The Hollywood Reporter says that White will make her first appearance on the nighttime serial May 21, which is the program's second-season finale. White's character, according to the industry paper, will be pivotal to next season's story lines. She will have a connection to another new "Housewives" face, Kyle MacLachlan, who will play Orson. Julie White has been seen on Broadway in The Heidi Chronicles and Off-Broadway in The Little Dog Laughed, Dinner with Friends, Spike Heels and The Family of Mann. Her television credits include "Grace Under Fire" and "Six Feet Under," and her film work includes "The Heidi Chronicles," "Flypaper," "What Women Want" and "Say It Isn't So."

"Desperate Housewives" takes a "darkly comedic look at suburbia, where the secret lives of housewives aren't always what they seem." The hour-long dramedy features Marcia Cross, James Denton, Teri Hatcher, Felicity Huffman, Eva Longoria, Nicollette Sheridan, Andrea Bowen, Ricardo Antonio Chavira, Jesse Metcalfe, Mark Moses, Brenda Strong and Cody Kasch. For more information visit www.abc.go.com.

"Desperate Housewives" airs Sundays on ABC-TV Channel 7, from 9-10 PM ET; check local listings.