Biography:

Date of birth: March 5, 1974 Miami, Florida, USA; Birth Name: Eva Mendes; Most frequent partners in DVD/Films: Jon Dough Randy West Joey Silvera;

Born on March 5, 1974 in Miami, FL, 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 up when Mendes was 10 years old. Her mother worked as an accountant to support the family, and was very strict with Mendes and her three elder siblings. Mendes was not even thinking about an acting career when, while attending Cal State Northridge and majoring in marketing, a stroke of luck changed her life forever. Her neighbor - a photographer - took some photographs of her to use in his portfolio and a casting agent noticed the pictures and asked to meet Mendes. The 24-year-old was plucked from obscurity and cast in the straight-to-video release "Children of the Corn V: Field of Terror" (1998). Mendes was determined not to let her career be defined by a cheesy horror flick, so she began taking acting lessons and got serious about success. She landed newcomer acting gigs in commercials and music videos and added a few more feature films to her resume including "Night at the Roxbury" (1998) starring Will Farrell and Chris Kattan, and "Urban Legends: Final Cut" (2000). Mendes finally got a profile boost in the critically acclaimed "Training Day" (2001) starring Denzel Washington, which generated some buzz over the actress' nudity. The same year, she appeared in Steven Seagal's actioner "Exit Wounds" (2001) and earned a bigger supporting role in "All About the Benjamins" (2002), a diamond heist comedy starring Ice Cube and Mike Epps.

Filmography:

× 2013 Clear History (TV Movie) Jennifer × 2012 The Place Beyond the Pines Romina × 2012 Holy Motors Kay M × 2012 Girl in Progress Grace × 2011 Drunk History Christmas (Short) Ma × 2011 Fast Five Monica Fuentes (uncredited) × 2010/I Last Night Laura × 2010 The Other Guys Dr. Sheila Gamble × 2009 The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call - New Orleans Frankie Donnenfield × 2008 The Spirit Sand Saref × 2008/I The Women Crystal Allen × 2007 Cleaner Ann Norcut × 2007 We Own the Night Amada Juarez × 2007 Live! Katy × 2007 Ghost Rider Roxanne Simpson × 2006 Guilty Hearts Gabriella × 2005 Trust the Man Faith Faison × 2005 The Wendell Baker Story Doreen × 2005/I Hitch Sara × 2003 Stuck on You April Mercedes × 2003/I Out of Time Alex Diaz Whitlock × 2003 Once Upon a Time in Mexico Ajedrez × 2003 2 Fast 2 Furious Monica Fuentes × 2002 All About the Benjamins Gina × 2001 Training Day Sara (as Eva Mendez) × 2001 Exit Wounds Trish × 2000 Dustere Legenden 2 - Final Cut Vanessa Valdeon × 2000 The Disciples (TV Movie) Maria Serranco × 1999 My Brother the Pig Matilda (as Eva Mendez) × 1999 V.I.P. - Die Bodyguards (TV Series) Esmeralda - Val the Hard Way (1999) ... Esmeralda (as Eva Mendez) × 1998 Mortal Kombat: Conquest (TV Series) Hanna - Thicker Than Blood (1998) ... Hanna (as Eva Mendez) × 1998 A Night at the Roxbury Bridesmaid (as Eva Mendez) × 1998 Children of the Corn V: Fields of Terror (Video) Kir (as Eva Mendez) × 1998 ER (TV Series) Donna - Exodus (1998) ... Donna (as Eva Mendez)