Eiza González says she’s had her fair share of struggles while growing up in the entertainment industry. The Mexican actress, who is gearing up for the release of her new Netflix series 3 Body Problem, opened up about the “biggest challenge of her career” — which, for her, was being deemed “too hot” for certain acting roles.
González got her start as a teen telenovela actress in Mexico.”I went through a lot of trouble with my body, with my curves, with my look. It was really tough,” she recently told InStyle. “I just think it’s an overly sexualized idea of a Latin woman. It’s so disappointing and it’s so pathetic.”
According to the star, she often had trouble booking roles other than the bombshell — an occurrence she claimed had been “single-handedly the biggest challenge of my career.”
“None of my white friends who were in the industry were getting that. It was just me,” González said, before adding, “I remember being [told for] so many projects, ‘She’s too pretty for the role. She’s too hot for the role.’ Then I’d just be like, ‘What is Margot Robbie?’ She’s the hottest, most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen in my life!'”
That ultimately led González to have an “identity crisis for a very long time.” In fact, she even considered changing her physical appearance to appeal to other roles.
“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?'” she said.
González also struggled with moving her career to the U.S., where she was treated like a new actress despite having worked for years in Mexico.
“It was dismissive of my entire career. It was dismissive of who I was. It was dismissive of my culture. It was dismissive of my experience, my work, my work ethic,” she said. “Because you are uneducated and uninformed about other countries, that’s on you and that’s fine, but you cannot dismiss people’s careers.”
You can watch González in 3 Body Problem when it premieres March 21 on Netflix.