Eva Longoria Parker
Eva Longoria Parker, March 21, 2009
Born	Eva Jacqueline Longoria1 March 15, 1975 (1975-03-15) (age 34) Corpus Christi, Texas, U.S.
Other name(s)	Eva Longoria Eva Longoria-Parker
Spouse(s)	Tyler Christopher (2002–2004) Tony Parker (2007–present)

Eva Jacqueline Longoria Parker (born Eva Jacqueline Longoria; March 15, 1975) is an American model and actress. She currently plays Gabrielle Solis on the ABC television series Desperate Housewives. She became 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, and having appeared on the cover of Vogue and Marie Claire.² Longoria married NBA guard Tony Parker in 2007.

Early life

Eva Jacqueline Longoria was born in Corpus Christi, Nueces County, Texas, the daughter of Mexican American parents, Enrique Longoria, Jr. and Ella Eva Mireles.³⁴

Longoria is the youngest of four daughters, her sisters being Elizabeth Judina, Emily Jeannette and Esmeralda Josephina.⁵ The family lived and worked on a 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. On The Oprah Winfrey Show in 2006, Longoria shared with viewers an introspective look into the hardships she faced in her formative years while growing up poor; she took cameras on location to the family farm and showed how spartan their life had been. Longoria admitted that only when she had made it in show business, did things begin to look better for her family financially. In another interview with Dateline's Stone Phillips, she also revealed the snubbing she had received from her siblings. "I grew up as the ugly duckling. They used to call me 'la prieta fea,' which means 'the ugly dark one,'" Longoria said.⁶

Longoria originally wanted to be a fashion model and sent in photos to a modeling 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.⁵

Career

Longoria with husband Tony Parker at the 2008 Emmy Awards

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.

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."⁷

At the 2008 Cannes Film Festival.

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.

People en Español listed her among its "Most Beautiful People" for 2003. 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.⁸ In honor of Maxim's 100th issue in 2006, Longoria was featured on a 75-by-110-foot (23 by 34 m) vinyl mesh replica of its January 2005 cover located in a Las Vegas metropolitan area desert.⁹

Longoria is being considered to portray Mariah Carey in an upcoming Broadway show which is about the American pop singer. Leona Lewis is Carey's first choice. Vanessa Hudgens and Longoria Parker are also being considered if Lewis does not take the job.¹⁰ In April 2009, Longoria topped People en Español Los 50 Más Bellos list. She was featured on the cover alongside Maite Perroni and Ana Bárbara.

It has been rumored that she will play Janet Van Dyne aka The Wasp in the upcoming Avengers film due to the fact that she has been spotted reading core Avengers titles such as The New Avengers annual and Marvel Adventures: Avengers.^11121314

Longoria is also attached to appear, and executive-produce, a film currently titled "1954". This film is inspired by the life of Puerto Rican who originated from Brazil. Lolita Lebrón.¹⁵

Endorsements

In January 2007, Longoria was chosen to be the first face of Bebe Sport. She appeared in the Spring/Summer 2007 campaign, photographed by Greg Kadel. The actress also holds model contracts with L'Oréal and Hanes, New York & Co.¹⁶

Longoria also has a contract with Magnum Ice-Cream¹⁷, Heineken¹⁸, and with L'Oréal.¹⁹ She is a part of Microsoft's "I'm A PC" ad campaign²⁰ , and she and Tony Parker are currently appearing together in campaigns for London Fog.²¹

Personal life

Eva Longoria at the NBA All-Star Weekend

Longoria was married to General Hospital star Tyler Christopher from 2002 to 2004.²²

On November 30, 2006, Longoria became engaged to Spurs point guard Tony Parker.²³ The couple was officially married in a civil service on Friday, July 6, 2007, at a Paris city hall. This is a requirement of French law. This was followed by a lavish church wedding on Saturday July 7, 2007, in Paris.²⁴ Their marriage had its first ordeal when French model Alexandra Paressant claimed to have had an affair with Parker.²⁵

In 2008, Longoria opened a restaurant in West Hollywood called Beso, which means "kiss" in Spanish.²⁶ She and business partner Todd English opened a second Beso steakhouse in Las Vegas in January 2010.²⁷

In 2009, Longoria enrolled in an Master's program in Chicano Studies and Political Science at Cal State University, Northridge. According to Eva, "because of my involvement with the NCLR and my charity work, I really wanted a better, more authentic understanding of what my community has gone through so I can help create change."²⁸

In September 2009, Longoria was appointed to a bi-partisan commission issued with the task of determining the feasibility of the creation of a National Museum of the American Latino²⁹.

When Desperate Housewives comes to an end, she plans to move to France with her husband.³⁰

Charity work

In 2006, Longoria founded Eva's Heroes, a charity which helps developmentally disabled children.³¹ She is the national spokesperson for PADRES Contra El Cancer.³² She signed shoes for the Spirit of Women Red Shoe Celebrity Auction. Longoria also supports the Clothes Off Our Back Foundation, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, the National Stroke Association, Project HOME and St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.³³ Longoria is also an executive producer of Shine Global Inc.'s upcoming documentary The Harvest which is focused on the 500,000 child migrant farm workers in the U.S. and is currently helping them fundraise for the film.³⁴ Longoria was named Philanthropist of the year by the Hollywood Reporter for 'her commitment to Latino causes and giving back to the community.³⁵

Filmography

Longoria at the NBA All-Star Weekend, 2006

Awards and nominations

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Eva Longoria

• Eva Longoria Parker at the Internet Movie Database
• Eva Longoria Parker at Rotten Tomatoes
• Eva Longoria Parker at TV.com
• Eva Longoria Parker at People.com
• Eva Longoria Parker Interview
• Eva Longoria Parker 2007 short film on Funny Or Die