring

Eva Longoria, an American actress of Mexican ethnicity, is loved by many. Her role as Gabrielle Solis on ABC's series Desperate Housewives is a truly iconic one. But what one may not know about her is that she is an advocate and activist, giving voice to those who are in need. Eva has her foundation, the Eva Longoria Foundation, which aids and allows Latin women to rise and reach their full potential. 

Many times, it has been seen that Latin women are overlooked in the entertainment industry, and as part of the industry - Eva observed it well. That's when she realized something crucial and spoke to Parade about it - "The only way to change the narrative is to change who's in the room telling the story." She further explained, "Making a difference doesn't have to be complicated...sometimes, you just need to be the person who steps up to do it."

In a recent interview with TODAY's Hoda Kotb, Eva spoke about a wide array of things - from her family, childhood, activism, as well as her wish to empower Latina women. She spoke about how she comes from a line of strong Latin women, all who are kind and capable. She is a completely self-made woman and actress who has worked very hard to reach where she is.

She also shared a heartwarming story about her special needs sister Lisa, who is compassionate to a fault. Eva narrated a story wherein during high school, someone stole Lisa's jacket from her and that made Eva extremely feisty. When she asked Lisa why someone might have taken it, all she had to say was, "Maybe they were feeling cold." This incident remains etched in Eva's mind as a reminder to always step in someone else's shoes before judging them.

When asked about what inspired her to pursue a Master's at the peak of her career, she jokingly said, "What led me to get a master's at the peak of my career was the fact that my mother kept bothering me..." She further elaborated, "I was doing a lot of advocacy and I had a big platform, and people would invite me to so many things and ask me to give a keynote or speech here and there. They would write these talking points for me or they would give me the facts. And I would look at the facts and then I would write a speech based on these facts. And then I would look at the facts and wonder if it's true." She added, "I was constantly asking why and I wanted to be more articulate and well read, and literate about what I was speaking."

Eva did her Master's in Chicano studies, which is Mexican American history in the United States. She had a lot of questions she wanted answers to. She believe that to be able to help and empower her community better, and reach where they wanted to - she needed to be able to understand where they came from.

Eva Longoria is the embodiment of the sentence - 'When you grow, we grow.' In a world that cares for others at their convenience, her selfless nature and relentless determination to make the world a better place is a breath of fresh air. She has climbed the ladder one step at a time, and she's made it to where she is by shedding a lot of blood, sweat, and tears. If people in influential positions would be more like her, the world would surely become a kinder place to live in. 

In the words of Eva's favorite quote by Maya Angelou, "People are going to forget what you did, they will forget what you said, but they will never forget how you made them feel," and we couldn't agree more.