Eva Longoria (left) and Lauren Sánchez have been friends for 20 years.
Carlos Rric Lopez
Close friends for two decades, Eva Longoria and Lauren Sánchez have had countless phone conversations over the years — but this one, to our knowledge, is the first to be recorded.
Longoria is one of this year’s recipients of the Bezos Courage & Civility Award, a massive charitable grant that Sánchez and her fiancé, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, have given to philanthropic activists over the past three years (previous recipients include Dolly Parton, José Andrés and Van Jones). Desperate Housewives The star only has 10 years left to find a worthy charitable cause to spend that money on, but luckily there’s one named after her: the Eva Longoria Foundation, a nonprofit organization founded in 2012 that provides Latino women and girls with educational programs, scholarships, mentorships, microloans and other forms of support.
THR I eavesdropped on a recent conversation between the actress and the former journalist turned billionaire girlfriend, both of whom are formidable players in the world of philanthropy. While Longoria runs her own nonprofit, Sánchez is vice chair of the Bezos Earth Fund, which has pledged to give $10 billion by 2030, among the power couple’s other charitable giving.
Topics discussed include the fate of the planet, a book about a fly in space and the use of a certain $50 million check.
EVA LONGORIA I’ve known you for 20 years, so I feel like I know the answers to all these questions…
LAUREN SANCHEZ I much prefer asking the questions. That’s the journalist in me.
LONGORIE Now I’m a journalist. We switch roles. So when did your passion for giving begin? I think people think you got involved in philanthropy later in life, and I’m like, “No, she’s always been involved.” But tell me, was there a defining moment in your life?
SANCHEZ I understand that people would see that because giving – giving money – is much more important today. That’s true. So I understand that people would think that, but I think my passion for giving started very early. My grandmother was a volunteer at a local hospital and the night before we would make banana bread and hand it out to the nurses and doctors who had been working long hours. That experience really planted a seed in me.
Then, in my thirties, I visited a children’s hospital that really solidified my commitment. I was accompanied by a group of doctors, who were running the Facing Forward team, and these doctors volunteered their time to help reconstruct children with facial deformities for families who couldn’t afford it. Seeing the resilience and strength of these children, despite all of these challenges, that was it. It made me realize that I wanted to dedicate more time and resources, even in my thirties, to making a difference.
Now I’m loading up my kids and we’re going across the border to This Is About Humanity (an organization that helps families separated at the U.S.-Mexico border). I get so emotional when I talk about it because these kids have nothing. They’re living in tents. And my kids and I, we brought groceries, makeup, backpacks. Then my kids walked back by themselves. So it’s a cycle. It’s a good cycle.
LONGORIE We both love This is About Humanity and they do amazing things. But I also think the biggest myth is that you have to be rich and famous to give back, you have to be rich and famous to be a philanthropist. And if you look at all the people who are part of this particular organization, it’s run by volunteers, by people who take a bus every weekend to cook food.
SANCHEZ It shows that everyone has the power to give back. And it goes back to where you say, “Oh, you didn’t give back before.” Before that? No, I did. It just didn’t make the headlines.
LONGORIE What is your approach to philanthropy? I remember when I first became famous 20 years ago, I was getting a hundred invitations a week: fighting AIDS in Africa, saving dolphins, fighting sex trafficking in Thailand. And I was like, “Oh my God, yes, we need to feed the dolphins and save the children!” But you can’t do everything. How do you decide what to focus on?
SANCHEZ Jeff is extremely focused, as you can imagine. We really look for organizations that are not only tackling pressing issues, but that have a clear and effective plan to make a difference. That’s important. We prioritize where we can contribute to systematic change. It’s about making those thoughtful, informed decisions to ensure that the contributions will have the greatest impact. And that really sums up our philosophy, I would say, in a nutshell.
LONGORIE One of the things that you do that gets the most attention is the Bezos Earth Fund. Obviously, it’s very needed. But can you tell us more about the specific areas that you’re focusing on?
