Gabrielle Solis
Encyclopedia
Gabrielle Solís is one of four main characters on the ABC television series Desperate Housewives
Desperate Housewives
Desperate Housewives is an American television comedy-drama series created by Marc Cherry and produced by ABC Studios and Cherry Productions. Executive producer Cherry serves as Showrunner. Other executive producers since the fourth season include Marc Cherry, Bob Daily, George W...

. She is portrayed by Eva Longoria
Eva Longoria
Eva Jacqueline Longoria is an American actress, best known for portraying Gabrielle Solis on the ABC television series Desperate Housewives...

. Longoria was Nominated for Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy at the 2006 Golden Globe Awards.

Early life

Gabrielle Marquez was born in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico in 1976, where her family was very poor. She moved to Las Colinas, Texas in her youth, where she confided in a nun about being sexually abused. The nun accused her of lying and told Gaby she should be ashamed of herself; Gaby felt shame for many years until she took her therapist’s advice and returned to the town years later (in "Farewell Letter
Farewell Letter
"Farewell Letter" is the 149th episode of the ABC television series Desperate Housewives. It is the fifteenth episode of the show's seventh season and was broadcast on February 20, 2011.-Plot:...

") to tell the nun she should be disgusted for letting the sexual abuse continue. In "You Gotta Get a Gimmick
You Gotta Get a Gimmick
"You Gotta Get a Gimmick" is the 123rd episode of the ABC television series Desperate Housewives. It is the twelfth episode of the show's sixth season and aired on January 10, 2010.-Plot:...

" it is mentioned that she has a brother and sister. When she was five, her father died of cancer. Since then, her mother had multiple affairs/boyfriends. When Gabrielle was 15 years old, she was sexually assaulted by her stepfather, Alejandro, and left home the next day. Her mother Lucía blamed Gabrielle, thinking she came onto her husband out of jealousy. Five years later, Gabrielle seduced a fashion photographer and became a successful model. She attracted the affections of businessman Carlos Solis
Carlos Solis
Carlos Solis is a fictional character on the ABC television series, Desperate Housewives. The character is played by actor Ricardo Antonio Chavira.-Early life:Carlos was born in Guadalajara, Mexico to Juanita and Diego Solis...

, whom she married, and moved to Wisteria Lane in 2003. She and Carlos have three daughters; Grace Sanchez (biological), Juanita (legal) and Celia (biological).

Overview

Gaby Solis is portrayed as a passionate, lively, extrovert woman; often appearing vain, shallow and materialistic but can be sympathetic and supportive, particularly towards her friends and family. She is often reckless, thinking of herself first but regretting it later and making amends. She is very attractive and can wrap men around her finger and uses sex as a means to get what she wants. In hard times, Gaby actually shows her strength and becomes reliable.

Season One

At the start of the series, Gabrielle is having an affair with her teenage gardener, John Rowland. She feels that John treats her with respect while Carlos is constantly away on business and unwilling to discuss emotions. Carlos, however, suspects Gaby is having an affair and gets his mother to watch her. Gaby does her best to keep Juanita busy but Juanita photographs Gaby and John together, just as they are ending their affair. John goes after her and, not looking where she is going, Juanita is run over by Andrew Van de Kamp
Andrew Van De Kamp
Andrew Van de Kamp is a fictional character in the ABC television series Desperate Housewives played by Shawn Pyfrom, and is the son of Bree Van de Kamp and the late Rex Van de Kamp....

 and slips into a coma. Gabrielle takes the camera but is forced to admit her affair with John to his mother, Helen, after she attacks Susan.

One of Carlos's business associates, Tanaka, is not what he seems and Carlos is arrested for their activities. He is released on bail and builds a case with his lawyers. As the authorities are unable to find the proceeds, they offer a plea bargain. Gaby insists they take it and Juanita, coming out of her coma, dies after an accident at the hospital while unsupervised. The hospital offer Carlos and Gaby $1.6 million, which they take. Unfortunately the money doesn't come through immediately and, needing to pay the bills, Gaby returns to work as Carlos is under house arrest.

