Eva Longoria was reluctant to tell Meryl Streep that they are related

She said on 'The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon': "I was at the Golden Globes or.. 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.'

"As I'm like, 'No, I'm not gonna do it,' I hear, 'Cousin! Cousin!' Longoria recounted, acting out Streep's warm greeting. "I was like, 'Oh, my God!'"

After making a connection, the pair were quick to compliment one another.

Eva told Meryl: "Clearly you got the talent in the family."

The 'Mamma Mia' star replied: "Clearly you got the beauty."

After telling the 50-year-old TV host about the experience, Eva quipped: "So Meryl's Latina."

Meryl and Eva starred in the fourth series of the Disney+ mystery comedy-drama 'Only Murders in the Building' together, and the former 'Desperate Housewives' cast member previously shared how the acting legend introduced her to the cast - including Selena Gomez and Zach Galifianakis - and crew as her cousin during the first Zoom table reading.

She told DuJour in June 2024: "We actually call each other 'cousin'. We'll say, 'How are you, cousin?' and 'I'm good, cousin.'"

But their unexpected connection has left a lot of people confused.

Eva admitted: "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 49-year-old actress has loved working on the show, and she admitted the whole cast and crew felt like family.

She revealed "We talked a lot about democracy and politics. But when you have leaders like Steve Martin and Martin Short, you're never not laughing.

"Watching them make a lunch order is a show in itself. It's a constant roast about a sandwich, a 30-minute comedy about mustard."