Eva Longoria, Gina Rodriguez and America Ferrara, three prominent TV, film and stage stars, are making network TV history during the upcoming TV season. All three Latina leading ladies have starring roles in two new mid-season TV series and one returning show.
While there have been Latinos in co-starring and even lead roles in TV shows in the past such as Desi Arnaz (I Love Lucy), Freddie Prinze (Chico and the Man), George Lopez (The George Lopez Show) and more recently Cristela Alonzo in last years short-lived Cristela, the significance of THREE TV shows with Latinas in lead roles, in the light of Hispanics becoming an emerging force in the entertainment industry, cannot be overlooked.
…”there are signs everywhere”— Salma Hayek, Fools Rush In
Eva Longoria first gained national attention as the sexy, naughty neighbor, Gabrielle Solis in ABC’s hit show Desperate Housewives. Born in Corpus Christi, Texas, Longoria parlayed that success into other roles in front of the camera and also behind the camera as an executive producer of ABC’s Devious Maids.
Despite her well-deserved image as a sex-symbol, Longoria is a committed political activist. Longoria, who comes from a family of educators and earned a Master’s Degree in Chicano Studies, works tirelessly to educate and register Hispanic voters in her native Texas.
In a CNN interview, Eva showed her political activist side expressing her views on border security.
Her new show on NBC, Hot & Bothered gives Longoria a role where she can flex her comedic muscles as Ana Calderon, a popular telenovela star. NBC’s hot new sitcom follows the daily life of this telenovela diva. The comic twist in the show is that Longoria’s character does not speak Spanish! ¡No me digas! ¿Come puede ser?
Longoria is also an executive producer of Hot & Bothered which will premiere next year as a mid-season entry. You can also hear Eva Longoria on the Canadian animated series Mother Up!. Longoria is the voice of Rudy Wilson, a former music executive who moves to the suburbs to raise a family
Meanwhile, in another part of the Latina star power galaxy not too far away, Gina Rodriguez’s profile has been glowing brighter and brighter ever since The Hollywood Reporter named her “the next big thing” and one of the “top Latinos under the age of 35”. Her breakout performance as the lead character in the movie Filly Brown, screened at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival, was the only the beginning for the Chicago-born actress.
Following her triumph as a Golden Globe and People’s Choice Award winner for Best Actress in a TV series, Rodriguez returns for a second season on The CW’s critically acclaimed series Jane the Virgin.
Via LATIN HEAT