Gabrielle finds she is pregnant because Carlos, wanting a family of his own, meddles with her birth control. When she finds out she is so angry that she almost leaves but makes Carlos promise to look after the baby in return for testifying at his trial for gay hate crimes. Unfortunately, John tells Carlos about their affair and that he could be the father of Gaby's baby. In a fit of rage, Carlos goes after John and is convicted, leaving Gabrielle in an uncertain situation.

Season Two

Carlos is in jail and unwilling to forgive Gabrielle for her affair. He also insists on a DNA test, which she manages to fake by stealing someone else's results. After discovering John is sleeping with another client named Joan, she apologizes to Carlos and he forgives her. Gabrielle loses the baby after falling down the stairs while running away from Caleb Applewhite, who broke into her house.

Carlos is released from prison, thanks to a nun called Sister Mary and a Catholic early release program. Sister Mary dislikes Gaby, telling her that she is responsible for Carlos going to prison, trying to fund the lifestyle she wanted. She suggests an annulment to Carlos and in revenge, Gaby tells her priest that she is concerned about Carlos's feelings for Sister Mary so Sister Mary is transferred to Alaska.

She and Carlos agree to try for another baby once she is convinced that Carlos wants children with her, not just any convenient woman. This plan is shelved, however, when they discover she is unlikely to get pregnant due to injuries suffered when she miscarried. She and Carlos try adopting but Helen Rowland works for the adoption agency and, angry about Gaby's affair with John, warns them she will make sure that they never adopt so they look into surrogacy with Gaby's mother offering to be surrogate but Gaby refuses to even consider it. Carlos, not believing Gaby's mother blamed her for what happened with Alejandro, visits her and is horrified to realize Gaby was right. Their next option was to adopt pole-dancer Libby Collins's daughter, who they named Lily. They are granted temporary custody after Libby tells her boyfriend, Frank, that he isn't the father but his brother, Dale, is. Dale says he wants Lily back but Gaby blackmails him to sign away his parental rights but Frank, determined to be Lily's father, persuades Libby to change her mind and reclaim her daughter. Finally, they ask their maid, Xiao-Mei, to be surrogate after she admits that she is in danger of being deported. Xiao-Mei gets pregnant but Gabrielle discovers that she and Carlos are having an affair. Following this, she throws Carlos out but tells Xiao Mei that she is staying with her until the baby is born.

Season Three

Xiao-Mei's baby is born on Orson and Bree's wedding day. However, the baby has dark-brown skin, forcing the doctor to admit that the wrong embryo was implanted in Xiao-Mei. Unfortunately Carlos and Gaby's embryo didn't take so the baby is given to its biological parents. Carlos and Gabrielle divorce.

Gabrielle changes her surname back to Marquez and tries returning to modelling but as punishment for walking out on her agent years before is forced to model as a typical gingham-aproned mother in the photo for another model, and any changes she tries to make to herself brings the wrath down on her from the photographer and her agent, so after the shoot, she gives up modeling for good. She begins mentoring young girls in beauty pageantry instead. She also returns to the dating scene, first dating the father of one of the pageant girls, and then her "stalker", (Zach Young). Later, in the season, she meets mayoral candidate Victor Lang, who pursues her despite her insistence that she isn't interested. She eventually accepts his proposal, and they marry during the season finale on May 19, 2007, although shortly afterward she overhears Victor saying that he married her because she would be useful for the "Latino vote" in the upcoming election for governor, and, distraught, goes to Carlos for comfort (who, in the meantime, had been dating Edie Britt).

