Early life

Mendes was born in Miami, Florida to Cuban-American 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.^[2] Her father is a car salesman and her mother, Eva, is now an elementary school principal. She had a Catholic upbringing and aspired to be a nun. As a child, Mendes was teased about her "buck teeth".

 

She went toHoover High School in Glendale, California and later attended California State University, Northridge to study Marketing but dropped out after meeting boyfriend Zedrick Threatt, who helped her to seek an acting career. She studied with Ivana Chubbuck.

[edit]Career

Mendes worked her way up through commercials to music videos (including an appearance in Will Smith's video "Miami" and the Pet Shop Boys music video for "Se a vida é (That’s the way life is)" in 1996 and Aerosmith's video "Hole in My Soul" in 1997) to guest roles in soap operas and supporting film roles. She received her first big-screen break when she appeared in the award-winning and critically-acclaimedTraining Day. That performance led to roles in Stuck on You, Once Upon a Time in Mexico, and as the female lead in the comedy Hitchopposite Will Smith. Her role in Once Upon a Time in Mexico also gave her a nomination at the Teen Choice Awards. Mendes costarred inGhost Rider with Nicolas Cage, and most recently she starred alongside Joaquin Phoenix, Mark Wahlberg, and Robert Duvall in the film We Own the Night.

Mendes is a spokesmodel for Revlon. She has also worked in interior design and has written children's books.

Maxim ranked her #7 in its 2007 Hot 100 issue.^[4] Mendes also made her second Maxim cover in the November 2007 issue.^[5]

Mendes, despite resisting offers from Playboy, appeared naked in Flaunt Magazine. Although her breasts weren't exposed, readers did get to see her bare back and buttocks. Mendes said about the shoot, "I actually did a little nude shot. You won't see anything. I was covering myself... but I love Flaunt. I think their artwork is some of the best artwork out there as far as photography is concerned, so I took it off....I felt really comfortable. It was fun. There's something really liberating about it."

Mendes is a spokesmodel for the 2008 Calendar of Campari, inspired in fairy tales, by photographer Marino Parisotto^[6]

In December 2007, Mendes posed nude for the anti-fur campaign of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) alongside the tagline "Fur? I'd rather go naked."

In her interview with PETA, Eva said, "I want people to know that there are options — that killing a poor animal and wearing it isn't cool ... respecting all life forms is cool."

On January 31, 2008, Eva Mendes checked into a rehab facility in Utah to battle a substance abuse problem.