Eiza González Talks About Being ‘Overly Sexualized’ as a Latina in Hollywood
Mexican actress Eiza González, 34, just opened up about dealing with the “Latina stereotype” and the “overly sexualized idea of a Latin woman” in Hollywood. As the “Baby Driver” actress recently put it to InStyle, “It’s so disappointing and it’s so pathetic.”
González’s InStyle interview covers a lot of ground— including once finding out a boyfriend cheated on her through a famous sex tape. This was back when teenage González played Lola on Mexican telenovela “Lola, Érase Una Vez,” singing in a rock band on the show. At the time, the sex tape scandal was on “the cover of a magazine,” which is how the actress found out about it.
Incredibly enough, getting cheated on was what sparked her decision to leave Mexico City for Los Angeles, leading to her A-list career. González now explains that her Hollywood roles and fashion contracts “all stemmed from [her] boyfriend cheating on [her] with a sex tape. What are the odds?” That and a lot of hard work for nearly two decades, of course.
Ahead, find everything to know about González’s statements on relationships, self-love, therapy, and “disappointing” Hollywood stereotypes.
González said being “overly sexualized” in Hollywood has been the “biggest challenge” in her career
In the interview, the 34-year-old actress spoke about being typecasted as a “sexy” bombshell in films like “Baby Driver” and “From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series.”
She said this is due to the “overly sexualized idea of a Latin woman” by Hollywood executives, something she calls “so disappointing” and “so pathetic.” In fact, the star says that breaking out of this stereotype has been “single-handedly the biggest challenge” of her career.
“None of my white friends who were in the industry were getting that,” she added. “It was just me.”
Later, to further prove her point, she asked why Caucasian actresses like Margot Robbie may not be subjected to the same treatment. “I remember being [told for] so many projects, ‘She’s too pretty for the role. She’s too hot for the role,'” González recalled. “Then I’d just be like, ‘What is Margot Robbie? She’s the hottest, most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen in my life!'”
After the InStyle interview, some social media users misinterpreted González’s remarks about being “too hot.” To this, the actress took to X to further clarify her point. “I never said that I was too hot and didn’t get roles,” she explained. “I was making an observation on what a Latina stereotype has been for years in our industry.”
“Words being attached to a woman like hot to define them as if that was the only characteristic that defines them,” she added. “As in correlation to stereotypes.”
González said that the stereotypes affected her so much, she had an “identity crisis.” She remembers questioning her every move: “I was like, ‘Do I shave my head? Do I make myself less attractive [or] do I make myself more attractive? Do I not dress super-hot or do I dress super-hot[?]'”
The actress also said Hollywood execs were “dismissive” of her successful career in Mexico
The “3 Body Problem” actress also revealed details about her journey to make it in Hollywood. She remembers moving into a Los Angeles one-bedroom rental with a friend where she was “partying and crying” in a constant loop. Eventually, building an IMDbPro profile helped her land her first big role in Hollywood for “From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series.”
Still, González spoke about how strange it was that Hollywood executives didn’t acknowledge she had a decade-long acting career in Mexico. Starring in novelas like “Lola: Érase Una Vez” and “Amores Verdaderos,” she was famous in her home country since she was a teenager. But, some execs acted like she didn’t have real experience.
“That was shocking because—and I don’t mean it in a way [of] no one knew who I was,” she recalled. “No, no, no. When I started working in America… It was like, ‘So, how is it to be a beginning actress?'”
“It was just embarrassing because…I was like, What am I going to say? ‘By the way, I’m successful in another country,'” she added. “It was dismissive of my entire career, it was dismissive of who I was. It was dismissive of my culture, [and] it was dismissive of my experience, my work, my work ethic.”
“Because you are uneducated and uninformed about other countries, that’s on you and that’s fine, but you cannot dismiss people’s careers.”
Later in the interview, González also revealed details on her personal life. For one, being in her 30s has eased her further into self-love. “Shockingly, I like myself so much more physically right now than I did in my twenties,” she stated. “And a part of it, obviously, is maturing and accepting yourself and doing all the hard work, but I also think I look better.”
On the other hand, she is “dying to have kids,” but is in no rush to find the one. “I’ve sort of given up,” she admitted. “I’m not looking anymore.”
And when it comes to relationships, she has a few “non-negotiables,” including going to therapy. She revealed, “If you’ve not gone to therapy… I’m not dating you.” Preach!
