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THE DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES STAR IS CONTINUING TO MAKE HER MARK BEHIND THE CAMERA WITH A BRAND NEW PROJECT

- Sara Tapia

It’s been almost two decades since we first watched Eva Longoria strut down Wisteria Lane in her stilettos as the sassy and superficial Gabrielle Solis in Desperate Housewives. After a series of guest TV roles and a stint on The Young and the Restless, the now 48-year-old had no idea what was in store for her career when she landed the part back in 2004.

“It was like the ninth audition I had that day and I was exhausted. It was pilot season … so I was changing in my car, driving from being a nurse and then, you know, prostitute. Oh, my God, it was horrible and it was my last audition of the day,” Longoria recalls of the casting call. “I remember going in and [creator] Marc Cherry … he goes, ‘What did you think of the script?’

“I said, ‘Look, I didn’t read it. I read my part and my part’s amazing.’ He said he knew I was Gaby Solis in that moment because it was, like, the most selfish thing I could have said.”

After eight seasons and countless awards, the show wrapped up in 2012. And while Longoria might’ve missed out on a solo Emmy Award for her work, she still believes she hit the jackpot with her breakout role.

“I really felt like this global phenomenon of these women and Wisteria Lane was the magic,” she tells WHO. “I don’t think any one of us was the magic. But I remember when Felicity [Huffman] won the Emmy, you would’ve thought I won the Emmy. I mean, I almost went up there with her. I was like, ‘We won! We won!’ And she felt the same way, she was like, ‘We won!’”