Quick answer: Erin Barry — later known as Erin Marie Benavides — was the former wife of ex-NBA player Brent Barry and a Texas attorney whose life moved from the NBA spotlight to the courtroom. She became widely known in 2010, when her name was linked to the break-up of Tony Parker and Eva Longoria’s marriage, a claim she publicly denied. She went on to build a serious legal career as a prosecutor, led a youth centre supporting child sex-trafficking victims, and worked on human smuggling cases before her death at home in Port Aransas, Texas, on 14 October 2026, aged 54.
Who Is Erin Barry?
Erin Barry is a name many people first heard during one of the most talked-about celebrity break-ups of 2010. Yet reducing her life to a single news cycle would miss the much longer story. Over the course of more than a decade, Erin Barry rebuilt her public identity around law, public service and advocacy for vulnerable young people in Texas.
Born Erin Marie Benavides, she later became known as Erin Barry during her marriage to former NBA player Brent Barry, who played for the San Antonio Spurs. After the marriage ended, she returned to using her birth name professionally, and it was as Erin Marie Benavides that she built her legal career. Most online searches still use the name “erin barry”, which is how the public remembers her, and this article uses that name while noting the name she used later in life.
Her story is unusual because it crosses two very different worlds. The first was the high-profile world of professional basketball, with its fame, travel and media attention. The second was the far quieter world of Texas courtrooms, county prosecutor offices and non-profit leadership. Understanding both halves is the only way to understand who Erin Barry really was.
Erin Barry: Quick Facts
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Full name | Erin Marie Benavides (formerly Erin Barry) |
| Best known as | Erin Barry |
| Former spouse | Brent Barry, ex-NBA player (San Antonio Spurs) |
| Law school | St. Mary’s University School of Law, graduated June 2013 |
| Licensed to practise law | 1 November 2013 |
| Legal roles | Assistant district attorney in Comal and Bexar counties, also Uvalde and Real counties |
| Non-profit leadership | President and CEO, Youth Center of Texas (2020–2022) |
| Later role | 38th Judicial District’s Anti-Gang and Border Prosecution Unit, from January 2023 |
| Left that role | August 2026 |
| Died | 14 October 2026, Port Aransas, Texas |
| Age at death | 54 |
| Cause of death | Self-inflicted gunshot wound, ruled suicide by the Nueces County Medical Examiner |
Erin Barry and the NBA Years
Erin Barry’s first chapter in the public eye was her marriage to Brent Barry. Brent Barry was a well-known NBA player, and his time with the San Antonio Spurs placed the couple firmly inside the Texas basketball world. Life as the wife of an NBA player brought a level of public attention that most people never experience, and Erin Barry was often photographed and mentioned alongside her husband during his playing career.
For many years, that was the extent of her public profile. She was known, if she was known at all, as Brent Barry’s wife. The marriage, however, came to an end in 2010, and the circumstances of that ending pulled her into a media storm she had not chosen.
The 2010 Controversy: Tony Parker and Eva Longoria
In 2010, Erin Barry’s name became linked to the break-up of another famous couple: NBA star Tony Parker and actress Eva Longoria. Reports at the time suggested that Parker had exchanged messages with Erin Barry, and the story quickly spread through sports and celebrity news outlets. The timing made the story even bigger, because it arrived alongside the collapse of her own marriage to Brent Barry.
Erin Barry responded publicly. In a statement in November 2010, she denied that she had had an affair with Tony Parker. Her words were direct and unambiguous: “I DID NOT HAVE AN AFFAIR WITH TONY PARKER.” The denial was widely reported, but the story continued to circulate, and her name remained attached to the break-up in the public imagination long after the headlines faded.
The key dates from that period tell the story in sequence:
- 29 October 2010 — Brent Barry filed for divorce from Erin Barry.
- November 2010 — Erin Barry issued her public statement denying an affair with Tony Parker.
- 17 November 2010 — Eva Longoria filed for divorce from Tony Parker.
These three dates sit within less than three weeks of each other, which explains why the two divorces were reported as a single tangled story. In reality, they were two separate marriages ending at almost the same moment, and Erin Barry’s own divorce was a distinct legal event from the Parker–Longoria split.
Why the Story Stuck
There are several reasons the 2010 story followed Erin Barry for so long:
- Timing: Two high-profile divorces unfolding in the same weeks made the story impossible for the media to ignore.
- Famous names: Tony Parker and Eva Longoria were one of the most recognisable couples in sport and entertainment.
- Thin reporting: Many of the pages that still rank for her name today are short news posts that repeat the same few lines without adding context or following her later life.
- No follow-up: Few outlets returned to the story to report what she did next, so the 2010 version of Erin Barry became the version most people saw.
That is exactly why a fuller account matters. The 2010 headlines were only a few weeks of a 54-year life, and what came after them was, in many ways, the more important part of her story.
Reinvention: Becoming a Texas Attorney
After the end of her marriage, Erin Barry made a remarkable career change. Rather than staying in the celebrity orbit, she went to law school. She graduated from St. Mary’s University School of Law in June 2013 and was licensed to practise law in Texas on 1 November 2013.
Becoming a lawyer in her forties, after years in a very different life, is no small achievement. Law school is demanding at any age, and doing it while rebuilding a life after a public divorce takes real determination. Her choice of work after qualifying says a great deal about her priorities: she did not go into celebrity law or high-paid corporate practice. She became a prosecutor.
