Eva Mendes (born March 5, 1974) is an American actress. Mendes was born in Miami, Florida, to Cuban parents, and was raised in the Los Angeles suburb of Glendale by her mother after her parents' divorce. Eva has said that her mother "suffered so much to make my life OK" during her early years. She was raised a Roman Catholic and aspired to be a nun. She is also fluent in Spanish. Mendes never saw herself as an actress while she was young and pursued other interests. She attended Hoover High School in Glendale and later attended California State University, Northridge to study marketing, but dropped out after wanting to begin an acting career. Eava began acting in the late 1990s, and after a series of minor roles and performances in several smaller films such as Children of the Corn V: Fields of Terror (1998) and Urban Legends: Final Cut (2000), she broke into the mainstream, appearing in leading roles in Hollywood releases, such as Training Day (2001); All About The Benjamins (2002); 2 Fast 2 Furious, Once Upon a Time in Mexico and Stuck on You (2003); Hitch (2005); Ghost Rider and We Own the Night (both 2007); The Spirit (2008); Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans (2009); The Other Guys and Last Night (both 2010). Along with acting, Mendes is employed by Revlon Cosmetics as an international spokeswoman. She joins such actresses and models as Julianne Moore, Halle Berry and Cindy Crawford. She is also a supporter and active participant in Revlon's campaign to raise funds for breast cancer research. In March 2011, it was announced that Mendes will be a new spokeswoman for Thierry Mugler's Angel fragrance. Maxim ranked Mendes for both appearence on the covers. Also, Mendes appeared nude in an ad for Calvin Klein's Secret Obsession perfume. The ad was banned from airing in the United States. In December 2007, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) used a nude photo of Mendes for their anti-fur campaign alongside the tagline "Fur? I'd rather go naked." Mendes is also a spokesmodel for the 2008 Calendar of Campari, inspired in fairy tales, by photographer Marino Parisotto. Unfortunately in early 2008, Mendes entered a rehabilitation facility in Utah for several weeks for substance abuse problems. Mendes was voted as No. 4 in the 2008 edition, and No. 1 in the 2009 edition, of AskMen.com's Top 99 Most Desirable Women. She was announced as the international face of Australia's 30 Days of Fashion & Beauty event in July 2008. She made guest appearances in that country at the month-long festival in September. In October, she toured various stores in Europe including Harrods to promote Calvin Klein's Seductive Comfort line of lingerie. She has made an appearence in many movies, and her career as it seems will continue with no less success than before.
