Eva Jacqueline Longoria[3] (born March 15, 1975)[4] is an American television and film actress. She has received two Screen Actors Guild Awards and was nominated for a Golden Globe Award. Longoria promotes humanitarian causes and was named Philanthropist of the year.
Longoria is best known for her roles as Isabella Braña on the CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless from 2001 to 2003, and as Gabrielle Solis on the ABC television series Desperate Housewives. For her work on Desperate Housewives, she received a Golden Globe Award nomination. She has also starred in films such as Harsh Times (2005), The Sentinel (2006), and Over Her Dead Body (2008).
Early life
Eva Jacqueline Longoria was born in Corpus Christi, Texas, the youngest of four daughters born to Mexican Americans Enrique Longoria, Jr. and Ella Eva Mireles.[3][5][6] Her mother was a special education teacher and her father was in the Army.[7] She was raised Roman Catholic.[8] She worked at a Wendy's restaurant for three years while in high school.[9]
Longoria received her Bachelor of Science degree in kinesiology at nearby Texas A&M University-Kingsville.[10]
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.[11] While auditioning for roles, Longoria worked as a headhunter for four years.[12]
She received her master's degree in Chicano Studies at California State University, Northridge in May 2013.
Career
1999–2003: Career beginnings
Longoria landed her first television role in 1999 after meeting
Executive Producer Gary Ghiaey at a political reception in Los Angeles.
Ghiaey hired her to host the weekend destination segment of his
television show "L.A. In A Day".[citation needed] Longoria went on to guest star in an episode of Beverly Hills, 90210.[13] Another guest appearance in General Hospital the same year brought her big break on the CBS Daytime soap opera The Young and the Restless, portraying Isabella Braña from 2001 to 2003.[14] After leaving The Young and the Restless, she was seen on the now-cancelled Dick Wolf revival of Dragnet. 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.[15]
2003–2006: Breakthrough
In 2006 at the Cannes Film Festival premiere of Pan's Labyrinth.
In 2003, Longoria was cast as adulteress Gabrielle Solis in the ABC comedy-drama Desperate Housewives,
later commenting on her career success by stating, "I think it's funny
when people say I’m an overnight sensation, because I’ve been working at
it for 10 years."[16] 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.[17] In 2006, 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.[18] She was awarded the ALMA Award and named entertainer of the year that 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.[19]
In the 2000s, Longoria appeared in several high-profile advertising campaigns and numerous men's magazines, reaching No. 14 in the FHM "Sexiest Women 2008" poll, and appearing on the cover of various international women's magazines including Vogue, Marie Claire and Harper's Bazaar.[20] People en Español listed her among its "Most Beautiful People" for 2003.[21] Longoria continues to be included in lists of Hollywood's Most Beautiful and was listed No. 1 in Maxim's Hottest Female Stars of 2005 and 2006, becoming the first woman to top the list in two consecutive years.[22] She was ranked No. 9 in the magazine's Hot 100 of 2007 list.[23] 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 Clark County, Nevada desert.[24]
Longoria at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival.
