Eva Longoria

Eva Longoria

Eva Jacqueline Longoria (born March 15, 1975) came into her feisty-own costarring on the hit weekly comedy/melodrama “Desperate Housewives,” as Gabrielle Solis, for which she received a Golden Globe Award nomination. She has also made quite a name for herself in the supermarket tabloids for her high-profile relationships (most recently her engagement to NBA star Tony Parker), her sassy fashion choices, and her sometimes catty antics with, not only her “Desperate Housewives” costars, but also some members of the unsuspecting public.

Longoria has also become a very successful model, appearing in several high profile advertising campaigns and topping the sexiest women lists in numerous men's magazines.

Early Life

The youngest of four daughters (her three older sisters are Elizabeth, Emily and Esmeralda), Longoria was born in Corpus Christi, Texas to Mexican-American Catholic parents Enrique Longoria Jr. and Ella Eva Mireles. Her father was a hunter and she has been practicing shooting her entire life.

She is the only one among her parents' children to have dark skin, dark eyes, and dark hair. Her three sisters all have fair hair, blue eyes, and Caucasian skin color. Longoria apparently thought for a long time that she was adopted because of her features. She claims that as a child "I grew up as an ugly duckling. They used to call me prieta fea, because I was the only one of my family's four girls with dark hair, dark eyes, and dark skin. Growing up I was the ugly one, because I was the odd one."

Her surname, Longoria, comes from the old Asturian (Spanish) noble surname; de Longoria, from a branch settled on Nueva España, now Mexico, in the XVIIth century, becoming rich farmers.

She attended Roy Miller High School and received her Bachelor of Science degree in Kinesiology at Texas A&M University-Kingsville. During this time she won the title of "Miss Corpus Christi, USA" in 1998. After completing college, she entered a talent contest which led her to Los Angeles; shortly after she was spotted and signed by a theatrical agent.

Career

Longoria landed her first television role in 2000, guest starring in an episode of “Beverly Hills, 90210.” Work for Longoria started slow, but soon she received another small role in “General Hospital” which lead to a bigger part in the popular soap opera “The Young and the Restless,” where she played the psychotic Isabella Braña Williams from 2001 to 2003. She was listed in People en Español's "Most Beautiful People" for 2003. After leaving “The Young and the Restless,” she was cast in the now-cancelled television series “Dragnet.” Although it lasted only two seasons, the show gave Longoria another leading star credit to her name. Following “Dragnet,” she starred in two ill-fated productions: Señorita Justice, a poorly received direct-to-video film, and a television film titled The Dead Will Tell.

In 2004, Longoria finally landed a role that birthed her A-List celebrity status. She received the role as adulteress Gabrielle Solis in the worldwide break-out ABC hit “Desperate Housewives.” The show became an overnight success, and Longoria's career was officially launched; though she didn’t consider her role on the series as a jump-start, saying "I think it’s funny when people say I’m an overnight sensation, because I’ve been working at it for 10 years.”

Shortly after her debut on “Desperate Housewives,” Longoria starred in a poorly received direct-to-video film titled Carlita's Secret, for which she was also co-producer.

Though her film career was still not successful, in 2005, she was rewarded for her performance as Gabrielle Solis in “Desperate Housewives” when she was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series, along with her co-stars. Though Longoria did not win, she was awarded the prestigous ALMA AWARD, and named entertainer of the year.

She went onto star in the 2006 thriller The Sentinel, alongside Michael Douglas and Kiefer Sutherland, which is her first major role in a theatrical movie. Both Douglas and Sutherland noted that, much to their surprise, Longoria bested them both in gun practice.
Also, in her most released film, Harsh Times, she co-stars with actors Freddy Rodriguez and Christian Bale.

From her inception into the media spotlight with “Desperate Housewives,” Longoria has topped many lists of Hollywood's Most Beautiful: she was listed as #1 in Maxim's Hottest Female Stars of 2005 and 2006, becoming the first woman to top the list in two consecutive years.

