EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW AND PHOTOS
Eva Longoria Bastón first found fame almost 20 years ago in US comedy-drama Desperate Housewives, playing Gabrielle Solis, a wealthy Latina living on exclusive Wisteria Lane. It was a trailblazing role that pushed back on stereotypes, and Eva’s life since has lived up to it.
Born in Texas to Mexican-American parents, she made her way to Hollywood with just two dollars in her pocket, so when stardom arrived, she didn’t let it turn her head. Instead, the award-winning actress has turned her celebrity into a platform to do good and help the Latino community.
Eva, 48, has also taken the time to step behind the camera, learning how to produce and direct. And away from the set, she is enjoying family life with her husband, Mexican businessman Pepe Bastón, and their five-year-old son Santi.
But Eva has another great love: Spain, where her family’s roots lie. She’s spent many summers on the Costa del Sol, where, as honorary president of the Global Gift Foundation, she helps host its famously glitzy fundraisers.
And now she’s found her dream home there. “I’ve been looking for a place in Marbella for the past five years,” she reveals as she shows us around the stunning villa, which was renovated by her friend, architect and interior designer Nicolás Escanez.
With a busy life otherwise split between Mexico and Los Angeles, the star visits the villa to relax with family and friends.
She says: “I don’t have a schedule here. My days are full of activities – padel tennis, the beach, lunch, drinks, socialising… in fact, they’re full to the brim, but with things I really enjoy.”
How did you find this house, Eva?
“The first time I came to Marbella, two decades ago, it was love at first sight. I said to myself: ‘Some day I’ll live here.’
“Later, we set up the Global Gift Foundation, and this is where [actor] Antonio Banderas,
