Eva Longoria reveals Meryl Streep’s reaction to finding out they’re actually cousins

It truly is a small world after all, as Eva Longoria has revealed that she shares a family connection with none other than Meryl Streep.

The two celebs were stunned upon learning that they were actually distant relatives of one another, with Longoria, 50, recently opening up about the surprising revelation during a recent appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.

It all happened when the Desperate Housewives star appeared on an episode of Dr. Henry Louis Gates' genealogy series, Faces of America, on 19 March, which takes a look at the family histories and genealogy of their guests.

Explaining the concept of the show, she said: "He cross-references everybody's DNA to see if we share a relative in the last 100 years. And he's like, 'Do you want to know who you're related to?' And I was like, 'Yeah.' And he's like, 'Meryl Streep.'"

Eva Longoria made a shocking DNA discovery (The Hapa Blonde/GC Images)

And despite Longoria being 'so excited' about the news, she was then faced with the problematic situation of possibly bumping into the Mamma Mia! star at an awards ceremony.

She said: "I was, like, at the Golden Globes or I don't know - something backstage in the green room - and my friend was like, 'There's Meryl, go say you're her cousin'.

"I'm like, 'I'm not gonna go up to Meryl Streep and say we're cousins. It's not gonna make any sense. I don't know if she saw that part of the show'."

But as it goes, the star needn't have worried about the awkward interaction, as it was soon clear that Streep had seen the show.

She recalled: "I hear, 'Cousin! Cousin!' That's how cool Meryl Streep is. She's like, 'Cousin!'"

The pair then had a brief conversation about the bizarre situation.

Meryl Streep shared a sweet interaction with the star at the Golden Globes (John Nacion/Variety via Getty Images)

"I was like, 'Clearly you got the talent in the family'," Eva recalled. "And she's like, 'Clearly you got the beauty'."

And in a 2024 interview with DuJour, Longoria revealed that their relationship has only grown stronger since finding out the news, and noted that they really do call each other 'cousin'.

She said: "We’ll say, ‘How are you, cousin?’ and ‘I’m good, cousin.'

"She tells the story and everyone’s so confused, Because I’m the most Latina person in the industry and she’s Meryl Streep."

The star noted about feeling 'really connected' to her Latina heritage, especially through 'language, tradition, or religion'.

"It was just the way we grew up," she added.