Eva Mendes (05.03.74) is an American actress, of Cuban origin.
Childhood: Eva Mendes was born in Miami, Florida. Her parents are Cuban. Mendes was then raised in the LA suburb of Glendale by her mother, after her parents divorced. Mendes' mother stayed home to look after her until Eva went to school, at which point she became an accountant.
Mendes attended Hoover High School and then later, California State University in Northridge, where she studied marketing. However, she dropped out when she decided that she wanted to start an acting career, and studied acting with Ivana Chubbuck. In the past, Chubbuck has also been enlisted to coach Brad Pitt, Jared Leto and Jessica Alba.
Acting Career: Mendes started a career in front of the camera by appearing in music videos, such as Will Smith's 'Miami' and Pet Shop Boys' 'Se a vida é (That's the way life is)' as well as Aerosmith's 'Hole in My Soul'.
Eva Mendes' first film appearance was in the straight-to-video Children of the Corn V: Fields of Terror. Her first proper break came when she was cast to appear in Training Day, alongside Denzel Washington and Ethan Hawke. Her appearance in the film led to her landing roles in Stuck on You with Matt Damon and Greg Kinnear as well as Robert Rodriguez's Once Upon a Time In Mexico, with Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek and Johnny Depp.
Mendes went on to work with Nicolas Cage in Ghost Rider and Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans. Following that, she shared screen time with a strong ensemble cast, including Joaquin Phoenix, Mark Wahlberg and Robert Duvall in We Own the Night. Then, in Frank Miller's 2008 film The Spirit, she worked with Samuel L. Jackson and Scarlett Johansson.
Eva Mendes also joined the ranks of Halle Berry, Cindy Crawford and Julianne Moore when she was asked to act as a spokeswoman for Revlon Cosmetics and supports their campaign to raise awareness about breast cancer. She has also been employed by Thierry Mugler to promote their Angel fragrance. She has also modelled for Calvin Klein - appearing nude for their Secret Obsession ad campaign, which was banned from being aired in the States. She also appeared nude for PETA, in their anti-fur campaign, with the tag-line 'Fur? I'd rather go naked.'
Personal Life: Eva Mendes was in a long-term relationship with the music producer George Augusto between 2002 and 2011. In September 2011, she started dating the actor Ryan Gosling.
Biography by Contactmusic.com
Ryan has defended his girlfriend's comments on Twitter
