Eva Mendes

Eva Mendes was born on March 5, 1978 in Houston Texas. She is the youngest of four children (2 sisters and 1 brother).

As a young child, her parents moved around a lot and she lived in Miami, Florida and Los Angeles, California. She never saw herself as an actress when she was young and pursued other interests. She was a the average normal kid and attended Herbert Hoover High School in Glendale, California.

Eve Mendes attended California State University, Northridge and majored in marketing. Her debut in acting came because she needed a little extra spending money and appeared as an extra on various films. One day she caught the eye of an agent who convinced her to pursue acting more steadily.

By 1998 She began to appear on music videos for such performers as Aerosmith and Will Smith. She made some appearances on a television in such shows as E.R. and Mortal Kombat: Conquest. Her first real film appearance was as Kir in Children of the Corn V, which went straight to video. She also made her movie debut in 1998’s A Night at the Roxbury.

It was not until 2001 that Eva Mendes received some recognition as an actress. After appearing in such films as Urban Legends: Final Cut and Exit Wounds, she made her mark in the movie Training Day. Her role got the attention of moviegoers for both her acting skill and her sexiness. She was also nominated for the ALMA Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture for this role.

In 2002, she appeared in All About the Benjamins, but it was in 2003 that she got her big break when she appeared as Monica Fuentes in the smash action movie 2 Fast 2 Furious.

The Fast & Furious role has led to roles in more movies, including Out of Time, Stuck on You, Hitch and the Wendell Baker Story. She is also going to be appearing in Trust the Man in 2005 and has begun filming for her role as Roxanne Simpson in the movie adaptation of the comic book Ghost Rider with Nicolas Cage. Is also appears on advertisements for Revlon cosmetics, for whom she is an international spokesperson. Eve Mendes will also be lending her voice as a "Bond Girl" along side Sean Connery in a new James Bond video game entitled "From Russia With Love."