On her interview with Ryan Seacrest on The Interview with Ryan Seacrest on E! she has stated: "I don't want to be on 7th Heaven -- on for 20 years and no one's really watching and it's hanging on by a thread." She has stated multiple times that she will not renew her “Desperate Housewives” contract once it is up: she has set her sights on developing her film work. However, her contract with “Desperate Housewives” has been revealed to be 10 years, starting from the first season. Recently, Longoria rebuffed rumors that she will quit “Desperate Housewives.”

In 2006, Longoria appeared on Jessica Simpson's music video "A Public Affair" along with Christina Milian, Christina Applegate, Ryan Seacrest, and Andy Dick.

She has a modeling contract through L’Oreal, where she was signed to be the new L'Oreal image for 1 million pounds. She also was a spokes model for Hanes in 2005.

Longoria recently won a People's Choice Award for Best TV Actress in 2006.

She was also a dancer with the famous cabaret troupe, The Pussycat Dolls.

Personal Life and Media Attention

Longoria has developed a reputation in Hollywood as being somewhat of a “man eater.” She was married to “General Hospital” star, Tyler Christopher, from 2002 to 2004, and as such, was also credited as Eva Longoria Christopher. In addition, Longoria has been romantically linked to SAG president Erd W V Stephens, successful writer Milan Gracanin, ex-N Sync member JC Chasez, actor Mousir Syed and “Life As We Know It” star, Sean Faris (although both Faris and Longoria deny any romantic link).

On November 30, 2006, she became engaged to NBA basketball star Tony Parker of the San Antonio Spurs – She was 31 and he was 24. This was be her second marriage and his first.
Longoria and Parker called in to the Ryan Seacrest radio show to announce their engagement. She said the way he proposed was "perfect, personal, and sweet." The two reportedly plan to wed in the Summer of 2007. Interviews with Longoria have revealed that she has taught Parker a few tricks in the bedroom because he was so inexperienced when he met her "I’m the experienced one. I’m the teacher, especially about love. He’s always telling me he’s never met anyone who loves the way I do, wholly, freely and unconditionally."

She has had her fare share of injuries on the set as well. In August of 2005, Longoria was accidentally hit on the head by a falling pole on the set of her series "Desperate Housewives" and was unconscious for four minutes; she was subsequently taken to a hospital, treated for a bump on the head and released. She also fell down some stairs on the set of "Desperate Housewives" in October of 2006. Her ribs were bruised as a result of the accident.

Although some have reported her height as 5'2", she is in fact 5'1". Eva is known as being a heavy smoker, and is often seen smoking during filming breaks.

Also in 2006, Longoria was voted on to PETA's Worst Dressed List for wearing fur.

Longoria has also had her fare share of negative publicity for her catty attitude. Not only was there an rumored ongoing fight on the set of "Desperate Housewives" with her costars, but it was also reported that she has fought with the general public as well. In one incident, Longoria was apparently leaving a parking lot, when she shorted a parking attendant a few dollars. The parking attendant corrected her, and she begrudgingly gave him the whole amount saying, “It’s Thanksgiving, be nice. Fuck!”

On December 24, 2005, a car driven by Parker was cited for impeding traffic. Longoria, who was a passenger, allegedly began verbally abusing the officer by yelling: "He's just a Mexican bike cop. He only wants your autograph." She later denied the allegation, saying through her publicist: "I never made any sort of racial slurs, let alone made any comments about the officer being Mexican, as a Mexican myself."

She is a Catholic and jokingly mentioned about how uneasy it made her feel in an episode of “Desperate Housewives” when her character attacked a nun. She also has mentioned in the past that her grandmother at first disapproved of the fact that her character was having an adulterous affair with a 16-year-old.

It was rumored that Longoria would do a lesbian love movie with Beyonce Knowles. However, Longoria went on record that the story was simply a rumor: “Believe me, I would love to work with Beyonce one day. She’s so talented. But this is definitely not something we are doing together. It’s completely and absolutely not true. What makes me crazy is that there are quotes out there, quotes from me saying it’s true. But in fact it’s not true. And (there are) quotes of Beyonce saying it’s about time we had a female Brokeback Mountain. And we’re like, we never said that.”