Eva Mendes Biography / Pictures

Eva Mendes (born March 5, 1974) is an American actress.

Biography

Eva was born in Miami, Florida (although many sources incorrectly state her birthplace is Houston, Texas) and was raised in Los Angeles.

Eva Mendes attended California State University, Northridge but dropped out to seek a career acting. She worked her way up through commercials to music videos to guest roles in TV series to supporting film roles. While she has not had any lead roles, she has received attention in the supporting roles she has played. Mendes has worked in interior design and written children's books.

Dropping out of school soon after being randomly discovered by an agent, Eva appeared in a few made-for-television productions and hammed it up with Will Ferrell and Chris Kattan in A Night at the Roxbury before being cast in a prominent role in Urban Legends: Final Cut. Working against typecasting despite her teen horror resumé, Eva next took roles in Exit Wounds, Training Day, and All About the Benjamins. Mendes next began work on a children's book titled Crazy Leggs Beshee in which she wanted to introduce art, history, vocabulary, and values to children in a fun and easily comprehendable medium.

In 2003, Eva's career took off, with the actress taking on large roles in an ecclectic quartet of high-profile films. In 2 Fast 2 Furious she played a customs agent working with Paul Walker to bring down a Miami drug cartel. Out of Time found her reteaming with Training Day costar Denzel Washington. Flexing her comedic chops, Mendes was the love interest of half a pair of conjoined twins in the Farrelly brothers' Stuck on You. And in Once Upon a Time in Mexico she played another government agent, this time opposite Johnny Depp.

The year 2004 saw no signs of Eva slowing down, with the Cuban-American beauty starring as the ex-girlfriend of Luke Wilson in The Wendell Baker Story, a film Wilson co-wrote with brother Owen Wilson and co-directed with sibling Andrew Wilson. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Filmography for Eva Mendes

• Children of the Corn V: Fields of Terror (1998)
• A Night at the Roxbury (1998)
• My Brother the Pig (1999)
• Urban Legends: Final Cut (2000)
• Exit Wounds (2001)
• Training Day (2001)
• All About the Benjamins (2002)
• 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003)
• Once Upon a Time in Mexico (2003)
• Out of Time (2003)
• Stuck On You (2003)
• Hitch (2005)
• The Wendell Baker Story (2005)