Season Four

Gabrielle Lang and Carlos Solis plan to escape together; however, Edie stages a suicide attempt, and Carlos refuses to leave her, though he continues the affair with Gaby. They are discovered when Edie catches an STI from an infected sun bed which she accidentally gives to Carlos. He passes it to Gabrielle and she gives it to Victor. Carlos and Edie separate but when she realizes Victor has her STI, she hires a private detective and shows the photos to Victor. He takes Gabrielle out on a boat trip, where she assumes he will murder her, so she hits him over the head with an oar and drives away. Gabrielle calls Carlos and they come back looking for Victor and finding him eventually. When aboard, Victor is furious to see Carlos, grabbing a knife and attacking Carlos. Once again, Gabrielle hits Victor over the head with the oar, causing him to fall overboard, nowhere to be seen and presumed dead. Victor is later found, washed up and claiming to have amnesia to everyone but Gabrielle. She decides, after Victor threatens her, to leave town with Carlos, but this turns out to be unnecessary because Victor is killed during the tornado that hits Wisteria Lane. In the aftermath, Carlos is blinded, and Gabrielle and Carlos remarry.

Also in season 4, it is revealed that Gabrielle's father died of cancer when she was five. Her mother told her not to cry so as not to upset her dying father. She insisted Gabrielle be perpetually smiling, and so (she admits to Lynette) that's the way she's been ever since. She feels uncomfortable around cancer patients because of her father.

Five years following the events of Season 4, Gabrielle’s life has changed dramatically. Despite previous medical doubts, Gaby unexpectedly becomes pregnant twice. She is initially shown as being worn down, having gained some weight and taken on massive responsibilities that her blind husband cannot assist her with. She and Carlos are essentially “broke” and Carlos becomes a massage therapist. Gaby is shown ill-adjusted to her new life.

Season Five

Both her daughters, Juanita and Celia, are overweight. Gaby is concerned but Carlos seems to be less worried. Through his work at the Country Club, he meets Mrs. Virginia Hildebrand, a wealthy client. She is lonely, due to her estrangement from her own family, and takes Carlos, Gaby and their daughters under her wing. Unfortunately Gaby tells her to leave them alone, after Virginia tries to insist on sending the girls to a private school and Gaby doesn't want them to go. The girls get fatter.

Early in the season, while fighting, Carlos is injured during the fire in the White Horse Bar, falling and hitting his head on the floor, and a CAT scan reveals that he can have an operation that will return his sight. Gabrielle is worried by this, fearing Carlos will no longer find her attractive, so she begins a slow transition towards her former appearance. It seems to be that Gabrielle was pregnant with Juanita right before the five-year jump because she is 4½ years old. When Carlos' vision is restored, Gabrielle’s efforts throughout the past five years are not unnoticed. She had sold nearly all her designer wardrobe in order to keep her family afloat. Carlos ultimately quits his job as a masseur and takes a high-paying business job so that he can support his family as Gabrielle did. With a large income and more relaxed lifestyle, Gabrielle succeeds her goal of regaining her former beauty but realizes motherhood and years of looking after Carlos has changed her for the better.

Gabrielle also covers for Carlos's boss, Bradley, when she discovers he is having an affair. She does it so Carlos will receive a higher wage and more time off. Eventually Gabrielle comes to her senses and tells his wife, Maria. Later, Carlos and Gabrielle are horrified to learn that Maria killed Bradley when he told her that he was leaving her for his hair dresser. Gabrielle later gets jealous when Carlos hires his ex-girlfriend, Lucy, as his right-hand lady which he took over from Bradley. Gabrielle gets Lynette a job with them so she can spy on Carlos and Lucy but is soon fed up with Carlos constantly being at work, due to Lucy insisting everyone works more hours. Gabrielle is happy when Carlos decides to let Lucy go due to the way she treats people.

Gabrielle is highly affected by the death of Edie Britt
Edie Britt
Edie Britt Williams is a fictional character created by television producer and screenwriter Marc Cherry for the ABC television series Desperate Housewives...

 and remembers the friendly competitions for men they once had. She recalls Edie insisting that she wouldn't survive past fifty and is saddened to realize that she was right.

At the conclusion of the season, Gaby agrees to take in Carlos's teenage niece, Ana, who was being raised by Aunt Connie. Ana immediately tests Gaby's patience when she is asked to do some chores, she gets the Scavo boys to clean the house because "they asked to hang out with her".

Season Six

Ana continues to test Gaby's patience by wearing inappropriate clothes, stealing money and sneaking out of the house at night, which causes Gaby to refuse to become Ana's legal guardian. However, when Ana reveals her intentions of rushing through life, Gaby sees herself in her and signs the paperwork making her Ana's legal guardian. Ana thinks Gaby is too mean, and Gaby explains that she wishes someone had been mean to her at that age.

