Eva Longoria Named ‘Maxim’ Woman Of The Year

Eva Longoria has been named Maxim‘s Woman of the Year for 2014.

The 38-year-old covers the January/February issue of the men’s magazine. She is the only woman to top Maxim’s Hot 100 list twice in a row, earning the number one spot in 2005 and 2006. She said the cover was “especially awesome” after how long it had been since her first.

“I’ve had a beautiful relationship with Maxim over all these years,” she said.

The Desperate Housewives star also admitted that cooking is her guilty pleasure, and that people are usually surprised to by how “domestic” she is.

“So when you see the sexy Maxim cover and then you put it against me in an apron with flour in my hair, it takes a moment to reconcile that image,” she said.

Eva Longoria enrolled in a master’s program in Chicano studies and political science at Cal State University in 2009, and graduated with her master’s degree in May 2013. The Corpus Christi native said she had to reschedule her interview because she had to present her thesis.

“I was like, ‘My brain can’t jump that fast from a Maxim interview to a thesis,'” she said. “Back in high school I really was the chameleon, too. I got along with the honors math club, then I would go to cheerleading practice, and then I was a band geek as well.”

The issue hits newsstands January 17.

Longoria is an executive producer for Lifetime’s Devious Maids. The series premiered on June 23, 2013 to 1.99 million viewers, but the season finale on September 22 drew 2.95 million viewers, making it the most-viewed episode of the series. Lifetime renewed the series for a second season, which is set to premiere on April, on August 13. Briana Brown and Brett Cullen, who played newlyweds Taylor and Michael Stappord, will not be returning for season two.

Eva Longoria defended the series, which was accused of “stereotyping” Latina women, after its premiere last summer.

“I take pride in the fact that these characters are not one dimensional or limited to their job title,” she said. “As the minority becomes the majority and the United States becomes more diverse, it is important that the protagonists on television embody this diversity.”

[Photo credit: Debby Wong / Shutterstock.com]