BiographyBorn 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 Longoria 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's in kinesiology.
eva longoria is miss corpus christiAs a college grad, Eva Longoria 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 that 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.
eva in the young & the restlessStill trying to make it, Eva Longoria 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.
eva longoria does hot tamales live With the Y&R exposure serving as a boost, Eva Longoria'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 coproduced 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 Longoria 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 opened the door to bigger and better things.
eva longoria in desperate housewivesThough the future was unclear when Eva Longoria 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 Longoria divorced Tyler Christopher and hooked up with former 'N Sync star JC Chasez. As attention focused 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 in harsh timesEva 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. And in 2006, Eva Longoria starred in Harsh Times with Christian Bale.
eva longoria is named no. 29 in 2008 top 99The following year, Eva Longoria became the face of Bebe Sport while also working for L'Oreal and Hanes. She also married NBA superstar Tony Parker. And with Desperate Housewives still going strong in 2008, Eva Longoria landed the No. 29 spot on AskMen.com's Most Desirable Women of 2008 list.
