Eva Marcille Pigford (born October 30, 1984) is an American actress,

fashion model A model is a person with a role either to display commercial products (notably fashion clothing in fashion shows) or to serve as an artist's model. Modelling ("modeling" in American English) entails using one's body to represent someone ...

and

television personality Celebrity is a condition of fame and broad public recognition of a person or group due to the attention given to them by mass media. The word is also used to refer to famous individuals. A person may attain celebrity status by having great w ...

. She rose to prominence after she won the

third cycle 96px, alt=Logo with stylized stars, Logo alt=Map of Europe, encompassing the entire Bologna zone, 256px, Bologna zone The Bologna Process is a series of ministerial meetings and agreements between European countries to ensure comparability in ...

of ''

America's Next Top Model ''America's Next Top Model'' (abbreviated ''ANTM'' and ''Top Model'') is an American reality television series and interactive competition in which a number of aspiring models compete for the title of "America's Next Top Model" and a chance to b ...

''. Afterwards, she starred as Tracie Evans in Tyler Perry's ''House of Payne'' (2007–2012), and landed the role of Tyra Hamilton on the

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

daytime

soap opera A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term ''soap opera'' originat ...

The Young and the Restless ''The Young and the Restless'' (often abbreviated as ''Y&R'') is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. The show is set in the fictional Genoa City (named after the real-life Genoa City, Wiscon ...

'' (2008–2009). Marcille later returned to reality television as a cast member on the

Bravo Bravo(s) or The Bravo(s) may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music Groups and labels * Bravo (band), a Russian rock band * Bravo (Spanish group), represented Spain at Eurovision 1984 * Bravo Music, an American concert band music publishing compa ...

television series '' The Real Housewives of Atlanta'' (2018–2021).

Early life

Eva was born in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

as Eva Pigford. Her middle name, Marcille, is an

amalgam Amalgam most commonly refers to: * Amalgam (chemistry), mercury alloy * Amalgam (dentistry), material of silver tooth fillings ** Bonded amalgam, used in dentistry Amalgam may also refer to: * Amalgam Comics, a publisher * Amalgam Digital, an in ...

of her grandmothers' names "Marjorie" and "Lucille". Her parents are both

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

. She attended Raymond Avenue Elementary School, Marina Del Rey Middle School, and

Washington Preparatory High School George Washington Preparatory High School is a public four-year high school of Los Angeles Unified School District in Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is located in the Westmont census-designated place and has a Los Angeles pos ...

(2002). She attended

Clark Atlanta University Clark Atlanta University (CAU or Clark Atlanta) is a private, Methodist, historically black research university in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It was founded on September19, 1865, as Atlanta University, it was the first HBCU in the South ...

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

; however, she left the school shortly after winning the third season of ''America's Next Top Model'' at the age of 19.

Career

Modeling

In 2004, Marcille was the last finalist selected for the top fourteen to compete on the

UPN The United Paramount Network (UPN) was an American broadcast television network that operated from 1995 to 2006. It was originally a joint venture between Chris-Craft Industries (later sold to News Corporation)'s subsidiary, United Television, ...

reality television show '' America's Next Top Model Cycle 3''. Over her stay, Marcille received two first call-outs and won two challenges. Marcille was crowned the winner of the third cycle of ''America's Next Top Model'', beating fellow contestant

Yaya DaCosta Yaya DaCosta (born November 15, 1982) is an American actress and model. She was the runner-up in Cycle 3 of ''America's Next Top Model''. DaCosta eventually went on to star in ABC's daytime drama series ''All My Children'' (2008), ABC's comedy ...

. Her prizes included a

CoverGirl CoverGirl is an American cosmetics brand founded in Maryland, United States, by the Noxzema Chemical Company. It was acquired by Procter & Gamble in 1989, and later acquired by Coty, Inc. in 2016. The Noxell Company advertised this cosmetics l ...

cosmetics contract, a spread in ''

Elle Elle may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Elle (magazine), ''Elle'' (magazine), a fashion publication ** Elle Style Awards * Elle (India), ''Elle'' (India), the Indian edition * Elle (film), ''Elle'' (film), a 2016 French film * ''Elle: ...

'', and a modeling contract with

Ford Models Ford Models, originally the Ford Modeling Agency, is an American international modeling agency based in New York City. It was established in 1946 by Eileen Ford and her husband Gerard W. Ford. History 20th century Eileen and Jerry began the bu ...

. Marcille has appeared on the cover of ''Brides Noir'', ''Women's Health and Fitness'' (May 2005), ''

King King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...

