Eva Marie

Natalie Eva Marie Nelson was born in the San Francisco Bay Area suburb of Walnut Creek, California, the youngest child of Barry and Josie Nelson. Her mother is Mexican, while her father is Italian. She has three older brothers (Nathan, Neal and Nick) and was raised in Concord, California. She wanted to become a professional soccer player, although her plans were put on hold when she suffered an ankle injury in her senior year of high school in 2002. Eva Marie, who played as a striker, recovered and continued playing at Diablo Valley College in Pleasant Hill, California, where she received her associate degree in art. She received Junior College All-American honors and transferred to Arizona State University, although a lack of self-confidence led her to stop playing. She transferred to California State University, Fullerton where the soccer coach persuaded her to play again. However, her National Collegiate Athletic Association eligibility had expired due to their "five-year clock" rule. Eva Marie later said that "I wouldn't have run into that problem if I just believed in myself from the start. Now that I'm older, I know it's so much better to have tried and maybe you fail, then to have never tried at all." She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in business management and a minor in human resource and moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in modeling, acting and promotional work.