When John Rowland returns, this causes problems with Gabrielle and Carlos. He thinks that she still wants to look nice for her ex-lover. When Gaby shows up at John's restaurant, (where Carlos is having his business dinner) she doesn't put any effort into her look. She tells Carlos that she has stood by him for 11 years. She stayed with him when he was poor, blind and when he "knocked her up twice." When Ana begins to fall for John, Gaby intervenes and tells John to stay away. He then tells her he was only flirting with Ana to see if she still had feelings for him. He then asks her to run off with him and kisses Gaby just as Ana walks in. She confesses her past affair with John to Ana, and the two finally mend fences as Gaby declares her love for Carlos. Gaby then answers John by sending a photo strip of them together, torn right down the middle.

When Gabrielle finds out Lynette is pregnant, she is angered her friend kept this secret rather than risk her job. She does try to make peace but when Lynette sues Carlos, she angrily rejects their friendship. In "Boom Crunch
Boom Crunch
"Boom Crunch" is the 121st episode of the ABC television series Desperate Housewives. It is the tenth episode of the show's sixth season and was broadcast on December 6, 2009.-Plot:...

", while Gabrielle and Lynette are fighting during a Christmas block party, a plane crash-lands on Wisteria Lane. Lynette pushes Celia out of the path of the plane.

In "You Gotta Get a Gimmick
You Gotta Get a Gimmick
"You Gotta Get a Gimmick" is the 123rd episode of the ABC television series Desperate Housewives. It is the twelfth episode of the show's sixth season and aired on January 10, 2010.-Plot:...

" Gabrielle told Carlos she didn't want to be reminded of her Mexican heritage - because of how poor she was, not wanting her girls to know she lived like that. Carlos told her they should know where their mother came from and the sacrifice her father made, to which Gabrielle agrees.

Gaby got involved in the Bolen's secret when she overhears Angie and Nick discussing their cover. Later, in "Chromolume No. 7
Chromolume No. 7
Chromolume No. 7 is the 128th episode of the ABC television series Desperate Housewives. It is the seventeenth episode of the show's sixth season and aired on March 14, 2010. This episode gathered 12.01 million Americans according to Nielsen Media Research....

, when Angie and Gaby traveled to New York, Gaby was treated badly by her old co-workers, super-models Heidi Klum
Heidi Klum
Heidi Samuel , better known by her birth name Heidi Klum, is a German model, actress, television host, businesswoman, fashion designer, television producer, and occasional singer. In 2008 she became an American citizen while maintaining her native German citizenship...

 and Paulina Porizkova
Paulina Porizkova
Pavlína Pořízková-Ocasek is a Czech model and actress. At the age of eighteen years, she became the first woman from Central Europe to grace the cover of the Sports Illustrated swim-suit issue. She was the second woman to be featured on the swim-suit issue's front cover consecutive times...

, she realizes that she married Carlos because her career was on the verge of failure. While returning to Fairview, Angie reveals to Gaby that Patrick Logan, the "very bad guy" she's been running away from, is actually Danny's father.

In "We All Deserve to Die
We All Deserve to Die
"We All Deserve to Die" is the 130th episode of the ABC television series Desperate Housewives. It is the nineteenth episode of the show's sixth season and aired on April 18, 2010...

", Gaby decides to donate eggs to Bob and Lee so they can have a child but after changes her mind, leading them to break up. Gaby saves the Bolen family and is the one to say goodbye to them when they are leaving for Atlanta (and Danny New York). Bree finally tells Gaby about the hit and run accident that happened 10 years before.

Season Seven

Gabrielle is told the truth of Andrew killing Carlos's mother but decides to keep it quiet, fearing Carlos's reaction and not wanting to hurt him.