As an assistant district attorney, Erin Barry served in Comal and Bexar counties, and also worked in Uvalde and Real counties. Prosecutors in Texas handle criminal cases on behalf of the state, and the work is often difficult and emotionally demanding. She also worked with Bexar County Juvenile Probation, a role that put her in direct contact with young people in the justice system — work that would later shape the next stage of her career.
Leading the Youth Center of Texas
From 2020 to 2022, Erin Barry served as president and CEO of the Youth Center of Texas, an organisation supporting child sex-trafficking victims. This was a significant leadership role, and it marked a clear shift from prosecution to advocacy and care.
The Youth Center of Texas works with some of the most vulnerable young people in the state — children who have been exploited and trafficked. Leading such an organisation requires not only management skill but also a deep understanding of trauma, the justice system and the support services these young people need. Her background as a prosecutor, combined with her experience working with juvenile probation, made her well suited to the role.
Her two years at the centre are an important part of her legacy. While the 2010 headlines defined her in the public eye, the Youth Center of Texas role defined her professional life in the 2020s. It is the work she chose, rather than the story that chose her.
The Anti-Gang and Border Prosecution Unit
In January 2023, Erin Barry joined the 38th Judicial District’s Anti-Gang and Border Prosecution Unit, where she worked on human smuggling cases. This was demanding, frontline prosecutorial work in one of the most difficult areas of Texas criminal law. Human smuggling cases involve organised networks, vulnerable migrants and serious criminal charges, and the unit exists specifically to tackle gang and border-related crime in the district.
She held the role for more than three years, leaving in August 2026. Her time in the unit rounded out a legal career that had moved steadily from county prosecution, through juvenile justice and victim advocacy, to specialised work on cross-border crime. Taken together, her legal career lasted more than a decade, from her licensing in November 2013 to her departure from the unit in August 2026.
Death in October 2026
Erin Barry was found dead at her home in Port Aransas, Texas, on 14 October 2026. She was 54 years old. The Nueces County Medical Examiner ruled the cause of death a self-inflicted gunshot wound and the manner of death suicide.
Her death was reported in the weeks that followed, and it brought renewed attention to her life — including, inevitably, the 2010 story. But it also prompted a fuller look at the career she had built since then. Any account of her life should treat this part of her story with care and respect, sticking to the facts as established by the medical examiner and avoiding speculation.
If you or someone you know is struggling, help is available. In the United States, you can call or text 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at any time. In the United Kingdom and Ireland, Samaritans can be reached at 116 123, free, day or night.
Erin Barry’s Legacy
So what should people remember about Erin Barry? The honest answer is that her life had two distinct halves, and both deserve to be remembered.
The first half was the NBA years and the 2010 controversy — a period of intense public attention that she did not seek and that followed her for years. She denied the affair at the centre of the story, and the divorce filings of October and November 2010 are matters of public record.
The second half was the legal career: law school graduation in 2013, licensing later that year, years as an assistant district attorney across several Texas counties, work with juvenile probation, leadership of the Youth Center of Texas, and finally the anti-gang and border prosecution work that occupied her last years in law.
The second half lasted far longer than the first, and it was the half she built herself. That is the part of her story that the thin news posts ranking today almost entirely miss — and it is the part most worth remembering.
Frequently Asked Questions About Erin Barry
Who was Erin Barry?
Erin Barry, later known as Erin Marie Benavides, was the former wife of ex-NBA player Brent Barry and a Texas attorney. She served as an assistant district attorney in several Texas counties, led the Youth Center of Texas from 2020 to 2022, and later worked in the 38th Judicial District’s Anti-Gang and Border Prosecution Unit.
Was Erin Barry married to Brent Barry?
Yes. Erin Barry was married to former NBA player Brent Barry, who played for the San Antonio Spurs. Brent Barry filed for divorce on 29 October 2010.
Did Erin Barry have an affair with Tony Parker?
Erin Barry publicly denied it. In a statement in November 2010, she said: “I DID NOT HAVE AN AFFAIR WITH TONY PARKER.” Her name had become linked to the break-up of Tony Parker and Eva Longoria’s marriage earlier that year.
What did Erin Barry do after her divorce?
She went to law school, graduating from St. Mary’s University School of Law in June 2013 and becoming licensed to practise law in Texas on 1 November 2013. She worked as an assistant district attorney in Comal, Bexar, Uvalde and Real counties, served as president and CEO of the Youth Center of Texas (2020–2022), and joined the 38th Judicial District’s Anti-Gang and Border Prosecution Unit in January 2023.
How did Erin Barry die?
Erin Barry was found dead at her home in Port Aransas, Texas, on 14 October 2026, aged 54. The Nueces County Medical Examiner ruled the cause a self-inflicted gunshot wound and the manner suicide.
More Profiles to Explore
If you found Erin Barry’s story interesting, you may also enjoy these profiles of other women connected to the world of sport and public life:
- Honey Hollman — the story of Honey Hollman, her life and career.
- Courtenay Chatman — a profile of Courtenay Chatman and her journey.
- Kay Kinsey — the life and career of Kay Kinsey.
Each of these profiles follows the same approach as this one: the full story, told with care and grounded in the facts.
