| Eve Russell | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Passions character | |||||||||||||||||||
 Tracey Ross as Eve Russell | |||||||||||||||||||
| Portrayed by |
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| Duration | 1999–2008 | ||||||||||||||||||
| First appearance | July 5, 1999 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Last appearance | August 7, 2008 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Classification | Former; regular | ||||||||||||||||||
| Created by | James E. Reilly | ||||||||||||||||||
| Introduced by | Lisa de Cazotte | ||||||||||||||||||
| Book appearances | Hidden Passions: Secrets from the Diaries of Tabitha Lenox | ||||||||||||||||||
| Crossover appearances | Providence | ||||||||||||||||||
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Eve Russell is a fictional character on the American soap opera Passions, which aired on NBC from 1999 to 2007 and on DirecTV from 2007 to 2008. Created by the soap's head writer, James E. Reilly, Eve was played by Tracey Ross for the series' entire run. In 2003, actresses Amanda Maiden and Kimberly Kevon Williams played the character in flashbacks to her childhood and her time as a nightclub singer. Ross was initially hesitant to audition for the role following her negative experience on Ryan's Hope, but was attracted to the show after learning about its supernatural and fantasy elements. Her casting was part of NBC's attempt to include a racially diverse ensemble on daytime television. She based her performance on Joanne Woodward's role in the 1957 film The Three Faces of Eve and Catherine Halsey from Ayn Rand's 1943 novel, The Fountainhead.
Eve, part of Passions' Russell family, is introduced as the perfect wife of T. C. Russell and mother of Whitney and Simone. Eve's desperation to conceal all evidence of her past relationship—and child—with Julian Crane leads to the breakup of her marriage and family, especially when her adoptive sister Liz Sanbourne arrives in the fictional Northeastern town of Harmony and ruins Eve's life for abandoning her first family. Later storylines focus on Eve's on-again, off-again relationship with Julian, and her search for their son, who is revealed as Vincent Clarkson despite long-running speculation by the show's characters and media outlets that he was Chad Harris-Crane. Ross and Johnson made cameo appearances as Eve and T. C. in the series finale of the NBC primetime drama Providence. At the end of the show, several props and costumes related to Eve were sold in an auction, along with other items from the show.
Critics and fans praised Ross' performance, although the character's later storylines were criticized by the cast. Eve and Julian, known by fans as "Evian", were dubbed "the Odd Couple of Passions" by Soap Opera Weekly, and critics reacted positively to the actors' chemistry. Ross felt that Eve's relationship with Julian showcased an authentic representation of an interracial couple. She received eight nominations for the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Daytime Drama Series, winning at the 38th NAACP Image Awards.