Eva Longoria may have portrayed Gabrielle Solis for eight seasons on ABC's comedy-drama "Desperate Housewives ," but didn't have everything handed to her on a silver platter like her on-screen counterpart. The Texas-born star went from working at Wendy's and an automotive repair shop to landing roles on popular soap operas including "The Young and the Restless ," "General Hospital " and "Beverly Hills, 90210 ."

Longoria's streak of success continued as she became the new global spokesperson for L'Oral Paris in 2005, ranked number one on Maxim magazine's Hot 100 list and was named one of the 50 most beautiful people by People en Espaol -- all major accomplishments for the Mexican-American actress who said as a child she was called "la prieta faya" or "the ugly dark one."

And while her very public divorce from San Antonio Spurs basketball player Tony Parker and recent breakup with Eduardo Cruz (Penlope Cruz's younger brother) seem to be what folks are talking about, we're most interested in her flawless and ever-changing beauty and fashion routine.

As Longoria celebrates her 37th birthday on March 15th, we take a look back at the actress' beauty looks over the years. Vote on her makeup and hairstyles in the slideshow below and learn how to get an effortless low bun like Longoria.

Meanwhile, head over to Latino Voices for 10 fun facts about Eva Longoria .

Click through our other Beauty Evolutions .

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