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Michel Prada has been doing a lot of things lately. Dominican and Puerto Rican actress lately appeared as Frankie DiFranco in the film Stone Cold Fox.“, which will hit theaters and VOD in November. Between filming two indie films and filming episodes of NBC's Brilliant Minds, Prada is also leaning into another role she's long mastered: the perfect hostess.

Known among friends for hosting extravagant, restaurant-quality dinner parties at her beautiful Los Angeles home (that look ripped from the pages of a design magazine), Prada recently hosted a holiday party featuring short rib guisado (which she proudly declared “was a dream come true”), Cajun turchetta and her very first jamón carving. She shared behind-the-scenes moments on Instagramcandles flickered on the table, set so romantically that it looked almost cinematic. But romance is, after all, part of the Prada archetype. She is deeply passionate, with an innate appreciation for beauty, art and life – qualities that make the role of “hostess to the hostess” seem less like a hobby and more like a calling.

She's cooked for co-stars before – including hosting Thanksgiving for the entire Riverdale cast – and while filming the John Wick spin-off The Continental, when she even tracked down the only chef in Budapest who could provide her with a turkey.

“Food is my love language and it started before I started acting. I used to do a pop-up restaurant,” she tells POPSUGAR. “I’ve always loved it and it’s a very powerful way of connecting: we sit down and break bread and share stories. That’s my favorite way to show love—feeding someone.”

She is a born educator. Her love is given freely, not out of obligation – something she believes she inherited from her mother. who died a few years ago.

“My mom definitely cooked a lot for us and always went out of her way to make us feel special,” Prada shares. “She was so good at it. Even if I came in and just wanted a snack, she would have some ceviche.” [ready] and she would take all these items from Goodwill and take a little martini glass and put ceviche in it and a nice napkin on the side, like plantain chips.”

Prada also pays great attention to detail and beauty in general. “I like to feel really romantic and sensual, and I love beauty,” she says. “I think the beauty in what we curate feels very calming and very focused. I want there to be more of it. Sometimes I feel like I didn't always feel like I deserved it, but when I go back to my mom, I see that she always did. There was always beauty in the house.”

At 35, Prada could easily pass for someone ten years younger – thanks to great genes and a healthy lifestyle – but even she admits she sometimes feels the pressure to maintain a youthful appearance as an actress. However, she refuses to believe the patriarchal lie that women become less beautiful and desirable as they age.

“I feel more attractive than I did at 20. I know how to apply makeup better. I know how best to dress for my body type. I know what colors look best on me—I’m a lot better,” she says. “Could you pay me money to be 20 again.”

Prada says the best advice she ever received about aging was from an elderly woman she met while volunteering at a nursing home. “She said: have friends of all age groups. You have older women that you look at and think, “Wow, I can’t wait to be you.” You have younger women that maybe you can mentor, but they can also teach you something, and then it doesn’t feel like such a disjointed experience.”

Below, Prada shares everything from her favorite terrine to her most affordable beauty buy, the heat protectant she swears by to keep her curls healthy, and her favorite luxury snack.