Photo: Greg Swales
Eiza Gonzálezhas achieved a dream she didn’t know she had: To be the first Latin-American brand ambassador in North America for the Italian luxury brand Bulgari.
“In the ’90s, there was a lack of representation around the world, I feel like,” she tells PEOPLE. “It was all about showing us an idea of what the ideal woman should be but there wasn’t a lot of shades to that woman, sadly. I’m honored to be the first [Latina face of Bulgari], and hopefully won’t be the last.”
Her style bonafides, developed over years on the red carpet, made her one to watch in fashion, but “never in a million dreams” did she envision this brand ambassador role for herself.
“It’s incredible because I feel it’s any girl’s dream being able to play with all these jewels … I’m just pinching myself,” she says, adding that in her early red carpet days, she couldn’t have imagined being sent jewels to model and play with.
Pascal Le Segretain/Getty
“I struggled so much to be able to get someone to lend me jewelry,” she says, recalling aVanity FairOscars party (above) where she didn’t have many options until a friend agreed to lend her the showstopping necklace she eventually wore.
“If anyone would have told me back in the day that I was going to become the brand ambassador of Bulgari, I would’ve never believed you,” she says.
“I grew up in between the dresses and running behind the scenes. And so, obviously being so drenched in that world is something that is inherently in me,” González tells PEOPLE. “I was super tomboyish. Didn’t really like makeup and hair, getting dressed up — you become rebellious of what you see at home. But now that I’ve felt like a grown into myself and I’ve become a woman, I feel very comfortable in my skin.”
Greg Swales
González, who can next be seen inGodzilla v. Kong, says that comfort applies to her personal and professional spheres as well. “I’m in a great state in my life,” she tells PEOPLE. “I just feel my life is really balanced … I’m feeling the love from my family, my partner [lacrosse player Paul Rabil], my friends, my business company. And I couldn’t be more grateful.”
González is also grateful that she can make her mom proud, and to represent something bigger, with her new role for Bulgari.
“It sends a loud message — as a Latin woman, to be able to be part of the [Bulgari] family in this extent, it just shows that there’s different colors and ethnicities and they’re all beautiful in every way,” she says. “Especially being an immigrant woman, to be part of the brand in North America, sends a loud message.”
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source: people.com
