Cristela Alonzo based her ABC sitcom on her own life, which means that her family had a personal interest in the development of the show. But it was her sister who was the most invested in her fictional counterpart.
“My sister thinks the show is about her,” Alonzo said on ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live.” “The actress we got to play my sister is gorgeous, and when we cast her my sister was like, ‘You nailed it. Oh my God, it is like looking in a mirror.’”
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She said that her sister Facebook-friended the actress, Maria Canals Barrera, followed her on Twitter and started talking to her constantly, as if they were two halves of the same person.
“They met at the taping of the pilot and my sister was giving Maria lessons on how to be her,” Alonzo said. But her advice wasn’t always practical. “She was like, ‘We look so good in yellow. Just remember, we look good in yellow.’”
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Meanwhile, her brother is obsessed with the show “Entourage,” and wants to be Alonzo’s Turtle. “He wants me to like buy a big house and have us live there in a commune like the guys from ‘Entourage,’” she said.
When Kimmel asked her if she was planning to buy a big house and have the whole family live with her, she said, “I’m Mexican. It’s required.”
Cristela Alonzo stars in “Cristela,” airing every Friday night at 8:30 p.m. ET on ABC. “Jimmy Kimmel Live” airs weeknights at 11:35 p.m. ET on ABC.