Ricardo Antonio Chavira (born September 1, 1971 in Austin, Texas) is a American actor of Mexican heritage, perhaps best known for his role as Carlos Solis on Desperate Housewives.

Education

Raised in San Antonio, Texas, he graduated from Robert E. Lee High School (San Antonio, Texas), now the Performing Arts School, and the University of the Incarnate Word. He is a '00 UC, San Diego Alumnus and received his Master of Fine Arts in Acting from the UC San Diego's Professional Actor Training Program in 2000, and moved to Los Angeles shortly thereafter. Since that time, he has worked in film, television and theatre.

Career

Film credits include Touchstone's The Alamo. Television credits prior to Desperate Housewives include a series regular role on The Grubbs, recurring roles on Six Feet Under and The Division, and guest star roles on Joan of Arcadia, Kingpin, Monk, 24 and JAG, as well as NYPD Blue and two other Steven Bochco series, Philly and City of Angels. He also guest starred on ABC's The George Lopez Show.

Chavira starred in a production of Tracers at the Odyssey Theatre in Los Angeles, and also starred in a co-production of Living Out.

Since 2004, Chavira has starred in Desperate Housewives. He plays Gabrielle Solis' (played by Eva Longoria Parker) husband Carlos.

Breast cancer advocate

Chavira is a supporter of breast cancer research as his mother, Elizabeth Ries Chavira, died of breast and ovarian cancer when she was 43 years old.

Chavira is San Antonio's honorary spokesman for the charity Susan G. Komen for the Cure, and last June served as the National Team Captain for the Race for the Cure in Washington, D.C..

Chavira was the 2005 co-spokesperson for the Lee National Denim Day breast cancer fundraiser.

Family

Chavira has one son, Tomas Antonio Chavira, born in 2003, with partner Marcea Dietzel, who gave birth to their second child, a daughter named Belen Elysabeth Chavira, on July 28 2008 in San Antonio. The couple had been together for several years when they decided to marry on September 22 2007 in a small ceremony in their Texas home, wearing pyjamas. Herald Tribune: 'Desperate Housewives' star gets married to longtime girlfriend.

Chavira is the son of Bexar County's Judge Juan Antonio Chavira.