The '3 Body Problem' actress takes issue with the way Latina women in Hollywood are 'overly sexualized'
Some actors go to great lengths to embody a character they're playing in a movie or television show. For Mexican actress Eiza González, she contemplated making drastic alterations to her appearance to help her land a job.
"I remember being [told for] so many projects, ‘She’s too pretty for the role. She’s too hot for the role,’" the 34-year-old told InStyle. "Then I’d just be like, ‘What is Margot Robbie? She’s the hottest, most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen in my life!’"
"I had an identity crisis for a very long time," she revealed. "I was like, ‘Do I shave my head? Do I make myself less attractive? Do I make myself more attractive? Do I not dress super-hot or do I dress super-hot or do I cover myself all the time?’"
JASON MOMOA AND EIZA GONZÁLEZ PHOTOGRAPHED ON A MOTORCYCLE RIDE IN CALIFORNIA
Eiza González says she considered altering her appearance after not landing acting jobs for being "too hot." (David Livingston/FilmMagic/Getty Images)
González is often described as "sexy," in part due to the characters she's played in films like "Baby Driver" or "From Dusk Till Dawn," but she rejects the connotation that the word carries.
"I just think it's an overly sexualized idea of a Latin woman," she shared. "It's so disappointing and it's so pathetic."
Separating herself from that categorization "has been single-handedly the biggest challenge of my career," she admitted. "None of my white friends who were in the industry were getting that. It was just me."
Eiza González told InStyle she "had an identity crisis for a very long time." (David Roemer/InStyle)
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It's a bizarre dichotomy for González, who experienced the opposite treatment in Mexico as a young actress and singer.
The press would eviscerate her appearance, labeling her not pretty enough. Since adolescence, she struggled with eating disorders, exasperated by paparazzi who photographed her on the beach and captured her cellulite. González says it was the most terrifying moment of her life.
"I was like, ‘Do I shave my head? Do I make myself less attractive? Do I make myself more attractive? Do I not dress super-hot or do I dress super-hot or do I cover myself all the time?'"
— Eiza González to InStyle
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Growing up in Mexico, Eiza González was told she wasn't pretty enough by the media. (David Roemer/InStyle)
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"I went through a lot of trouble with my body, with my curves, with my look," the "3 Body Problem" star said. "It was really tough."
But González always found solace in the fact she loved her craft. "The moment that I was acting and the moment that I was singing and the moment that I was on that stage, I was more alive than ever."
Eiza González says the fear she experiences while acting "feels friendly," and makes it that much more entrancing. (Getty Images)
"I’m living all the feelings I want to live," she explained of her career. "I’m ridden with fear, but I welcome the fear. It’s the only time in my life that the fear feels friendly."
Joking that she's lived many lives already, González also looks at the glass as half full.
"Every time that something tragic happens to me, I never complain about it," she told the outlet. "Because every single time that something really tragic has happened, something amazing has happened right afterwards."
Caroline Thayer is an entertainment writer for Fox News Digital. Follow Caroline Thayer on Twitter at @carolinejthayer. Story tips can be sent to