'' (June 2005), ''IONA'' (November 2005), and ''Essence''. Her other modeling credits include

DKNY DKNY is a New York City–based American fashion house for men and women, founded in 1984 by Donna Karan. The company specializes in a wide range of fashion products, including clothing, footwear, accessories and fragrances. A major misconcepti ...

Samsung Samsung Group (; stylised as SΛMSUNG) is a South Korean Multinational corporation, multinational manufacturing Conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered in the Samsung Town office complex in Seoul. The group consists of numerous a ...

, Red by Marc Ecko, ''Jewel'', ''

In Touch Weekly ''In Touch Weekly'' is an American celebrity gossip magazine. The magazine is focused on celebrity news, fashion, beauty, relationships and lifestyle, and is geared towards a younger readership, billing itself as "fast and fun", along with maki ...

'' (June 2005), ''King'' (November 2005), ''WeTheUrban'', IONA, ''UNleashed'', '' Star Magazine'', ''Elle'', ''

Elle Girl ''Elle Girl'' was the largest older-teen fashion and beauty magazine brand in the world with twelve editions. Launched in August 2001, it was the younger sister version of ''Elle'' magazine, and similarly focused on beauty, health, entertainm ...

'', Apple Bottoms, Lerner Catalog, Avon Campaign 4 and Rolling Out. Marcille's runway shows include the Marc Bouwer Fall 2005, Elle Girl presents Dare to Be You: Wal-Mart Meets America's Next Top Model 2005, Gharani Strok Fall 2005, Deborah Lindquist Spring 2006, Naqada Spring 2006, 8th Annual 'Models of Perfection' Show 2006, and L.A. Fashion Week's Monarchy Collection Fall 2007. On November 15, 2006, Marcille left her managers Benny Medina and

Tyra Banks Tyra Lynne Banks (born December 4, 1973), also known as BanX, is an American model, television personality, producer, writer, and actress. Born in Inglewood, California, she began her career as a model at the age of 15 and was the first Black A ...

. After leaving Banks and Medina for new management, she officially dropped "Pigford" from her name, now going by Eva Marcille (her middle name). She has stated she did this in order to not use her modeling fame to get into acting but earn her acting roles. Marcille is now signed to L.A. Models. She has been featured on ''America's Next Top Model: Exposed'' on the CW. She has also been featured as one of

's Top Models in Action.

Television work

Marcille has guest-starred on several series on

and The CW Network. Her guest-star credits include two episodes of ''

Kevin Hill Kevin Hill may refer to: * ''Kevin Hill'' (TV series), a TV series on UPN * Kevin Hill (footballer), English association football player * Kevin Hill (snowboarder), Canadian snowboarder {{Dab ...

'', one episode of ''

Smallville ''Smallville'' is an American superhero fiction, superhero television series developed by writer-producers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, based on the DC Comics character Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. The series was produce ...

'', one episode of ''

Everybody Hates Chris ''Everybody Hates Chris'' (stylized in all lowercase) is an American semi-autobiographical sitcom created by Chris Rock and Ali LeRoi that originally aired on UPN from 2005 to 2006, and then on The CW until 2009. The series is based loosely ...

'', and one episode of '' The Game'' as herself. Marcille has also appeared on ''

Tyler Perry's House of Payne ''Tyler Perry's House of Payne'', also known as simply ''House of Payne'', is an American sitcom television series created and produced by Tyler Perry that premiered in syndication on June 21, 2006. The series revolves around a multi-generation ...

''. In addition, Marcille hosted BET J's reality show ''My Model Looks Better Than Your Model'', as well as ''Rip the Runway'' on

BET Black Entertainment Television (BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting Black American audiences. It is the flagship channel of the BET Media Group, a subsidiary of Paramount Global's CBS Entertainment Group. Originally launched ...

. Furthermore, she has appeared in several music videos, including "

Baby In common terminology, a baby is the very young offspring of adult human beings, while infant (from the Latin word ''infans'', meaning 'baby' or 'child') is a formal or specialised synonym. The terms may also be used to refer to Juvenile (orga ...

" by

Angie Stone Angela Laverne Stone (née Brown; December 18, 1961 – March 1, 2025) was an American singer-songwriter, rapper, actress, and record producer. With a career spanning over four decades, she has been credited with revolutionizing the sound of Ol ...

(featuring

Betty Wright Bessie Regina Norris (December 21, 1953 – May 10, 2020), better known by her stage name Betty Wright, was an American soul music, soul and Rhythm and blues, R&B singer, songwriter and background vocalist. Beginning her professional career ...

