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.

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.

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.

Tracey Ross was originally hesitant to audition for another soap opera after her stint as Diana Douglas on Ryan's Hope from 1985 to 1987, which she compared to "working in a morgue" because the show was constantly threatened with cancellation.

[1] She initially rejected the offer to play Eve Russell, but she was repeatedly contacted by NBC about the role over several months before her agent convinced her to audition for Passions' casting director Jackie Briskey.

In 2003, actresses Amanda Maiden and Kimberly Kevon Williams played the character in flashbacks to her childhood and her time as a nightclub singer.

[6] Sheraton Kalouria, senior vice president of NBC's daytime programming,[7] said that the show's racially diverse ensemble, as represented by the African American Russells and the Hispanic Lopez-Fitzgeralds, exemplified "truly color-blind storytelling".

[8] Ross believed that Eve was not defined by identity as an African American: "If they wanted to make my character any other ethnicity they wouldn't have to change a thing about her... She's just a person.

[6] The soap opera's official website stated that Eve was the "beautiful and compassionate town doctor" who was enjoying a successful career;[11] she was described as an altruist by John Berlau of The Atlas Society.

[14] She later connected Eve's shame of her past life with Julian and inability to tell her family to Lavinia Kingsley's regrets about her youth in the 2002 comedy film The Banger Sisters.

She was surprised Eve's relationship with Julian was a "real short courtship" that turned her character from "the innocent girl to the woman on the Studio 54 dance floor having sex".

After adjusting her perception of Eve's past, Ross chose to play the character's descent into drugs and prostitution as "more immediate, wild[,] and impulsive" and "very untamed and unrestrained".

[6] Ross and Amelia Marshall, who played Eve's adoptive sister Liz Sanbourne, believed that the relationship emphasized a difference in social classes rather than races.

[10] Initially, Ross felt intimidated by playing a part of a supercouple, saying "[i]t means so much to me that I want to do it justice",[17] but following the show's cancelation, she identified it as her favorite storyline.

[18] When asked by a fan about her experiences singing on the show, Ross said she worked with a vocal coach, and described her sound as "sincere, soft, [and] non-grating".

As a teenager, Eve runs away to Boston to pursue a career as a jazz singer; there, she meets Julian Crane and becomes involved with alcohol, drugs and prostitution.

The storyline culminates in July 2004, when Liz brings Eve's aunt Irma Johnson to tell T. C. the truth about her relationship with Julian and their child.

Julian makes a deal with Rebecca that he would give her anything she wants in exchange for her testimony that she saw Liz with the vial of poison; the judge declares a mistrial.

Eve discovers Julian's affair with Valerie Davis, an employee of Crane Industries, leading to her decision to nurse T. C. back to health and renew their relationship to reunite their family.

In 2007, Eve and Julian discover that Vincent Clarkson (a blackmailer who raped and murdered several people) is their son, and try to support him despite his criminal past.

However, Eve cannot accept her son's criminality and incestuous, adulterous affair with Chad Harris-Crane (Vincent's uncle, adoptive cousin and brother-in-law) and begins abusing drugs and alcohol.

Believed dead, Vincent reveals himself, his gender identity and his pregnancy to Eve after seducing Julian (his father) and threatens to kill her if she tells anyone.

Tracey Ross and Rodney Van Johnson made cameo appearances as Eve and T. C. Russell in the series finale of the NBC primetime drama, Providence, one of the first daytime-primetime crossovers.

[8] He said the chance to work with Tracey Ross, who he called the it girl for the African American community following her appearance on Star Search, influenced his acceptance of the role.

[4] Published in The Free Lance–Star's section requesting fans' story ideas for Passions, a viewer called the rivalry between Eve and Ivy the "best I've seen on daytime TV".

[38] The role of Eve earned Ross several award nominations, and she was praised for her representation of an African American character on daytime television.