Beyoncé, Gwyneth Paltrow, Eva Longoria – celebrity brands just keep coming. Why TV and movie stars are launching their own businesses

Gwyneth Paltrow was one of the first with wellness company Goop. More celebrities than ever are becoming entrepreneurs, such as Eva Longoria with her tequila

Launching you own business is preferable to endorsing an existing product or company, says an expert, as it gives greater control and potentially bigger profits

Reading Time:5 minutes

Published: 4:15am, 10 Nov 2023Updated: 4:31am, 10 Nov 2023

For two decades, tequila brands courted Eva Longoria to promote their products or launch her own line. And for a long time, the Desperate Housewives actress was adamant about saying no.

“They’re like, you’ve gotta do a tequila. You’re Mexican,” says Longoria. “I didn’t really drink it back in the day, and I didn’t want to put my name on something that I didn’t authentically like or consume.”

Then came the coronavirus pandemic, she says, “and Covid drove me to cocktails”. For the first time, Longoria found herself drawn to the taste and “the art” of tequila.

Longoria’s tequila awakening arrived at an opportune moment for drinks brand Casa Del Sol, which impressed her with its “smooth”, Cognac-barrel-aged drinks.

Longoria with a bottle of Casa Del Sol tequila. Photo: Facebook/Eva Longoria Baston

The actress-director-producer joined Casa Del Sol as a co-founder in 2021. She is among a rapidly growing contingent of actors and actresses who are also entrepreneurs, juggling their film and television projects with business endeavours outside Hollywood.

“It’s a lot of work,” Longoria says, “but I really enjoy the work.”