Eva Jacqueline Longoria Bastón (March 15, 1975) is an American actress, producer, and director. After a number of guest roles on several television series, she was recognized for her portrayal of Isabella Braña on the CBS daytime soap opera The Young and the Restless, on which she starred from 2001 to 2003. She is most known for her role as Gabrielle Solis on the ABC television series Desperate Housewives, which ran from 2004 to 2012, and for which she received Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Award nominations. She has also appeared in The Sentinel (2006), Over Her Dead Body (2008), For Greater Glory (2012), Frontera (2014), Lowriders (2016), and Overboard (2018). From 2015 to 2016, she starred as Ana Sofia Calderón on the short-lived NBC sitcom Telenovela and was an executive producer for the Lifetime television series Devious Maids. She has also been an executive producer of social issue documentaries, including Food Chains and The Harvest.

Longoria has appeared in several advertising campaigns. She holds modeling contracts with L'Oréal and New York & Co, among others.

Longoria was born in Corpus Christi, Texas on March 15, 1975, the youngest of the four daughters of her Mexican-American (Tejano) parents Ella Eva (Mireles) and Enrique Longoria Jr. One of her sisters had special needs.

She was raised Roman Catholic. She did not speak Spanish growing up, and did not learn the language until 2009. While in high school, she worked at a Wendy's restaurant part-time for three years to help earn money for her quinceañera. Longoria previously told the press how her years in fast food as a teen shaped her work ethic, saying "I couldn't wait to get to work and make my own money." Longoria earned her Bachelor of Science degree in kinesiology at Texas A&M University-Kingsville. At that time (1998), she also won the title of Miss Corpus Christi USA. After completing college, she entered a talent contest that led her to Los Angeles; and shortly thereafter, was spotted and signed by a theatrical agent. While auditioning for roles, she worked as a headhunter for four years.

After three years at California State University, Northridge, she received her master's degree in Chicano Studies in May 2013. Her thesis was “Success STEMS From Diversity: The Value of Latinas in STEM Careers”.

Longoria has a keen interest in immigration. She accompanied a border patrol in Arizona and has immersed herself in the issues to understand the Mexican and the U.S. points of view. She has described Arizona's SB 1070 immigration law as unconstitutional.

In 2012, Longoria was one of seven Californians named to the post of co-chair of Barack Obama's reelection campaign. On September 6, she spoke at the 2012 Democratic National Convention where she endorsed President Obama's reelection. In May 2014, she initiated the Latino Victory Project to raise funds for candidates and efforts to get out the vote. An executive producer of the documentaries The Harvest and Food Chains, she is a supporter of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers.

In 2014, Longoria endorsed Marianne Williamson for California’s 33rd congressional district. In 2018, Longoria endorsed Beto O'Rourke for Senate against incumbent Senator Ted Cruz, as well as Collin Allred for Texas’s 32nd congressional district against then-incumbent Rep. Pete Sessions.

Longoria spoke at the 2016 Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia on July 26, 2016. August 2020, she hosted the first night of the 2020 Democratic National Convention, which was held remotely because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In preparation of Georgia's runoff elections, on January 2, 2021, Longoria participated in a VoteRiders textbanking event with America Ferrera to help educate Latina voters regarding the state's voter ID laws

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eva_Longoria#Politics_and_activism