Article by Chiara Ventura
Of the myriad of Hollywood stars that have happily converted to Twitter and established a direct relationship with their fans, Eva Longoria-Parker is certainly one of the most prolific. The Desperate Housewives star just loves posting pictures and updating her page. To those who stumble across her Twitter account and Facebook page an incredible new world opens and at first it’s easy to think that“that simply cannot be her”. The possibility of it being a fan club page managed by her PR agency or, even worse, a fan who is role-playing, is high, especially on Facebook. Reassurance promptly arrives in the form of a video where Eva herself says “Hey guys, this is really me!”. And when you start reading her posts and looking through her pics you start having a funny feeling. While you scroll through her mobile uploads of her without make up (!!!!) but still looking lovely or of the huge dishes of paella she had while on holiday with her husband, it feels like you’re just looking through some friend of a friend’s profile, just like we all do when we’re bored. That is until you find a picture of her looking her usual stunning on the catwalk in Cannes, or posing with the full cast of housewives from Wisteria Lane and you remember that this is not your pretty neighbour’s cousin, but a full on Hollywood star.
The new Twitter’s trend and the eagerness of the stars in embracing it makes us think about a pivotal showbiz question: what is a star? If we go back in time, the stars are those that started the trend of wearing huge sunglasses, not only in order to protect their precious skin from the rays, but also and most importantly in order not to be recognised and harassed by the fans. And still today,the star is often the one that punches the journalist, the one that exits through the backdoor so he/she doesn’t have to sign autographs and force another “smile and wave”.
But a star, especially today, is also a performer, someone who needs the public to support them and make them successful, because an unpopular, grumpy star needs to be have heaps of talent (or some extremely well-known relative) in order to be credible. And this is the reason why fan clubs and PR agencies are so important, to keep up the cheer and sometimes remind us that the seemingly distant star is actually a lovely person, so we should really go see their last movie… But when a star does it on their own, updating their page, posting make-up less pictures and funny “hello” videos then we remember that a star really is a person, and they do need to be liked by their public, but not strictly for economic reasons, also because, just like everyone else they need approval and friendship and a way not to get lost in the show business, as much dangerous as it is inviting.
In addition to reaching up to her fans, Eva also uses Twitter to contact her fellow stars and organise charity event, the latest being a charity auction for Haiti, for which she’s asking help from popstars like Pink, Britney, Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga…Not only gorgeous but also authentic,communicative and even generous: there is no doubt that she really is a star.
