the characters' relationship, and dubbed the couple the portmanteau "Evian". According to Ross, the soap opera did not receive any negative criticism from its focus on an interracial couple. In an earlier interview with Soap Opera Weekly, Ross believed that neither the show's emphasis on Eve and Julian as a couple, nor a hypothetical situation in which she initiated a real-life relationship with Julian's actor, Ben Masters, would attract racist criticism. Despite the positive reception of the couple, Soapdom.com's Lesleyann Coker felt that the romance led to a regression in Julian's character. Coker argued that Eve turned Julian into a "harmless, gentle, lost soul", and preferred the times when Julian was a "drinking, cheating louse" instead. The role of Eve earned Ross several award nominations, and she was praised for her representation of an African American character on daytime television. Ross received eight nominations for the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Daytime Drama Series and won at the 38th NAACP Image Awards. A writer from Jet'' described each member of the Russell family (including Eve) as being an "integral part of the show" rather than token characters. See also List of fictional doctors in television References Citations Book sources Passions characters Female characters in television Fictional African-American people Fictional drug addicts Fictional physicians Fictional prostitutes Fictional medical examiners Fictional singers Television characters introduced in 1999 Fictional female doctors