2007–present: Continued success
In January 2007, Longoria was chosen to be the first face of Bebe Sport.[25] She appeared in the Spring/Summer 2007 campaign, photographed by Greg Kadel.[26] The actress also holds contracts with L'Oréal and Hanes, New York & Co.[27] Longoria also has a contract with Magnum Ice-Cream,[28] and Heineken.[29][30] She is a part of Microsoft's "I'm A PC" ad campaign,[31] and she and Tony Parker have appeared together in campaigns for London Fog.[32]
Eva Longoria became a spokesperson for L'Oréal Paris in 2005 and has
continued to feature in L'Oréal TV commercials and print ads until the
year 2010.[33] In the summer of 2010 Longoria served as a judge on The Next Food Network Star.[34] In October, Longoria hosted the MTV Europe Music Awards 2010 in Madrid, Spain.[35][36] Based on her earnings within June 1, 2009 to June 1, 2010 Longoria was ranked No. 4 on Forbes Prime Time's 10 Top-Earning Women with an estimated $12 million.[37] More recently, she was ranked No. 14 of People's Most Beautiful 2011.[38]People named her one of 2012 Most Beautiful at Every Age.[39]
After Desperate Housewives Longoria's first project is an independent drama titled Long Time Gone, in which she will play a mistress. Sarah Siegel-Magness, who produced the award-winning 2009 film Precious, will direct the film. Then, In Who Gets the Dog
Longoria will play a woman named Olive who is at war with her ex over
who keeps their beloved poodle. Besides starring in the film, she has
also signed on as a producer for the comedy. Longoria will also star
alongside Brendan Fraser as his wife in Four Kings, a historical drama set during the French and Indian War, which took place from 1754–1763. The drama, directed by Damian Lee,
is about a wealthy British man who hopes to create a utopian society
with his wife by backing the war between Great Britain and France. And
then there is an animated series by Hulu, titled Child Support,
in which Longoria will lend her voice to the lead role. Longoria's
character is Marley Wiener—an irresponsible suburban mother who
improvises her way through parenting.[40] Eva Longoria topped the Forbes magazine's list of the highest-paid TV actresses for 2011.[41] In 2013 Longoria professed that she is a "cat lady" and appeared as a spokesperson for Sheba cat food.[42]
Other ventures
Business activities
Longoria at a book signing for her book Eva's Kitchen in April 2011
Eva Longoria opened the restaurant Beso (in Spanish: "Kiss") in Hollywood, along with partner and celebrity chef Todd English, in March 2008. The restaurant is located on Hollywood Boulevard and is accompanied by Kiss, a Victorian-themed nightclub above the restaurant.[43] The Hollywood Beso was scheduled to be the focus of a pilot episode for a tentative reality series called Beso: Waiting on Fame which would air on VH1 in late 2010.[44] In 2009, Longoria and various investor-partners opened a Beso restaurant, with a nightclub called Eve above it, in the Crystals retail and entertainment district of CityCenter in Las Vegas.[43]
In 2011, the corporation Beso LLC, owner of the Vegas
restaurant-and-nightclub venture, with listed assets of about $2.5
million and Eva Longoria as a 32 percent shareholder, filed for Chapter 11 protection, entering bankruptcy proceedings, in order to restructure nearly $5.7 million in debt and other liabilities.[45]
Longoria stated, on the occasion, that she's looking "forward to a more
pro-active, hands-on approach in the coming years" with her Las Vegas
business interests.[46] On July 28, 2011, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for Nevada,
following a request filed by Beso investor Mali Nachum and her husband
Ronen, who have been litigating against Longoria and other Beso
investors in multiple courts, ordered Eva Longoria to appear in Las
Vegas on August 20 in order to be examined about the bankrupt
restaurant's finances.[47]
Writing
Her first book, Eva's Kitchen: Cooking with Love for Family and Friends hit bookstores on April 12, 2011.[34] In 2012, and again in 2013, Longoria was paired with Iron Chef Michael Symon for a promotion for Pepsico's Lay's potato chips called "Do Us A Flavor." The promotion encourages consumers to submit new flavor ideas and fans vote for their favorite on Facebook. The person who creates the winning flavor is awarded $1 million or one percent of chip flavor's net sales.[48]
Philanthropy
Longoria pictured with Victoria Beckham in 2010.
In 2006, Longoria founded Eva's Heroes, a charity which helps developmentally disabled children.[49] She is the national spokesperson for PADRES Contra El Cancer.[50] She signed shoes for the Spirit of Women Red Shoe Celebrity Auction.[51] Longoria also supports the Clothes Off Our Back Foundation, OmniPeace, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, the National Stroke Association, Project HOME and St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.[52] Longoria is an executive producer of Shine Global Inc.'s documentary The Harvest (documentary) which is focused on the 500,000 child migrant farm workers in the U.S.[53] and promote awareness and support to enact the Children's Act for Responsible Employment (CARE Act).[54][55]
Longoria was named Philanthropist of the year by The Hollywood Reporter for 'her commitment to Latino causes and giving back to the community.[56] She appeared on Fort Boyard in 2009, making over €20,000 for the Make-A-Wish Foundation.[57] In 2009, Longoria enrolled in a 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."[58] She graduated with her master's degree in Chicano Studies in May 2013.[59][60]
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 Latino.[61] In October 2012, Longoria spoke at the McAfee Focus 2012
event, where the "theme of safety — beyond computers — emerged. Safety
involving financial security, emotional security, and the other results
from Longoria’s philanthropic efforts."[62]
Personal life
Relationships
Longoria was married to General Hospital star Tyler Christopher from 2002 to 2004.[63]
Longoria with then-husband Tony Parker at the 2008 Emmy Awards.
