Eva Longoria reveals one of her cousins is a Hollywood legend —and Jimmy Fallon had no idea
Eva Longoria recently appeared on 'The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon' to discuss her role in the critically acclaimed 'Only Murders in the Building.' During the animated conversation, the 'Desperate Housewives' star made a startling revelation; she disclosed sharing ancestry ties with a legendary, versatile Dutch actress. Longoria explained to Fallon that she was one of the participants on 'Finding Your Roots' hosted by Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. "And he's like, 'Do you want to know who you're related to?' And I was like, 'Yeah," she exclaimed with a dramatic pause. "And he's like, 'Meryl Streep,'" she added with exuberance.
As per The Sun, Longoria added that results were calculated after a genuine scientific process: "Usually he has five or six people on at the same time, and he cross-references everyone's DNA to see if we share a relative in the last 100 years," she explained. After learning of her distant blood ties, Longoria said she was a little reluctant to tell the Oscar winner when she ran into her at an awards function. "I was, like, at the Golden Globes or I don't know—something backstage in the green room—and my friend was like, 'There's Meryl, go say you're her cousin,'" she recalled. "I'm like, 'I'm not gonna go up to Meryl Streep and say we're cousins. It's not gonna make any sense. I don't know if she saw that part of the show.'"
However, the 'Dora' actress was in for a shock, Streep had already watched the episode and knew they were related. "I hear, 'Cousin! Cousin!' That's how cool Meryl Streep is. She's like, 'Cousin!'" Longoria recounted. The pair then shared a good laugh over their newly discovered connection. "I was like, 'Clearly you got the talent in the family.' And she's like, 'Clearly you got the beauty.' I mean, every day, there was another comedy icon, and I was, like, pinching myself." The talented actresses are now reunited in the new season of the Emmy-winning drama series 'Only Murders in the Building.'
Longoria plays a recurring character in the thriller/drama series. The 'Land of Women' actress told IndieWire that her close family and friends grew curious and wanted her to spill details about the role. “It was announced I was on the show, and [friends] were like, ‘Who? What character are you playing? Are you the murderer?'” Longoria told IndieWire. “And I was like, ‘No. But I will tell you, it’s the best character I’ve ever played in my life: It’s me!'” Once again she fawned over Streep, "To be on that set was pretty unreal. To be with Meryl? My god.” Longoria admitted that she loved working on the sets because she got all the humorous bits. However, she also acknowledged that it got challenging to shoot at times since everyone was laughing so much.