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Eva Mendes (born March 5, 1974) is an
American actress. She began acting in the late 1990s,
and became known after a series of roles in several
major Hollywood films, including 2 Fast 2 Furious,
Hitch, and her most recent film, Ghost Rider.
Biography Early life: Mendes was born in Miami,
Florida (although many sources incorrectly state her
birthplace is Houston, Texas) to
"lower-middle-class" Cuban parents and was
raised in Los Angeles by her mother after her parents'
divorce; Mendes has said that her mother "suffered
so much to make my life OK" during her early years.
Her father is a car salesman and her mother, Eva, is an
elementary school principal.
As a child, Mendes was teased about her
"buck teeth." She went to Hoover High School
in Glendale, California and later attended California
State University, Northridge but dropped out to seek an
acting career. She studied with Ivana Chubbuck. Mendes
has a sister, Janet, who currently lives in Los Angeles.
Career: Mendes worked her way up through
commercials to music videos (including an appearance in
Will Smith's video "Miami") to guest roles in
television soap operas and supporting film roles. She
received her first big-screen break when she appeared in
the award-winning and critically-acclaimed Training Day.
That performance led to roles in Stuck
on You, Once Upon a Time in Mexico, and as the female
lead in the comedy Hitch opposite Will Smith. Her role
in Once Upon a Time in Mexico also gave her a nomination
at the Teen Choice Awards. She has two major movie
projects pending, including Ghost Rider, in which she
costars along with Nicolas Cage.
Young, talented and beautiful, Latino actress Eva Mendes
rose to stardom on sheer luck and timing. Just five
years prior to her starring role in “2 Fast 2
Furious” (2003), the sequel to the unexpected hit,
“The Fast and the Furious” (2001), Mendes wasn’t
even thinking about an acting career, much less actively
pursuing one. But fortune shined it’s light on the
energetic actress, and with her passion and zest for
life, seized the moment and never looked back.
Born on March 5, 1978 in Miami, Mendes moved to Los
Angeles with her family when she was two years old. Of
Cuban descent, her parents fled the island in 1959
before the revolution, but ultimately split when Mendes
was ten. Her mother worked as an accountant to support
the family, and was very strict on Mendes and her three
elder siblings. Mendes later attended Cal State
Northridge where she majored in marketing, though she
wasn’t terribly interested in the subject.
Then a stroke of dumb luck changed her life forever: her
neighbor—a photographer—took a photographs of her at
a garage sale. When the photographer was applying for a
job, a casting agent noticed the pictures of Mendes and
asked to meet her. Mendes was called into their office
and was soon cast in her first movie, the
straight-to-video release “Children of the Corn V:
Field of Terror” (1998). The experience wasn’t a
good one for Mendes: her performance was, according to
her, “horrific.”
Determined not to let her career be defined by a cheesy
horror flick, Mendes joined a few acting classes and
spent the next few years in serious study of her craft.
Along the way, she landed a few roles in commercials and
music videos, including Will Smith’s “Miami” and
Aerosmith’s “Hole in My Soul.” Mendes also
continued to appear in less awful movies, including
“Night at the Roxbury” (1998), starring SNL regulars
Will Farrell and Chris Kattan, and “Urban Legends:
Final Cut” (2000), with Jennifer Morrison and Matthew
Davis.
Her break-out role, however, was in the critically
acclaimed “Training Day” (2001), starring Oscar
winner Denzel Washington. Though her role as
Washington’s girlfriend was small, it was memorable;
in a film revealing the acting chops of its lead actors,
Mendes revealed something a bit different: her entire
body. Mendes went on to appear in Steven Seagal’s
comeback actioner, “Exit Wounds” (2001), co-staring
rap star DMX. She also had a supporting role in “All
About the Benjamins” (2002), a diamond heist comedy
starring Ice Cube and Mike Epps. Then came her star turn
in “2 Fast 2 Furious”, co-starring Paul Walker and
Tyrese.
Mendes played a U.S. Customs agent who recruits Walker
and Tyrese to ensnare a drug kingpin. Her flare for
action led Paul Rodriguez to cast her in the third
installment of his Mariachi trilogy, “Once Upon a Time
in Mexico” (2003), in which she played a duplicitous
Mexican Federale to Johnny Depp’s rogue CIA agent.
Then the actress reunited with Washington for director
carl Franklin’s thriller “Out of Time” (2003),
playing the estranged wife of Washington’s Florida
chief of police whose life falls apart when he becomes
embroiled in a murder investigation.
To top off her career, Mendes became a
spokesmodel for Revlon. As she became more a presence in
the pop culture, her on-screen profile rose as well with
her winning starring role as Will Smith's love interest,
a gossip reporter unknowingly falling for a relationship
consultant she's also pursuing a story about, in the
romantic comedy "Hitch" (2005).
Mendes is a spokesmodel for Revlon. She has also worked
in interior design and has written children's books.
Maxim ranked her #27 in their 2006 Hot 100 issue.
Personal life: Mendes has been in a long-term
relationship with filmmaker George Gargurevich. She
lives in the Hollywood Hills. When not on the set she
loves music, hiking, biking, skiing, mountain climbing
and interior design. Her favorite movies are The Shining
(1980) and Blowup (1966). |
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