Eva Longoria is opening up about her journey in the entertainment industry. The 48-year-old actress and filmmaker revealed that she was inspired to continue to pursue a career in Hollywood after seeing Jennifer Lopez, crediting the performer as someone who broke barriers and paved the way for Latino talent.

During a recent interview with People, the ‘Desperate Housewives’ actress looked back at some of the moments of her career, including seeing JLo on the set of the 1997 biopic ‘Selena’ following the tragic death of Selena Quintanilla. “I’m from Corpus Christi, Texas. I was an extra in that movie and to look up on the stage and go, ‘Oh my gosh,’” Eva explained.

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“Jennifer broke down so many doors so that we could walk through them,” she declared. “And she kicked them down. They were not easy doors.” “First of all, to see Selena do it, and then to see Jennifer play Selena, you’re like, ‘There is [an] opportunity for somebody who looks like me,’“ Eva added.

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The actress went on to explain that she wants to inspire and encourage new generations of talented Latinos to pursue their dreams. “That’s the reason I do what I do,” she said to the publication. “I want to build the pipeline of talent from our community, but also showcase the talent that we have in our community.”

She also said that despite Latinos having great talent to succeed in the entertainment business, there has yet to be a big enough opportunity for everyone. “Such amazing, talented actors, directors, writers, in front of, behind the camera. And so for me, the purpose of doing what I do is to help give our community that experience they need to go onto the next project.”