Eva Longoria Receives Star on Hollywood Walk of Fame

HOLLYWOOD (CNS) - A star was unveiled today on the Hollywood Walk of Fame to honor Eva Longoria, fulfilling a prophecy the ``Desperate Housewives'' star said she made in 1998.

The ceremony came nearly 20 years to the day when Longoria moved to Hollywood from Texas and ``I stood on the corner of La Brea (Avenue) and Hollywood Boulevard and said, `One day, I'm going to have a star,''' Longoria said.

``To be here is so surreal,'' Longoria said.

Longoria recalled being an extra for two years before getting a line of dialogue, including on the 1999 Ricky Martin music video, ``Shake Your Bon- Bon.''

``I was shaking my bon-bon and I thought I had arrived. I'm in a Ricky Martin video. Somebody one will see me. No one saw me,'' Longoria said.

Among the people Longoria thanked were her mother Ella Eva Mireles ``who taught me about work ethic and how to work hard,'' and her sisters Emily, Liza and Esme.

``If it wasn't for them being so mean to me when I was little, I wouldn't have the tough skin I have,'' Longoria said of her sisters, who attended the ceremony, as did their mother.

Longoria also thanked ``Desperate Housewives'' creator Marc Cherry for giving her ``a role of a lifetime'' and castmate Felicity Huffman.

``Being around Felicity made me a better actress, but it also made me a better human being,'' Longoria said.

The was ceremony held in connection with the May 4 release of Longoria's latest film, the romantic comedy ``Overboard,'' in which she plays the best friend of a single mother struggling to make ends meet (Anna Faris).

Faris, Martin, Huffman and Los Angeles City Councilman Mitch O'Farrell preceded Longoria in speaking in late-morning ceremony across the street from the TCL Chinese Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard

The star is the 2,633rd since the completion of the Walk of Fame in 1961 with the first 1,558 stars.

Born March 15, 1975, in Corpus Christi, Texas, Longoria received a bachelor's degree in kinesiology from Texas A&M University-Kingsville. After graduating from college, she entered a talent contest that brought her to Los Angeles, where she was spotted and subsequently signed by a theatrical agent.

Longoria first prime-time speaking role came in 2000 as a flight attendant on an episode of ``Beverly Hills, 90210.'' She was a cast member of the CBS daytime drama ``The Young and The Restless'' from 2001-03.

Longoria's first prime-time series as a cast member was the 2003 ABC crime drama ``L.A. Dragnet.''

Longoria was nominated for a Golden Globe for best performance by an actress in a television comedy or musical series in 2006 and joined her castmates in receiving five SAG Award nominations for outstanding performance by an ensemble in a comedy series for her portrayal of Gabrielle Solis on ``Desperate Housewives,'' which ran from 2004-12.

Longoria starred in and executive-produced the short-lived NBC 2015-16 comedy ``Telenovela.'' She has also directed episodes of the ABC comedy ``black-ish,'' The CW romantic comedy ``Jane the Virgin,'' the Fox comedies ``LA to Vegas'' and ``The Mick'' and ``Telenovela.''

Outside of her career in entertainment, Longoria spoke at the 2016 Democratic National Convention and received a master's degree in Chicana/o studies from Cal State Northridge in 2013, beginning work on it while ``Desperate Housewives'' was in production.

``I was terrified,'' Longoria told CSUN Magazine. ``I don't have time to do this, but for some reason you make time. I'd have to go to class, 7 to 10 on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays after shooting. And it was so fulfilling in a way I couldn't even imagine.

``The reason I wanted to do it was because I wanted to understand the immigration issue better. But you can't understand where we're going if you don't know where we came from. This history is important, and that's what really motivated me to finish my master's.''


Sponsored Content

Sponsored Content