About Me
Born on March 15, 1975, in Corpus Christi, Texas, Eva Jacqueline Longoria is the youngest of four sisters. As surprising as this may seem, Eva was considered the "ugly duckling" of her family -- her siblings would tease her because she was the only one with dark eyes, dark hair and dark skin.Growing up on a ranch in the southeastern Texas city, Eva was drawn to acting but kept up her studies throughout high school. Following graduation, she attended Texas A&M University-Kingsville and earned her Bachelor of Science in kinesiology.As a college grad, Eva had intentions of pursuing a career in science, but her lingering feelings for the performing arts did not dissipate. As a result, she entered a talent contest, which led her to Los Angeles. Once there, "Miss Corpus Christi 1998" -- an ugly duckling no more -- was spotted by a theatrical agent who signed her immediately.Eva Longoria settled in L.A. and tried her hand at acting. Her agent got her an audition for the comedic play What the Rabbi Saw, which she nailed. After a string of performances in this show, she landed a guest appearance on Beverly Hills, 90210 in 2000.Still trying to make it, Eva got her first big break in 2001. She landed a spot on the long-running soap opera The Young and the Restless, as Isabella Brana Williams. During her two years on the show, Eva won an ALMA (American Latino Media Arts) Award for Outstanding Actress in a Daytime Drama.With the Y&R exposure serving as a boost, Eva's career took off, albeit to a bumpy start. She starred in the film Snitch'd in 2003, a bomb about two rival gangs in Santa Ana, California. This was merely a hiccup on her resume, however, especially after Eva starred in and co-produced the hit live show, Hot Tamales Live: Spicy, Hot and Hilarious. The variety show, which also aired on pay-per-view, was a hit.Meanwhile, on the personal front, Eva married fellow soap opera star Tyler Christopher (of General Hospital fame) in 2002. During their brief marriage (they divorced in 2004), Eva's career reached new heights. In 2003, she landed the role of Detective Gloria Duran in Dick Wolf's L.A. Dragnet. Unfortunately, the show was short-lived, but its cancelation only opened the door to bigger and better things for Longoria.Though the future was unclear when Eva first auditioned for Desperate Housewives, her success was clear when the show debuted on ABC in October 2004. The scandalous prime-time satire about the scandal-laced lives of a group of sexy ladies in the suburbs attracted audiences immediately.The careers of stars like Teri Hatcher and Nicollette Sheridan were resurrected, but it was Eva Longoria who took center stage, as the hottest of all the housewives.During the show's first successful season in 2004, Eva divorced Tyler Christopher and hooked up with former 'N Sync star JC Chasez. As attention focused in on Eva and her love life, publications began heaping on the praise: TV Guide and USA Today hyped her as a "hot new face of fall 2004," Maxim listed her as part of its "Hot 100" for 2004, and People en Espanol named her one of its "25 Most Beautiful People."Eva Longoria also starred as a psychic in the 2004 made-for-TV movie, The Dead Will Tell, and was cast as the lead in the 2004 film, Carlita's Secret.It looks like Eva will create more buzz in 2005 (and onward) with Desperate Housewives going strong and a role in the film Harsh Times, co-starring Christian Bale, set for release in 2006.
