The Telenovela star honors her mentors and heroes—because celebrating great women is always a Do.
1. Dolores Huerta, civil rights activist
Dolores is a mentor of mine. She introduced me to the world of farm workers' rights and is one of the great civil rights icons in the Latino community. She's taught me that in a world in which there's so much attention on what we eat, there's not enough interest in who picks our food.
2. María Félix, actress
She was the Elizabeth Taylor of the golden era of Mexican cinema [1930s–1950s], and she was very proud of her heritage; she never wanted to cross over. Start with her film Enamorada.
3. Sonia Sotomayor, Supreme Court Justice
I've interviewed her and gotten to know her, and she's just a great dame—vibrant and full of life. And she is so proud to be Latina.
4. Lucille Ball, actress and producer
She was a pioneer: the first woman to head a TV studio, and she created the rerun [with husband Desi Arnaz]. She was an executive, a producer, a wife, and a mom, and balanced it so well.
5. Antonia Hernández, activist and lawyer
We met through the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund—she's amazing. She believes women can have it all, just not at the same time. She taught me to prioritize what's important at this moment in my life.
6. Susan B. Anthony, suffragist and activist
I get so upset about women who don't vote, because I think about what activists like Susan B. Anthony went through. I respect what they did, therefore I vote.
7. Maya Angelou, poet
To quote her, "People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." So I try to make the people I interact with feel amazing.
8. Holly Robinson Peete, actress and philanthropist
My philanthropic spirit comes from experience with my sister and her special needs; Holly's comes from her son. What she's done for the autism community is so honorable. I'm a sponge around her so I can try to become as knowledgeable as she is when it comes to helping others.
9. Marcia Cross & Felicity Huffman, actresses
I spent nearly a decade of my life with them [working on Desperate Housewives]. Just watching Felicity act was a privilege. And Marcia really taught me how to be a kind human being. I am the producer-actor-director I am because I got to work with these two women.
10. Ella Longoria, teacher and my mother
I don't know how she did it: She had four girls, one with special needs, and shuttled us around to flag practice and band practice. She worked full-time as a teacher and then had dinner on the table every day at 6:00 P.M. for my dad. She's probably the greatest inspiration in my life.
