Eva Longoria - Biography
Actress, model, entrepreneur - the multi-talented Eva Longoria Parker has done it all. A fully-fledged member of the A list since US show Desperate Housewives made her a household name, the latina beauty worked endlessly for her Tinseltown break - and her hard-work and ambitious have paid dividends.
Corpus Christie, Texas
When quirky US comedy drama Desperate Housewives hit the world's TV screens back in 2004, there was one feisty character in particular who won hearts across the globe.
Gabrielle Solis, whose affair with the toyboy gardener spiced up the entire first season of the show, made a star out of actress Eva Longoria - propelling her to A list fame and fortune.
While many had no idea who the sultry beauty was before she shot to worldwide fame in the hit ABC show, she had actually had a successful career prior to landing her role as Gabrielle.
"I think it’s funny when people say I’m an overnight sensation, because I’ve been working at it for ten years," said the star, whose first TV role came in an episode of teen drama Beverly Hills 90210 in 2000 before leading her to land a regular spot in soap The Young And The Restless.
She had dreamed of becoming a model, but her diminuitive height - she is just 5"2 - saw her turned away from fashion agencies. She wasn't always a conventional beauty, either. "I grew up as the ugly duckling. They used to call me 'la prieta fea,' which means 'the ugly dark one," she said of her childhood, which was spent on a farm in Texas as the youngest of four sisters Elizabeth Judina, Emily Jeannette and Esmeralda Josephina.
Eva's transformation from gawky teenager to fully-fledged Hollywood bombshell was cemented when she landed a hunky, A list boyfriend, French-born basketball star Tony Parker. In 2006 they got engaged and the following summer tied the knot in Paris, the city of love and the groom's home town.
Discussing the age gap between her and her husband – Eva is eight years Tony's senior - she has said: "What's not to love? His energy, for one! But I think the best part is his innocent outlook on love and relationships. He's just more open to all the possibilities. I think women, for the most part, tend to be a little more guarded when it comes to relationships".
Meanwhile, Eva was casting her professional net ever-wider, opening a Mexican restaurant in West Hollywood, Beso, and founding Eva's Heroes, a charity which helps disabled children.
Despite being a constant on TV screens across the world, it looks as though the quiet life may be beckoning for Eva. She has said that once Desperate Housewives ends she is planning to move to France with her husband.
And will they be hearing the pitter patter of tiny feet? "I do want to have a family at some point. I also want to adopt," she's revealed. "I don't feel pressure to have kids because I know that there are so many out there."