Longoria met Spurs point guard Tony Parker in November 2004, and on November 30, 2006, the couple became engaged.[64]
They were married in a civil service on Friday, July 6, 2007, at a
Paris city hall. It was followed by a full, Catholic wedding ceremony at
the Saint-Germain l'Auxerrois Church in Paris on Saturday, July 7, 2007.[65] On November 17, 2010, Longoria filed for divorce from Parker in Los Angeles, citing "irreconcilable differences".[66]
In the divorce petition Longoria, who had taken Parker's last name,
requested that her maiden name be restored. She also sought spousal support from Parker.[67] The couple had a prenuptial agreement that was signed in June 2007, the month before their wedding, and amended two years later in June 2009.[68]
The same day as the divorce filing, Longoria confirmed to her friend Mario Lopez that she had discovered hundreds of text messages from another woman on her husband's phone.[69] Extra identified the other woman as Erin Barry, the former wife of Brent Barry, Parker's former teammate, and revealed that the Barrys also were in the process of divorcing.[70]
Lopez further stated that Longoria believed Parker had cheated on her
earlier in the marriage with another woman with whom he had kept in
touch via Facebook.[71] In light of the divorce, Longoria cancelled her scheduled appearance at the 2010 American Music Awards.[69] On November 19, 2010, Parker filed for divorce from Longoria in Bexar County, Texas,[72]
on the grounds of "discord or conflict of personalities", thus
establishing a legal battle over where the divorce case would be heard.
Unlike Longoria's divorce petition, Parker's did not mention a
prenuptial agreement and claimed that the parties would "enter into an
agreement for the division of their estate".[73]
The divorce was finalized in Texas on January 28, 2011, the same day
Longoria's lawyer filed papers to dismiss her Los Angeles petition.[74]
She is currently in a relationship with Ernesto Arguello, who
formerly appeared as one of the bachelors on the reality competition
show, Ready for Love. Longoria was an executive producer on the show.[75]
Ancestry
Longoria at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival.
According to research done by Professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr., of Harvard University, in 2010 for the PBS series Faces of America, Longoria's Spanish ancestry can be traced back to her ninth great-grandfather, Lorenzo Suárez de Longoria (b. Oviedo, 1592), who emigrated to the Viceroyalty of New Spain in 1603 (now modern-day Mexico), and whose family originated from a small village called Llongoria, Belmonte de Miranda, Asturias, Spain. Longoria
is the Spanish spelling of this Asturian language surname. In 1767, her
7th great-grandfather received almost 4,000 acres (16 km2) of land along the Rio Grande
in a land grant from the King of Spain. This land stayed in the family
for over a century, and, after the US-Mexican border moved southwards as
an aftermath of the Mexican–American War, it was located in American territory, enduring the influx of Anglo settlers during the Mexican–American War and the American Civil War.[76]
Her DNA test results were: 70% European, 27% Asian/Indigenous, and 3% African.[77] After a computer compared the DNA results of Gates's dozen guests, tests showed that she is genetically related to cellist Yo-Yo Ma, who is of Chinese heritage.[77] Since women have two X chromosomes and no Y chromosome, Eva doesn't inherit her father's Y-DNA only her mother's mitochondrial DNA (genetic information passed from mother to child). Eva's mtDNA belongs to the Haplogroup A2 making her a descendant of a Native American female, a Mayan woman from Mexico long before it was Mexico.[78][79]
Eva Longoria identifies herself as a "Texican" or Mexican-American.[78]
