Eve Torres Gracie (born Eve Marie Torres on August 21, 1984) is an American actress, dancer, model, martial arts instructor and former professional wrestler. She is signed to WWE, as an ambassador.
Torres began her career as a model and dancer. She danced for The Southern California Summer Pro League and went on to become a member of the National Basketball Association's Los Angeles Clippers Spirit Dance Team for the 2006–2007 season. She also appeared on several television shows, including Show Me The Money, Sunset Tan, and Deal or No Deal.
In 2007, she won the 2007 Diva Search, earning a contract with WWE. Torres first appeared on WWE programming as a backstage interviewer in 2008 and became a full-time wrestler in 2009. She won the WWE Divas Championship in April 2010. She held the championship on two further occasions, becoming the first person to win it three times. Following her retirement from professional wrestling in 2013, Torres focused on her role as an instructor for the Gracie Women Empowered self-defense program at the Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Academy in Torrance, California, and continued to act, with roles in Skiptrace and Supergirl.
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Early life
Eve Marie Torres was born on August 21, 1984 in Boston, Massachusetts, and grew up in Denver, Colorado. Her father is Euro-Nicaraguan and her mother is of German and Swedish descent. She has a younger brother, Phil, who is an Explorer and biologist.
Torres attended the University of Southern California (USC) on a full tuition scholarship. During college, she was one of the founding members of the Omega Phi Beta sorority chapter on her campus and held the vice-president position for several years. While in Omega Phi Beta, Torres was awarded for Academic Excellence at the Order of Omega Greek Awards. She graduated with honors and a grade point average above 3.5 in May 2006, with a degree in Industrial and Systems Engineering.
Dancing and modeling career
While attending USC, Torres appeared in commercials and music videos. Torres was the co-captain of the USC Fly Girls dance squad and created much of their choreography. She also danced for The Southern California Summer Pro League, the only summer league for National Basketball Association (NBA) players, in Long Beach, California. After graduating from college, she began dancing and modeling full-time. After reaching the tryout finals in previous years, Torres became a member of the NBA's Los Angeles Clippers Spirit Dance Team for the 2006–07 season. She also appeared on the game show Show Me The Money.
Professional wrestling career
World Wrestling Entertainment/WWE
In May 2007, Torres entered World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE)'s Diva Search. She was chosen by WWE officials as one of the eight finalists from a group of 50 women. On October 29, 2007, in Philadelphia, live on Raw, she was crowned the 2007 WWE Diva Search winner, defeating finalist Brooke Gilbertsen and becoming a WWE Diva. Following her win, she began training for her wrestling debut in WWE's developmental territory, Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW).
Videos promoting Eve's debut on SmackDown! began airing on January 11, 2008. The promo aired for three weeks before Eve made her official debut on the February 1, 2008 episode of SmackDown interviewing Batista. During early 2008, Eve participated in a contest to determine the top Diva on SmackDown, participating in a bikini contest, an obstacle course, and an arm wrestling competition before being eliminated. Eve appeared at WrestleMania XXIV as a Lumberjill in the BunnyMania match between Maria and Ashley against Beth Phoenix and Melina. Eve spent the rest of the year competing in similar contests, including a dance-off and a bikini contest, before participating in the Halloween Costume Contest on October 26 at the Cyber Sunday pay-per-view, where she was dressed as Raphael from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. On the 800th episode of Raw on November 3, 2008, Eve made her televised in-ring debut in a 16-Diva tag team match, which her team lost although she was never tagged in.
Her first main storyline began in early 2009, when she began a scripted feud with Michelle McCool after McCool attacked her. On the February 6 episode of SmackDown, Eve made her singles match debut in a losing effort against McCool via submission. Their feud continued for the next few months, with them competing against each other in singles and tag team matches. Eve then moved into a feud with Layla in mid-2009. After the pair competed in dance and arm wrestling competitions, Eve defeated Layla on the May 29 episode of SmackDown in a wrestling match. On the June 18 episode of Superstars, Eve pinned Layla once again. After the match, they both shook hands.
Around the same as her scripted rivalry with Layla, Eve became associated with Cryme Tyme (Shad and JTG), appearing in several backstage segments with them. She also began accompanying them to the ring as their manager during their storyline rivalry with The Hart Dynasty (David Hart Smith, Tyson Kidd, and Natalya). Eve and Cryme Tyme participated in multiple six-person mixed tag team matches against The Hart Dynasty, and Eve also faced Natalya in singles matches and tag team matches involving other Divas. Her final match on SmackDown was on October 9, when she was defeated in a singles match by McCool.
Other media
In August 2008, Torres, along with fellow WWE Divas Maria and Candice Michelle, appeared on an episode of Sunset Tan. On October 2, 2008, Torres and Maria appeared on a special episode of Magic's Biggest Secrets Finally Revealed. Torres appeared on the November 3, 2009 episode of Deal or No Deal with Maria and Dolph Ziggler. On July 1, 2012, Torres, Kelly, and Michelle McCool appeared on Extreme Weight Loss. In 2012, she was part of NBC's celebrity reality competition series called Stars Earn Stripes; she won the competition on September 3, earning over $100,000 for her charity, the United Service Organizations. On September 7, 2012, Torres appeared on G4's Attack of the Show for an interview.
Torres, along with Maryse and Michelle McCool, appeared in the January 2009 issue of Muscle & Fitness magazine.
On April 30, 2012, it was announced that Torres would be featured in the WWE Studios and Kare Production Project "Les reines du ring" (English: Queens of the Ring), alongside fellow wrestlers The Miz and CM Punk. In mid-2013, Torres filmed a role for the film The Scorpion King 4: Quest for Power, which was released in 2015. She later earned a role in Matador as Reyna Flores, a journalist reporting on the leading character's career. The show was cancelled after a single season. In 2016, Torres appeared in the film Skiptrace as a Russian assassin. The same year, she appeared in an episode of the Supergirl television series as Maxima.
Filmography
Personal life
As of April 2014, Torres is married to Rener Gracie, with whom she has two sons, Raeven, born in 2015 and Renson, born in 2018.
In 2023, Torres revealed that she learned in 2022 that several illnesses she had since 2013 resulted from her breast implants, with the ailments being described as "Breast Implant Illness." Upon hearing about this condition, Torres initially rejected the idea of her having Breast Implant Illness. However, she would eventually get her implants removed.
Championships and accomplishments
Inside The Ropes Magazine
Diva of the Year (2012) – First Diva Three-Times WWE Divas Champion
Feud of the Year (2010) - with Maryse
Guinness World Records
World Record: Most wins of the WWE Divas Championship (3 times) tied with AJ Lee
Pro Wrestling Illustrated
Ranked No. 5 of the Top 50 Female Wrestlers in the PWI Female 50 in 2010
TJR Wrestling
Best Female Performer (2012)
World Wrestling Entertainment / WWE
WWE Divas Championship (3 times)
WWE Diva Search (2007)
Ranked No. 40 of the Top 50 Greatest WWE Female Superstars of All Time (2021)
