eva mendes

The youngest of four children, eva mendes was born in Houston, Texas on March 5, 1978. Her parents are both Cuban and contributed to an interesting childhood that saw eva mendes move to Miami and then Los Angeles, when she was still a young girl. Despite the glitz and glamour of the Californian coast, eva mendes (or Mendez, as she is sometimes credited) gravitated toward interior design and marketing, not Hollywood.

In fact, eva mendes was majoring in marketing at California State Northridge and was comfortable with the direction her life was taking before fame struck. Her first taste of acting came when she appeared in a feature film to earn some money between university semesters, but opportunity struck when an agent noticed a picture of hers at the house of her photographer neighbor. Obviously, she had a certain je ne sais quoi because the agent convinced eva mendes to stop studying and pursue acting full time.

Her very first experience came in music videos ; you can see her in the videos for "Hole In My Soul" by Aerosmith and "Miami" by Will Smith . She followed these up with a few TV appearances, highlighted by roles in Mortal Kombat: Conquest and ER , both in 1998. She also hit the big screen (albeit, not for too long) with a role in 1998's Children of the Corn V: Fields of Terror .

eva mendes kept at it in the comedy A Night at the Roxbury , and then, after smaller projects, resurfaced in 2000 with a role in Urban Legends: Final Cut . It was there that she began to get labeled as a tough, feisty and sexy vixen; this persona was maintained in the action hit Exit Wounds and especially in her most admired performance, as Denzel Washington 's wife in 2001's Training Day .

Meeting rising expectations head-on, eva mendes took on more responsibility as Mike Epps' girlfriend in 2002's All About the Benjamins and was officially recognized as a beautiful (and talented) Latina actress. By this point, she had cultivated a strong following of (mostly male) fans, who waited with bated breath for her to truly make a name for herself.

This opportunity arrived in 2003. First, she signed on to appear in one of the most anticipated releases of summer 2003: 2 Fast 2 Furious . In the sequel to the supercharged, souped-up car flick of 2001, she has received the most exposure of her short career. eva mendes' star power is bound to increase exponentially thanks to the film's impressive box-office success.

If this wasn't enough, eva mendes had three huge hits in 2003. She bombarded audiences with appearances in Desperado II: Once Upon a Time in Mexico (starring Antonio Banderas and Salma Hayek ), Out of Time (again with Denzel Washington) and the Farrelly brothers ' Stuck On You (starring Matt Damon and Greg Kinnear). She is surely movin' on up, and frankly, we couldn't be happier.

One of the challenges new actors face is how to establish their own niche in Hollywood. The industry is cutthroat and if an actor doesn't find a persona that audiences take to, it is hard to make it in the biz. Therefore, to see eva mendes break through onto the scene without so much as a blip in her career is nothing short of impressive. She has found her "persona" and we love it: she's the sexy Latina who can entice as much with her body as she can with her attitude.

Thanks to this, eva mendes now finds herself among Hollywood's hottest, a moniker she will likely retain if we have anything to say about it. To an untrained eye, her accomplishments may come off as identical to other flavor of the month beauties, but the difference is, eva mendes has put in time before striking it big. She has learned from the best and recognizes that a pretty face can only get her so far -- talent eventually must take over.

Let's face it, though; at the end of the day, eva mendes makes us happy with her looks first and her acting (however improved it may be) second. Kudos to her if this changes, but for now, we'll follow this Cuban-American's career wherever it goes.

Hardened on the streets of Miami and L.A., eva mendes has as much attitude and toughness as she does booty. Unlike fellow big-screen hotties, she is certainly not an innocent woman incapable of standing up for herself. In fact, she is the opposite: a woman in complete control of every aspect of her life. This is a refreshing attitude for a lady still awaiting a true breakthrough performance.

This is not to say that eva mendes has enough 'tude to engrave a permanent scowl on her face. To our delight, she has a lighter side, underscored by a sense of humor and adventure. When all is said and done, she is quite the package.

In terms of acting talent, eva mendes has something special. She got into film comparatively late in her life, yet she has blossomed quite quickly. At first, critics would point to her looks as the reason for this upswing in her career, but with time and experience, she has shown that her skills and training can stand on their own. We don't expect to see her in an Oscar-worthy role anytime soon, but relatively speaking, eva mendes has certainly come a long way.

