Lowriders' Yvette Monreal Takes the E!Q, Reveals She Almost Fainted When She Met Co-Star Eva Longoria

24-year-old actress known for roles in The Fosters and Faking It shares a few of her favorite things with E! News

It's full speed ahead for Yvette Monreal this week.

The 24-year-old actress, known for roles on The Fosters and MTV's Faking It, makes her big-screen feature debut Friday in Ricardo de Montreuil's Lowriders, playing the studious, college-bound Claudia, a longtime friend of Gabriel Chavarria's street artist Danny, who's torn between wanting to pursue his passion and his family's roots in East L.A.'s macho car culture.

"My favorite thing about filming in L.A. is that it's closest to home," Monreal, who hails from Lawndale, Calif., tells E! News. "I've had family visit me on set so it's really nice to be able to show them what I'm working on without having to fly out. I have a few friends who have never even worked in L.A., so I've been lucky enough to have had nearly all my jobs here. I love it!"

And this time she wasn't just working locally—she was making a movie with the likes of Demián Bichir and Eva Longoria, who play Danny's father and stepmother.

Asked if she had a particularly memorable memory from the set, Monreal recalled meeting Longoria for the first time. 

"I walked up to her and Demián Bichir introduced me and was like, 'This is Yvette,'" the actress recalled. "She looked at me and said, 'Aw, you're so pretty,' and I nearly fainted but said 'thank you!'"

Monreal admits she was at a bit of a loss afterward.

"I'm pretty sure I was awkward and just stared at her until she walked away," she said. "I freakin' love her."

Despite being a little starstruck, Monreal more than holds her own in the film amid all the guys—and the cars.

"I mean, being around people who owned and cherished their lowriders was a pretty amazing thing to experience," the actress said. "You can see all the hard work and details that were put into these cars. Lowrider culture is way more than just building and putting these cars together for show, it's about the relationships people create during the experience, loyalty and trust—you become family."

But while the ensemble kicked Lowriders into gear, we wanted to know more about Yvette Monreal herself—so she filled out our E!Q and here are 14 things you didn't know about the actress:

What time did you wake up this morning?

Around 8:30 a.m.

What size bed do you sleep in?

King.

Night owl or early bird?

Early bird. It's the getting up part that's hard, but once I'm up I get sooo much done. So fulfilling.

Who's the first person you talked to today?

My daddy-o.

What do you never leave the house without?

A hair tie—my hair is extremely thick so I always get hot at one point during the day.

Hometown?

Lawndale, CA—best city! I lived next to EVERYTHING, grocery store, mall, my fav taco spot!! Everything.

First job?

It was at the Del Amo mall—it was called GW's (cuz everything was a dollar, hence GW/George Washington). Anyway, it eventually went out of business because they tried selling all their food and beverages for just a dollar. Was good while it lasted, lol!

First car?

My dad bought my aunt's 2000 Toyota Camry. It was an awesome car but I beat it up pretty bad. Hit poles, walls and broke my side mirror at 3 times. (Luckily my dad is super handy and fixed it every time himself :) It was a great car!  

Favorite vacation spot?

I love the Caribbean!

Celebrity crush? 

Adam Levine has awesome hair on The Voice.

What's the last thing you Googled?

Dream cars.

Favorite thing that starts with E?

I love edamame, especially if it's spicy!

Lowriders opens in theaters Friday, May 12.