"40 years is very little." Eva Longoria posed for the cover of a magazine

Eva Longoria became the heroine of the cover of the new issue of Flaunt. The actress posed for photographer Dennis Leupold wearing looks from Stella McCartney, Dior, Louis Vuitton, Etro and Gucci, and spoke in an interview about the problem of ageism on television.

48-year-old Eva Longoria gained fame thanks to her role as Gabrielle Solis in the TV series Desperate Housewives. The actress calls her work on the show a breakthrough for television, because at that time, twenty years ago, many of the topics shown in the series were taboo, and only women in leading roles were a rarity. The project, which aired on ABC for eight years, questioned suburban ideals with their supposedly perfect marriages and explored issues of patriarchy, misogyny and mental health.

"I always knew that the series was special. What we were doing seemed important to me. I think it's because we touched on a lot of universal themes—marriage, divorce, parenting, friends, sisterhood. It was a global phenomenon."

The actress notes that if she received an offer to star in the sequel to Desperate Housewives, she would certainly agree. "I would be the first to sign up for this! But, unfortunately, it doesn’t depend on me.”

Longoria notes that it was one of the first series to feature older women in leading roles at a time when ageism against them in Hollywood was rampant. "At the time, it was crazy to have a woman over 40 in the lead role. I remember everyone saying, “Wow, women over 40 are the stars of the show!” Now for me 40 is very little."

The actress sees a shift toward gender and racial diversity in film, but she's saddened that women still "have an expiration date in this business." According to Eva, everything is gradually changing, not because the "studio heads" thought "let's do everything right for these groups of people," but because "the audience demanded it."

This year, Longoria made her directorial debut, the film “Scorching Hot,” and in 2024 the drama “Land of Women” will be released on Apple TV+. in the spirit of "Desperate Housewives" starring Eva. “I'm definitely excited about what's in store for me in directing and acting. I have a very high bar for what I want to do."