Eva Jacqueline Longoria Parker (born March 15, 1975) is a Golden Globe Award-nominated Mexican American film and television actress. She rose to fame by playing Isabella Braña Williams on the CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless. She now plays Gabrielle Solis in the ABC television series Desperate Housewives, and stars in the film Over Her Dead Body. She has also become a nationally recognized model after appearing in several high-profile advertising campaigns and numerous men's magazines, reaching #14 in the FHM "Sexiest Women 2008" poll.[2] Longoria is also known for her high profile relationship with NBA guard Tony Parker, whom she married in 2007.
Biography
Early life
Longoria was born Eva Jacqueline Longoria in Corpus Christi, Texas, the daughter of Mexican American Catholic parents, Enrique Longoria, Jr. (born in Rachal, Brooks County, Texas) and Ella Eva Mireles (married in Falfurrias, Brooks County, Texas).
She is the youngest of four daughters.[3] The family lived and worked on farmland that had been handed down to them from past generations, but they often had very little money; Enrique and Ella struggled for many years to give their children a decent upbringing. Longoria showed viewers an introspect into the hardship she faced in her formative years growing up poor on The Oprah Winfrey Show in 2006; she took cameras on location to the family farm, and showed how spartan they were still living. Longoria admitted that only when she made it in show business did things begin to look better for them financially. In an interview with Dateline's Stone Phillips, Longoria also revealed the snubbing she received from her siblings. She said "I grew up as the ugly duckling. They used to call me 'la prieta fea,' which means 'the ugly dark one.'"[4]
Longoria originally wanted to be a fashion model and sent in photos to a modelling agency but was declined because of her height. Longoria attended Marvin P. Baker Middle School and later Roy Miller High School; she subsequently received her Bachelor of Science degree in kinesiology at nearby Texas A&M University-Kingsville. During this time, she won the title of Miss Corpus Christi, USA in 1998. After completing college, Longoria entered a talent contest that 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. Another guest appearance in General Hospital the same year brought her big break on the popular American soap opera The Young and the Restless, in which she played psychotic Isabella Braña Williams from 2001 to 2003. People en Español listed her among its "Most Beautiful People" for 2003. After leaving The Young and the Restless, she was seen on the now-cancelled Dick Wolf revival of 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 landed a role that elevated her to the A-List. She starred as adulteress Gabrielle Solis in the worldwide break-out ABC hit Desperate Housewives. As the show became an overnight sensation, Longoria's career was well and truly launched. But she has never considered her career to have jumped off so suddenly: "I think it’s funny when people say I’m an overnight sensation, because I’ve been working at it for 10 years."[5]
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. 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 - Musical or Comedy along with her co-stars. Even though neither Longoria nor any of the rest of the cast won, she was awarded the ALMA Award and named entertainer of the year. She also starred opposite Michael Douglas and Kiefer Sutherland in the 2006 thriller The Sentinel, which was her first major role in a theatrical movie. In 2006 she played the character Sylvia in Harsh Times starring Freddy Rodriguez and Christian Bale.
Longoria continues to be included in lists of Hollywood's Most Beautiful and was listed #1 in Maxim's Hottest Female Stars of 2005 and 2006, becoming the first woman to top the list in two consecutive years. She was ranked #9 in the magazine's Hot 100 of 2007 list.[6] In honor of Maxim's 100th issue in 2006, Longoria was featured on a 75-by-110-foot vinyl mesh replica of its January 2005 cover located in the Las Vegas desert
FilmographyYear Title
2001 Television series
The Young and the Restless as Isabella Braña Williams (2001 - 2003)
credited as Eva Longoria
2003 Television series
The Talent Agency as the Host
Dragnet as Det. Gloria Duran
Direct to video
Hot Tamales Live: Spicy, Hot and Hilarious
also credited as a producer for this film
Snitch'd as Gabby
2004 Carlita's Secret as Carlita
also credited as the co-producer for this film
Television series
Desperate Housewives as Gabrielle Solis (2004-present)
Television movies
The Dead Will Tell as Jeanie
Direct to video
Señorita Justice
2005 Hustler's Instinct as Vanessa Santos
Television specials
The 57th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards
MTV Video Music Awards 2005 as a Presenter
The 3rd Annual TV Land Awards
The 62nd Annual Golden Globe Awards as a co-presenter
2006 George Lopez as Brooke
The Sentinel as Jill Marin
Harsh Times as Sylvia
2007 The Heartbreak Kid as Consuelo
2008 Over Her Dead Body as Kate
Foodfight! as Lady X (voice)
Lower Learning as Rebecca
