26
Jun
Inspirational Women of the Entertainment Industry: Eva Longoria-Parker
by Danielle Turchiano
0 Comments | Posted by thatgirl in Amuse Me, Making Waves, Sit Back
“When I was a little girl, my family had a nickname for me,” Eva Longoria-Parker smiles nostalgically and a short Spanish phrase rolls off her tongue. “Loosely translated, it means ‘the small brown one,’” she explains with a nonchalant shrug.
It’s hard to believe the ex-pageant queen, cover girl, spokes model, and most glamorous of the Desperate Housewives ever had to overcome being deemed 
the “ugly duckling.” As the only one in her family to have dark hair, eyes, and skin, Longoria-Parker was the odd one out. Though she acknowledges that it wasn’t easy as a child to overcome the name-calling, now she admits she much preferred the days when her on-screen alter ego, Gabrielle Solis, wore frumpy sweat suits. “I absolutely hate hair and make-up!” she admits. “I’m still just a [Texas] tomboy at heart.”
At first glance, one may assume Longoria-Parker is just playing modest, but the more she talks, the clearer it is that she really is that humble. “I was a late bloomer,” Longoria-Parker speaks of both her looks but also her success within the industry. “But it’s probably better that things didn’t come to me easily because it made me appreciate every step that got me to where I finally am.”
At the Paley Fest panel back in April, Longoria-Parker showed up in casual jeans and a white-button down shirt. She waved eagerly at fans as she took her seat on stage and even helped co-star Teri Hatcher put on her microphone. Perhaps also a testament to her Southern upbringing, Longoria-Parker is genuinely helpful– and fiercely loyal– to her co-workers and friends.
In fact, Longoria-Parker is quick to credit the series creator, Marc Cherry, in addition to her large ensemble cast mates, for the success and fandom of the show. “No one knows [my character] Gabrielle better than Marc,” she gushes. “I don’t even know Gabrielle better than Marc [does]! I trust him completely; if he said he wanted to see her…run off and join the circus in some trapeze act, I’d say okay.” She is one actor who clearly understands that in this business, it really is all about teamwork—and there is no “I” in “team!”
Longoria-Parker knows what it’s like to come from meager means, and she is adamant about doing what she can to enrich lives now that she has been so blessed. Aside from founding Eva’s Heroes, which helps disabled children, Longoria-Parker also does a lot of work with PADRES Contra El Cancer. She even recently hosted a Rally for Kids With Cancer scavenger hunt in Los Angeles.
A few years ago, the women of Desperate Housewives were featured on the cover of Vanity Fair, and the press headlines were about the “tension” and “demanding behavior” on the set of the photo shoot. But if Longoria-Parker’s down-to-Earth demeanor is any indication of the rest of the women, then it is clear that the term “diva” might just get thrown around a bit too liberally in describing Hollywood actresses nowadays.