She is unaware of Carlos learning that Juanita was switched at birth with their daughter and that Carlos is keeping that secret from her. When Juanita is hospitalized after being accidentally run over by Bree's car, Gabrielle is stunned when the nurse tells her that there's no way she and Carlos can be the parents with their blood types. Gabrielle worries she slept with a man eight years earlier on a ski trip and he might be the father. Carlos finds out how she ripped up a hospital form and confronts her. When Gabrielle claims to not know she cheated, Carlos tells her the truth, devastating her. She agrees to sign a deal with Carlos not to reveal the truth in exchange for a settlement from the hospital.

However, Gabrielle soon realizes she wants to meet her true daughter and convinces a lawyer to find the other family. Carlos is angered when he finds out, telling her that the family could take Juanita away and if that happens, he'll never forgive Gabrielle. When they meet the family they automatically know that Grace is Gaby's daughter as she is throwing a fit over a jumper. Gabrielle grows closer to Grace, causing jealousy in Juanita, who doesn't know the truth. When Grace's legal parents are discovered to be illegal immigrants, her legal father Hector is arrested and her legal mother Carmen is forced to go on the run. Since Grace was born in the United States, she is a citizen and Gabrielle and Carlos agree to take her in to raise her.

To make sure they can get Grace to live with them, Gabrielle turns legal Grace's mother into U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is a federal law enforcement agency under the United States Department of Homeland Security , responsible for identifying, investigating, and dismantling vulnerabilities regarding the nation's border, economic, transportation, and infrastructure security...

 (ICE) but then has second thoughts when ICE shows up, posing as Carmen and letting Carmen get away. But when Gabrielle and Carlos go to pick up Grace, Carmen insists on taking Grace.

Distraught over losing Grace, Gabrielle confides in Lynette, the only person she knows who has lost a child. Lynette tells Gabrielle that she wrote a letter to the child she lost, and that this might help Gabrielle, who wouldn't have to actually send it. Gabrielle writes the letter; Juanita finds it and runs away, hiding in the back of Bob and Lee's car, where Gabrielle sees her just in time for her to be rescued during the riot. A therapist suggests that Carlos and Gabrielle cut off all ties and reminders of Grace in order to let the tension with Juanita heal. Gabrielle is reluctant, keeping photos of Grace but Carlos demands she do this for Juanita.

Gabrielle seems to agree, but goes to a boutique and buys a doll that resembles Grace and keeps it hidden from her family. After Juanita and Celia find it and play with it, ultimately breaking it's arm, Gabrielle goes back to the boutique and has the owner repair "Princess Valerie". The owner promises to repair it, and Gabrielle, feeling she is too attached to the doll, asks the owner if she thinks Gabrielle is strange. The owner disagrees, and shows Gabrielle her own doll, Mrs. Humphreys. The owner tells Gabrielle that she fell in love with the doll and bought it, ultimately learning the doll's "story". The owner says that Mrs. Humphreys is a music teacher whose sister died around the same time the owner's did (hinting that the owner bought the doll as a replacement for her passed on sister, much as Gabrielle did). Gabrielle sees the owner's pain, and the owner asks Gabrielle about Princess Valerie's story. Although reluctant, Gabrielle emotionally tells her that the doll was a princess who was accidentally given to the wrong family, but she found her way back eventually, and her mother, the Queen, had her hid so that no one could take her away again. When she gets home, Gabrielle puts Princess Valerie in a box behind her closet. Carlos finds out about Gabrielle's obsession with the doll so they go out to get rid of it and get carjacked by an unknown gunman. Gabrielle tries to take Princess Valerie out of the car but she had to let her go because the gunman threatened to kill her.

Carlos insists she go to therapy but she ignores it, going to spa treatments instead. Eventually, Carlos goes with her as she confesses to the therapist how she was molested as a child. At the therapist's suggestion, Gabrielle and Carlos go to her hometown where Gaby is surprised to learn she is a celebrity. She enjoys being admired by the townspeople until she meets the nun she had once confided in about her abuse as a child. The nun had then refused to believe Gabrielle's story and remains stubborn as Gabrielle lets out the shame she has long since been forced to feel by the cold nun's words; passing it back onto this woman who when could have prevented a childhood of torment did nothing, gives Gaby the sense of closure she has been seeking. Finally Gabrielle tells Carlos she is ready to go home and leave the past behind.