50 Cent Curtis James Jackson III (born July 6, 1975), known professionally as 50 Cent, is an American rapper, actor, and television producer. Born in Queens, a borough of New York City, Jackson began pursuing a musical career in 1996. In 1999–2000, ...

's " I Get Money" and

Jamie Foxx Eric Marlon Bishop (born December 13, 1967), known professionally as Jamie Foxx, is an American actor, comedian, and singer. Known for his work in both the screen and music industries, his accolades include an Academy Award, a Grammy Award ...

's " DJ Play a Love Song". Marcille was cast as a regular on a FOX show called ''The Wedding Album'' in 2006, but FOX canceled it before it aired. In 2005, Marcille appeared in a first-season episode of the

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

improv show '' Nick Cannon Presents Wild 'N Out''. In December 2007, Marcille played a featured role in an episode of ''

''. In 2008, she joined the cast of ''

'' as a young mother named Tyra Hamilton. After a few months, her character, who was planned to be temporary was made permanent. In 2009, Marcille was nominated for two

NAACP Image Award The NAACP Image Awards is an annual awards ceremony presented by the U.S.-based National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) to honor outstanding performances in film, television, theatre, music, and literature. The over 40 ...

for Outstanding Actress in a Daytime Drama Series for her ''Y&R'' role. In film, her credits include '' The Walk'', '' Crossover'', and ''

I Think I Love My Wife ''I Think I Love My Wife'' is a 2007 American romantic comedy film starring Chris Rock, Kerry Washington and Gina Torres. Rock co-wrote the film with Louis C.K. and also directed and produced it. It is a remake of the 1972 French film '' Love ...

''. She appeared in a June 2009 episode of the BET prank show ''Played by Fame'', where contestants have nightmarish dates with celebrities. She hosted the first season of the

Oxygen Oxygen is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol O and atomic number 8. It is a member of the chalcogen group (periodic table), group in the periodic table, a highly reactivity (chemistry), reactive nonmetal (chemistry), non ...

reality series '' Hair Battle Spectacular'' in 2010. In August 2013, Marcille appeared in the video clip "J'accélère (I accelerate)" by French rapper

Rohff Housni M'Kouboi (; born 15 December 1977), better known as Rohff and at times stylized as Roh2f, is a French rapper. Born in Antananarivo, Madagascar, to a family of Comoran origin, he immigrated in 1985 to France living in Vitry-sur-Seine, i ...

. On August 5, 2015, Marcille was in the main cast as the role of Tara in the TV One series '' Born Again Virgin.'' In February 2016, she was in a reality series titled ''About the Business''. In August 2017, Marcille competed in the first season of VH1's '' Scared Famous'', which premiered on October 23, 2017. She joined the tenth season of '' The Real Housewives of Atlanta'' as a friend of

NeNe Leakes Linnethia Monique "NeNe" Leakes (; née Johnson; born December 13, 1967) is an American television personality, actress, presenter, businesswoman, author, and fashion designer. She first rose to prominence after becoming the breakout star on B ...

and was promoted to a full-time cast member in 2018 for the eleventh season. She departed the series after two seasons in 2020.

Personal life

In July 2006, Marcille began dating actor Lance Gross. The couple became engaged on December 24, 2008 and split up in March 2010. She dated rapper

Flo Rida Tramar Lacel Dillard (born September 16, 1979), known professionally as Flo Rida ( ), is an American rapper and singer. His 2007 debut and breakout single "Low (Flo Rida song), Low" was number one for 10 weeks in the United States and broke the ...

from 2010 to 2012. Marcille has a daughter from her previous relationship with singer

Kevin McCall Kevin Lamar McCall Jr. (born July 25, 1985) is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, and record producer. He is best known for his work with R&B singer Chris Brown, to whom he signed in a joint venture with RCA Records in 2012. McCall extensi ...

. She and McCall split in spring 2014, with Marcille stating she has custody of their daughter. In August 2019, she revealed that her daughter's last name has been legally changed from McCall to Sterling. Eva became engaged to

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

-based attorney Michael Sterling in December 2017. They married on October 7, 2018. They have two sons, born in April 2018 and September 2019. In 2019, she also founded cEVAd, a CBD oil company. The company launched during the birth of her son Maverick. In March 2023, Eva filed for divorce from Sterling. On August 3, 2023, their divorce was finalized.

Filmography

Film

Television

Music Videos

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Marcille, Eva African-American actresses African-American female models Actresses from Los Angeles Living people American television actresses Clark Atlanta University alumni America's Next Top Model winners 1984 births 21st-century African-American people 21st-century African-American women 20th-century African-American people 20th-century African-American women