Who would have thought that one of Hollywood’s most beautiful and influential Latinas grew up feeling like the ugly duck among her family members? During a recent interview for Not Skinny But Not Fat with Amanda Hirsch, the Mexican descent superstar opened up about how the socially accepted beauty of her mom and sisters impacted her self-esteem, even when, decades later, she became a L’Oréal spokesperson.

“All my three sisters were blonde. And I was the only one that came out with black hair, dark skin, dark eyes,” the actress and businesswoman said. “My sisters have these beautiful hazel eyes. My mom is a ‘Güera’ — which is the white one. They call her ‘Tia Güera’ because she’s so light skinned.”

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Longoria then made a surprising revelation. “So I grew up as ‘La prieta fea,’ which means ‘the ugly dark one.’” Eva said her mom used to call her like that; however, she clarified that although Latinos call each other names related to their race, the meaning has no racist connotation whatsoever. “It’s a term of endearment, but when people would walk up to my mom and go, ‘your daughters are so beautiful. And who’s this?’ I’d be like, ‘I’m one of them,’” she expressed.

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“So I wasn’t the pretty one. Like I grew up as not the pretty one. So there was a conscious decision when I was young to be the funny one. And I really think that has lent itself to my personality,” she added. “Not just like, ‘Oh, I’m going to be an actress,’ but like, I just don’t value beauty in my own self very much, and I’m with L’Oréal. I’m a spokesperson which my sisters are still like ‘why they pick you.’”

When did Eva Longoria become a L’Oréal ambassador?

Longoria joined the L’Oréal Paris family in 2005. She is one of the longest-serving members of the brand’s “Dream Team,” which includes Jennifer Lopez, Beyoncé Knowles, Jane Fonda, Julianne Moore, and Blake Lively.

The newest generation also includes Camila Cabello and, most recently, Kendall Jenner.