Making amends for his past while in AA, Andrew decides to tell Carlos about running over his mother. While Carlos does forgive Andrew, he is furious with Gabrielle over keeping the secret from him. He tells Bree that he won't forgive her for hiding the truth and bans Gabrielle from seeing Bree again. Gabrielle takes her girls and temporarily moves in with Bree. She shortly returns to Carlos.

Gabrielle shows a horror movie to Juanita, which gives her nightmares. She claims that a man is standing on the family's front lawn every night. Gabrielle is doubtful of this until she too notices the mysterious stranger. She sees him while shopping one day and asks a security officer to see a security camera. She realizes that her stalker is the stepfather who raped her as a child. This horrifies Gabrielle, especially because she thought that he was dead.

Gabrielle learns her stepfather has been following her everywhere she goes. She drives to a deserted area when she knows he is following her, and walks into a clearing, armed with a gun that she acquired for her protection. She confronts him about raping her as a young girl. He admits to the terrible deed.

During Susan's coming home dinner, Gabrielle runs home to begin preparations for dessert course. Once she enters her house, her stepfather confronts her again, pretending to have her gun. He begins to attack her attempts to rape her. However, Carlos comes home and intervenes, accidentally killing him with a blow to the head from a candlestick. Bree, Susan, and Lynette come into the house and discover the body. With help from Bree, they are able to clean up before the rest of the guests arrive. The group agrees to keep the situation secret.

Season Eight

Gabby and Carlos deal with keeping the murder of her stepfather quiet, Carlos unable to be intimate due to his guilt. Gabrielle challenges the antagonistic PTA head at Juanita's school after a parking dispute only to accidentally hit the woman with her car. The woman gets revenge by making Gabrielle her replacement, warning her that being PTA head will drive Gabby crazy. The first meeting does not go well as Gabrielle is late due to a spa appointment and the other members berate her over putting her high-living lifestyle over her responsibilities. Assuming they're jealous, Gabrielle gives them massages and makeovers but they still refuse to help. They snap that Gabrielle has no idea how people like them live and her life is so perfect. When a drunken Carlos comes in, however, the PTA members assume this is a regular occurrence and that Gabrielle isn't that different from them after all and help out planning a luncheon.

Trivia

  • Roselyn Sánchez
    Roselyn Sanchez
    Roselyn Sánchez is a Puerto Rican singer-songwriter, model, actress, producer and writer of film and television.-Early life:...

     auditioned for the role also but the producers thought she wasn't right for the role because of her heavy Puerto Rican accent.
  • Laura Harring
    Laura Harring
    Laura Harring is a Mexican-American actress and former Miss USA . She is known for her role as Rita in Mulholland Drive.-Early life:...

     also auditioned for the role of Gabrielle.
  • Gabrielle is the first of all main characters, we see in the pilot episode.
  • When Marc Cherry was casting, he asked Eva, "Do you like the script?" She said, "not meaning to be conceited, but I only read my part," then he thought "she's Gaby."
  • Gabrielle is allergic to lilies, likes to dance salsa
    Salsa (dance)
    Salsa is a syncretic dance form with origins in Cuba as the meeting point of Spanish and African cultures.Salsa is normally a partner dance, although there are recognized solo forms such as solo dancing "suelta" and "Rueda de Casino" where multiple couples exchange partners in a circle...

     and drink merlot
    Merlot
    Merlot is a darkly blue-coloured wine grape, that is used as both a blending grape and for varietal wines. The name Merlot is thought to derive from the Old French word for young blackbird, merlot, a diminutive of merle, the blackbird , probably from the color of the grape. Merlot-based wines...

    .
  • Gabrielle and Carlos have 0+ blood group.
  • Gabrielle has experienced the loss of a child four times:
    • her first pregnancy ended in miscarriage when she fell down a flight of stairs,
    • the biological mother of her adopted daughter Lily decided to take her back,
    • the surrogate experiment ended in fallacy,
    • and she let go of her biological daughter Grace.
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