Actress, producer, director and entrepreneur Eva Longoria has gone through a thorny path to be nominated for a Golden Globe Award, become a Screen Actors Guild Awards winner and an ALMA Award winner. Thanks to her role as Gabrielle Solis in the series Desperate Housewives, she not only gained worldwide fame, but also made a big leap in her career. She proved herself both in acting and directing. Furthermore, learn about the challenging path to success of Hollywood actress Jennifer Aniston. Read more on los-angeles.pro.
Biography
Eva Jacqueline Longoria was born on March 15, 1975 in Texas, USA. She lived in a poor farming family with four sisters. As a child, Eva felt like an outsider. She was completely different from her other sisters, who were blue-eyed blondes, while she had dark hair, skin and eyes. From childhood, the girl did not have many prospects for a bright acting career. However, Eva tried to prove everyone the opposite. She began to take care of herself, develop and was the only one in her family who was able to enter university.
After receiving her diploma, she moved to Los Angeles. Longoria got a job as a theater agent. Then, she decided to take part in a beauty contest. Thanks to her bright appearance, she managed to win. The first place in the contest attracted the attention of a casting agent. Eva’s first acting job was the role of a stewardess in an episode of the TV series Beverly Hills, 90210. After such a debut, the actress was offered the roles of pretty Latinas in various TV series for several years. In addition, she starred for men’s magazines and periodically got into the lists of the most beautiful actresses of the time.
Then, there was a small role in the series General Hospital. It led her to the popular series The Young and the Restless, where she played the role of hysterical Isabella. Then, she starred in the series Dragnet. However, the real fame brought the role of Gabrielle in the famous television series Desperate Housewives. For this role, she was nominated for a Golden Globe Award in the category Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series. As for the big screen, Longoria first played a major role in a movie in the detective thriller The Sentinel with Kiefer Sutherland and Michael Douglas.
From 2007 to 2011, Eva Longoria starred in such films as Over Her Dead Body, The Heartbreak Kid and Arthur Christmas. From 2012 to 2014, the actress’s filmography was replenished with the films The Baytown Outlaws, Foodfight!, In a World… and Visions.
Вuring her career, Eva Longoria also managed to prove herself as a producer and director of films. Longoria acted as a producer of the film John Wick. She also filmed episodes of Jane the Virgin and Black-ish.
Desperate Housewives
The Desperate Housewives series tells the stories of several women. They live on the cozy street of Wisteria Lane in a typical ideal suburb. However, each has her own skeleton in the closet. Viewers loved the series for its deconstruction of the image of showy happy households and a quite frank script with unexpected plot twists. Eva Longoria played the role of Gabrielle Solis, a Latin American model who lived in an unhappy marriage and had an affair with a gardener.
Eva Longoria could not have starred in the series. A well-known and experienced actress was approved for this role. However, Eva still took up reading the script, which struck her to the core. There were too many similarities between her and the heroine of Desperate Housewives. When she told the director about all these similarities, he approved her for the role of Gabi. The actress, who was invited from the very beginning, did not even read the script. Thus, everything was decided by fate. The stars of the series continue to communicate even after filming ended. Eva Longoria and Felicity Huffman, who played Lynette Scavo in the series, live nearby and often visit each other. The role in the series not only brought Eva widespread fame but also made her one of the highest-paid actresses in Hollywood.
Charitable activities
Longoria founded the Eva Longoria Foundation (ELF) to help Latinos build a better future for themselves and their families through education and entrepreneurship. The foundation’s programs help Latinos realize their potential through parental involvement, mentoring, extracurricular participation, STEM education and other opportunities. Eva Longoria has testified about the Foundation’s work before the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, the Clinton Global Initiative and the National Council of La Raza. Longoria has also written an essay about the foundation’s work and the issues facing Latinos in American society.
Longoria also co-founded Eva’s Heroes in 2006. The organization helps teens and young adults with intellectual disabilities integrate into society and find their place. Eva’s Heroes offers unique opportunities for young men and women that they may not otherwise be able to access.
Longoria is also a spokesperson for Padres Contra el Cancer. This non-profit organization aims to improve the quality of life of Latino children with cancer. It is the only Latino program in the United States that focuses on meeting the needs of the entire family. Eva Longoria has helped raise over $7 million through her participation in the El Sueño de la Esperanz gala, personal contributions and other special campaigns. Her participation in the gala helped raise over $5 million.
Eva Longoria was also named Philanthropist of the Year by The Hollywood Reporter and was honored with the Variety Power of Women.
Personal life
Eva Longoria has been married three times. The actress first married General Hospital star Tyler Christopher in 2002. The marriage lasted only 2 years. The actress’s second husband was Tony Parker, a French basketball player for the San Antonio Spurs. They got married on July 7, 2007, in a 12th-century Roman Catholic Church in Paris, where French kings were once married. This did not save the marriage, which lasted only three years. In 2011, the couple filed for divorce. Eva Longoria was single for two years after the divorce, until she met Mexican businessman José Antonio Baston. In 2016, after three years of dating, they got married. On June 19, 2018, their son Santiago was born.
Eva Longoria owns two Beso restaurants in the suburbs of Los Angeles and in Las Vegas. She is the author of the cookbook Eva’s Kitchen: Cooking with Love for Family and Friends. Eva Longoria has also been the face of the L’Oreal Paris brand for many years. In 2024, she took part in the star-studded show of the L’Oreal cosmetic brand. This annual event helps the cosmetic brand to draw attention to its products. Famous participants of the event usually take to the podium in outfits from famous brands. Longoria choose a white dress from the Lever Coutur brand, founded by Ukrainian Lessja Verlingieri, who lives and works in Los Angeles.