Politics
She has called Arizona's SB 1070 immigration law unconstitutional.[80] In 2012, she was one of seven Californians named to the post of co-chair of Barack Obama's re-election campaign.[81] On September 6, 2012, Longoria spoke at 2012 Democratic National Convention where she endorsed President Obama's reelection.[82]
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Snitch'd | Gabby | |
| 2004 | Señorita Justice | Det. Roselyn Martinez | |
| 2004 | The Dead Will Tell | Jeanie | TV film |
| 2004 | Carlita's Secret | Carlita / Lexus | |
| 2005 | Hustler's Instinct | Vanessa Santos | Short |
| 2005 | Harsh Times | Sylvia | |
| 2006 | The Sentinel | Jill Marin | |
| 2007 | The Heartbreak Kid | Consuela | |
| 2008 | Over Her Dead Body | Kate | |
| 2008 | Lower Learning | Rebecca Seabrook | |
| 2010 | Without Men | Rosalba | |
| 2011 | Arthur Christmas | Chief De Silva (voice) | |
| 2012 | For Greater Glory | Tulita Gorostieta | |
| 2012 | Foodfight! | Lady X (voice) | |
| 2012 | The Baytown Outlaws | Celeste Martin | |
| 2012 | Crazy Kind of Love | Marion | Post-production |
| 2013 | A Dark Truth | Mia Francis | |
| 2014 | Frontera | Post-production |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Beverly Hills, 90210 | Flight Attendant No. 3 | 1 episode: "I Will Be Your Father Figure" |
| 2000 | General Hospital | Brenda Barrett Lookalike | 1 episode |
| 2001–2003 | The Young and the Restless | Isabella Braña | Supporting Role |
| 2003–2004 | Dragnet | Det. Gloria Duran | 10 episodes / supporting role |
| 2004–2012 | Desperate Housewives | Gabrielle Solis | 180 episodes / lead role |
| 2005 | Saturday Night Live | Herself (host) | Episode 31.6: "Eva Longoria/Korn" |
| 2006 | George Lopez | Brooke | 1 episode: "George Vows to Make Some Matri-Money" |
| 2008 | Childrens Hospital | The New Chief | 1 episode |
| 2010 | The Next Food Network Star | Herself | Season 6, Week 8 |
| 2010 | MTV Europe Music Awards 2010 | Herself | Host |
Awards and nominations
| Year | Result | Award | Category | Film or series |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Won | ALMA Awards | Outstanding Actress in a Daytime Drama | The Young and the Restless |
| 2006 | Won | Person of the Year |
|
|
| 2007 | Won | Bambi Award | TV Series International | Desperate Housewives |
| 2005 | Nominated | DVD Exclusive Awards | Best Actress (in a DVD Premiere Movie) | Carlita's Secret |
| 2006 | Nominated | Golden Globe Award | Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy | Desperate Housewives |
| 2005 | Nominated | Imagen Foundation Awards | Best Actress – Television | Desperate Housewives |
| 2007 | Nominated | Best Actress – Television | Desperate Housewives | |
| 2007 | Won | People's Choice Awards | Favorite Female TV Star | Desperate Housewives |
| 2005 | Won | Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series | Desperate Housewives (Shared with cast) |
| 2006 | Won | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series | Desperate Housewives (Shared with cast) | |
| 2007 | Nominated | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series | Desperate Housewives (Shared with cast) | |
| 2008 | Nominated | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series | Desperate Housewives (Shared with cast) | |
| 2009 | Nominated | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series | Desperate Housewives (Shared with cast) | |
| 2005 | Nominated | Teen Choice Awards | Choice TV Actress: Comedy | Desperate Housewives |
| Won | Choice TV Breakout Performance – Female | Desperate Housewives | ||
| 2006 | Nominated | TV – Choice Actress: Comedy | Desperate Housewives | |
| 2007 | Nominated | TV – Choice Actress: Comedy | Desperate Housewives | |
| 2010 | Nominated | Choice Female Red Carpet Icon |
|
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