Eva Longoria and Meryl Streep share far more than just their choice of industry and profession. According to the two actresses, they also share DNA and a family tree, in addition to being critically acclaimed and well-respected within Hollywood.

During Longoria’s March 19 appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, she shared that she and Streep are indeed relatives, and once was pressured by a friend to approach the 75-year-old actress about it during an awards show. Longoria didn’t put herself out there, but Streep did.

“I was at the Golden Globes or…something backstage, in the green room. And my friend was like, ‘There’s Meryl. Go say you’re her cousin!’ 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,'” the Desperate Housewives actress said, referring to Henry Louis Gates, Jr.’s 2010 docuseries Faces of America, in which Longoria learned of their distant relation.

“As I’m like, ‘No, I’m not gonna do it,’ I hear, ‘Cousin! Cousin!'” Longoria continued. “I was like, ‘Oh my God!'” The exchange didn’t end up being nearly as awkward as Longoria made it out to be in her head, saying that upon their meetup, she told Streep, “Clearly you got the talent in the family.” Streep followed suit and said, “Clearly you got the beauty.”

Longoria and Steep’s distant familial connection isn’t very talked about, but in June 2024, the Desperate Housewives star told DuJour that Streep introduced her as her cousin when she, alongside the Only Murders in the Building cast, were doing a Zoom table read for the show. Of the moment, Longoria said, “She tells the story and everyone’s so confused, because I’m the most Latina person in the industry and she’s Meryl Streep.”