Though her acting skills may have been rusty at first, eva mendes certainly did not have to work on her looks. Perhaps the only Latina that makes us think twice about removing the Jennifer Lopez wallpaper from our desktops, eva mendes has the ability to astound with her seductive smile, voluptuous body and killer legs. Her bronzed skin tops off the list of incredible assets and makes us long for a night on a Cuban beach alone with this knockout.

After leaving her university studies behind in 1997 to pursue an acting career , eva mendes has done quite well for herself. Her first gigs came in early 1998, with a tiny appearance in an episode of ER and an episode of Mortal Kombat: Conquest , later that same year. She could also be seen on the big screen in the 1998 campy thriller, Children of the Corn V: Fields of Terror .

Although that B movie went straight to video store shelves, audiences may have caught her stint as a bridesmaid in the comedy, A Night at the Roxbury , with Chris Kattan and Will Ferrell. In 2000, eva mendes moved on to bigger things with Urban Legends: Final Cut and the following year's Exit Wounds , starring Steven Seagal and rapper DMX .

It wasn't until her role as Denzel Washington 's woman in Training Day that the name eva mendes became prominent. Though she was only on screen for less than 10 minutes and had few lines, her nude appearance remained one of the most unforgettable scenes in a film that had many. Fans then flocked to see All About the Benjamins , a comedy-action flick in which she portrayed Mike Epps' lady friend -- and a new Hollywood hottie was officially born.

Her popularity has recently compounded with an appearance in one of summer 2003's biggest blockbusters, 2 Fast 2 Furious , with Paul Walker , Tyrese and Ludacris . This role officially positioned eva mendes as one of the most in-demand young women in Hollywood and thus, her future looks very bright.

With large roles in Desperado II: Once Upon a Time in Mexico (with Desperado stars Salma Hayek and Antonio Banderas), Out of Time (which teams her up with Mr. Washington again), and the Farrelly brothers ' comedy Stuck On You , eva mendes is bursting out in more ways than one.

Since she does not need to be all dressed up or full of makeup to attract attention, we can wholeheartedly say that eva mendes is not only a hot Latina, but a naturally flat-out beautiful babe as well.

The beauty mark on eva mendes' left cheek, à la Cindy Crawford , only entices us to peruse her pictures even more. Actually, each inch of her seems worthy of a gold statue, and a woman with only half her beauty would be worthy of our obsession.

With a love of vintage '60s clothing and a body that could be covered in Gortex alone and still look amazing, eva mendes does not need to work hard to look good. She loves to show off her assets and finds original ways to complement her chic dresses by adding cool purses and scarves to the mix. Though we love what she wore in Training Day (essentially nothing), we'll make do with the plunging necklines and tight, tight pants.

A fiercely independent actress who refuses to be pressed into a conventional mode or typecast, eva mendes was studying marketing in the late '90s when an agent stumbled across her photo while perusing eva mendes's neighbor's portfolio. Soon appearing in an Aerosmith video and making her film debut in Children of the Corn V: Fields of Terror, eva mendes worked her way through the gamut of aspiring actors to appear in such high-profile films as Urban Legends: Final Cut and Once Upon a Time in Mexico.

Dropping out of school soon after being randomly discovered by an agent, eva mendes appeared in a few made-for-television productions and hammed it up with Will Ferrell and Chris Kattan in A Night at the Roxbury before being cast in a prominent role in Urban Legends: Final Cut. Working against typecasting despite her teen horror resumé, eva mendes next took roles in Exit Wounds, Training Day, and All About the Benjamins. eva mendes next began work on a children's book titled Crazy Leggs Beshee in which she wanted to introduce art, history, vocabulary, and values to children in a fun and easily comprehendable medium.

In 2003, eva mendes' career took off, with the actress taking on large roles in an ecclectic quartet of high-profile films. In 2 Fast 2 Furious she played a customs agent working with Paul Walker to bring down a Miami drug cartel. Out of Time found her reteaming with Training Day costar Denzel Washington. Flexing her comedic chops, eva mendes was the love interest of half a pair of conjoined twins in the Farrelly brothers' Stuck on You. And in Once Upon a Time in Mexico she played another government agent, this time opposite Johnny Depp.

2004 saw no signs of eva mendes slowing down, with the Cuban-American beauty starring as the ex-girlfriend of Luke Wilson in The Wendell Baker Story, a film Wilson cowrote with brother Owen Wilson and codirected with sibling Andrew Wilson.