documento

s soon as they stepped onto the red carpet,
Athe fun and games began for Eva Longoria
and her close friend Victoria Beckham.
Both looking stunning in floor-length black
dresses from Victoria’s own fashion label, the
stars were in playful mood as they posed arm in
arm before grabbing singer Ricky Martin to line
up with them in front of the photographers.
Behind the playful scenes, however, there was
an important purpose to the evening at London’s
Four Seasons Hotel. The occasion was the fifth
annual Global Gift Gala, a celebrity event that
pays tribute to those working to support children
and women around the world, and Eva, who was
the co-chair of the evening with Ricky, was about
to honour Victoria with the Global Gift
Philanthropreneur Award to mark the designer’s
work with the United Nations.
The US actress and the former Spice Girl
became firm friends during the years that the
Beckham clan spent living in Los Angeles – and
have remained close after Victoria, her husband
David and their four children moved back to
London two years ago.
As Victoria took to the stage at the gala to
collect her gong, the women’s mutual friendship,
love and respect for each other was clear to
everyone in the packed ballroom.
Eva is well-known for her philanthropic work;
in 2012 she founded the Eva Longoria
Foundation to help Latina women in the US
build better futures.
Meanwhile, Victoria has visited South Africa
twice to promote the work of HIV charity
mothers2mothers, and has just been appointed
an international goodwill ambassador for the
Joint UN Programme on HIV/Aids (UNAids),
with a focus on women and children affected by
the virus.
Paying tribute to her friend, Eva told the
guests: “Tonight is about making sure people
reach their full potential. Victoria is discovering
her potential in the philanthropy world.
“She wanted to create a clothing line that
empowered women but in her quest to empower
women she has discovered that her reach has
gone far beyond fashion.
“I’m not only proud of what she’s done with
her time and energy, I’m amazed and inspired at
the same time. She’s a mother and a wife and a
daughter, and a sister and a friend, and an artist
and an icon.
20
BAD HAIR DAYS
“I’ve known Victoria for many years and we’ve
been through many bad hairstyles together,” the
actress continued.
“She always used to say to me, ‘Eva, you do so
much.’ Then the first time she went to Africa,