Eva Mendes was born in Miami, Florida to lower middle class Cuban-American parents and was raised in LA by her mother after her parents' divorce. As a child, Mendes was teased about her buck teeth; she attended Hoover High School in Glendale, California and later attended California State University, Northridge but dropped out to seek an acting career.
Mendes worked her way up through commercials to music videos, including an appearance in Will Smith's video 'Miami' and a Pet Shop Boys music video in 1996. She proceeded through TV soap operas and supporting film roles until she got her first big-screen break when she appeared in the award winning and critically acclaimed Training Day. That performance led to roles in Stuck on You, Once Upon a Time in Mexico, and the female lead in Hitch. She recieved a nomination in the Teen Choice Awards for her role in Once Upon a Time in Mexico and has since then in multiple major movies, including Ghost Rider with Nicholas Cage. Her most recent upcoming film is We Own the Night, set to be released in October 2007.
Eva has been in a long-term relationship with film maker George Gargurevich, living in Hollywood Hills.
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