Dr. Andrew Steer (left) and Cristián Samper of the Bezos Earth Fund accompanied Jeff Bezos and Sánchez on a recent trip to the Amazon.
Courtesy of the Bezos Earth Fund
SANCHEZ The Bezos Earth Fund is a massive undertaking. It’s a $10 billion commitment. We’re focused on a number of key issues, like restoring and protecting nature, advancing climate justice, and supporting innovative climate solutions. It’s going to take time. Jeff always says, “We have to invent our way out of this.” By investing in these solutions, some will work, some will succeed, and some won’t. But that’s how we’re going to get out of this, by funding scientific research to develop new technologies like sustainable aviation fuels or something called green cement. These technologies are incredibly important. We’ve invested a lot of money in sustainable proteins. And the meat that they’re making now tastes so good. I know it’s hard to believe, but I’ve tasted it. And that’s going to, I think, have a big impact. But one thing that’s, I think, more tangible, you could say, is restoring critical ecosystems. It’s incredibly rewarding to see that. We invest a lot of money in restoration.
We also focus on education through the Bezos Academy, which provides free preschool to underserved communities. There’s Mary’s Place, which provides shelter and support to homeless families. It really focuses on families who are temporarily homeless, which are often mothers who may be in abusive relationships and need to take their kids and leave. And one thing that Jeff did with Mary’s Place is he set up the homeless shelter in the Amazon offices in Seattle, which is amazing. I know. It’s crazy that people don’t really know about this. But a lot of employees, when they volunteer their time, they go directly to this community that really needs help. It’s remarkable. And the impact that it has, it just makes the world a better place. So those are some of the things that we’re really passionate about.
Sánchez met a baby in Mexico as part of her project This Is About Humanity, an organization that supports families separated at the U.S.-Mexico border.
Courtesy of This Is About Humanity
LONGORIE Do you feel like you’re making a difference in these causes, because it can be like throwing a stone in the ocean, right?
SANCHEZ I don’t know if you know this, but I have a book coming out. It’s called The Fly That Flew. It’s about a little rowdy fly who doesn’t do very well in school but is extremely curious. And all she wants to do is become an astronaut. That’s it. That’s all she focuses on. And she accidentally gets stuck in a rocket capsule and goes up into space, and she sees the Earth. And she realizes how precious and beautiful it is. When she comes back down, her perspective changes. She now wants to save the planet. So, for me, that’s kind of what my journey has been. I’ve always had this career. But now that I step back and I’m part of the Bezos Earth Fund, I’m like, “Wait a second, what’s important is saving this planet.”
LONGORIE You and I constantly have these conversations that inspire each other. Instead of sending each other memes, we send each other reports about the Latino community that is not represented on TV, in movies, and in the media…
SANCHEZ I know, we send each other white papers. I send you a study and you text me back, “I’ve already read it.” You and I both have a huge commitment to empowering underrepresented communities, especially Latinas.
LONGORIE You and I are proudly Latino. But we’re also proudly American. And we’re very assimilated. But we grew up with that hyphen, living in two worlds. And I think a lot of people identify with that, especially Latinos in the United States.
SANCHEZ Your words to the She Last year, I wrote down what you said so I could say it properly. You said, “You know who hires women? Other women.” And then you said to every woman in power in the room, “Please hire her.” That moment, Eva, is one of the reasons I knew you were perfect for the Courage and Civility Award. Because your dedication to elevating and amplifying not only Latina voices (but also) women is exactly what we needed. I mean, you truly embody the spirit of courage and civility. This award is looking for people who have a deep commitment to those values. Because we live in a world right now that is just very sarcastic and serious and it’s not helping anyone.
LONGORIE I am very grateful for your friendship and solidarity, but also, of course, for this grant, because it allows us to intensify what we have been doing for 12 years. I firmly believe that women are the key to unlocking not only the potential of our country, but also that of the world.
SANCHEZ I can’t wait to see what you do with that $50 million.
A version of this article first appeared in the July 10 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.