Eva Mendes

Adding spice and sizzle to every silver screen on which she appears, Eva Mendes is on the fast track to becoming one of Hollywood's most prized leading ladies. Having all ready appeared and worked with some of the big wigs in the biz, Mendes has an impressive resume and some great references.

Eva Mendes

Although she was born in Miami, Florida as a Cuban-American, Mendes was raised in Los Angeles, California as the youngest of four children. Her two older sisters and older brother used to call her "Bugs" because of her overbite, which she considers being the "hugest," and in Jr. High the mole on her left cheek was the source of much teasing from her classmates. Over the years, though, Mendes grew to love these little "beauty marks" and evidence of both can still be seen on her face today.

Mendes attended Herbert Hoover High School in Glendale, C.A., which also boasts the alumni of actors John Cho and Alex Kalognomos. After graduation, she moved her studies to California State University where Mendes majored in marketing, but it was here that she met renowned acting coach, Ivana Chubbuck, and her interest in acting became a top priority. The 5'6 actress dropped out of college to pursue her career in film, which has proved to have been a good move on her part.

Mendes at the Madrid premiere of Ghost Rider.

Mendes made her screen debut in 1998, appearing in several television programs including one episode of ER, and was cast as a bridesmaid in A Night at the Roxbury. However, it wasn't until 2001 that Mendes really made her mark on the silver screen when she played the part of Denzel Washington's girlfriend in the crime thriller, Training Day, and garnered the attention of director Carl Franklin who cast her as Washington's girlfriend again in 2003's Out of Time.

A good year for this sexy female celebrity, 2003 yielded Mendes three other major film credits including an appearance in Once Upon a Time in Mexico, a prime role opposite Greg Kinnear and Matt Damon in Stuck on You, and the part of "Monica Fuentes" in 2 Fast 2 Furious. In these roles, Mendes demonstrates that she is a flexible actress, able to switch from drama to action to comedy in the blink of an eye to capture and delight audiences.

Mendes is also an international spokeswoman for Revlon Cosmetics. Along with celebrities like Halle Berry and Cindy Crawford, she models for print ads and appears in commercials for Revlon, and she is also very active in Revlon's campaigns fighting breast cancer. As far as acting is concerned, Mendes' goals are to work with and learn from filmmakers Spike Jonze and Steven Soderbergh, to name a few, to improve in her craft.

Although she did not win any of the seven awards she has been nominated for during her career to date, Mendes holds the honor of being recognized by the American Latino Media Arts (ALMA) Awards and by the Teen Choice Awards three times each. Her role in 2005's Hitch has given her the most award attention, but she has also received nods for her roles in 2005's Trust the Man and 2001's Training Day.

• Provided the speaking voice in Will Smith's song, "Miami"
• Would pursue interior design if acting were not her profession
• Is bilingual and able to speak fluent Spanish
• Was inspired by her young nieces and nephews to write a children's book called Crazy Leggs Beshee
• Lists The Shining as one of her favorite movies
• Her first car was a 1966 Mustang
• Says her best feature is her big hips

Slap some sunglasses on this girl because Mendes' future in Hollywood is brighter than ever. With the looks, the talent and that "girl next door" personality, she is sure to continue to draw the crowds and make them smile. Mendes is here to stay and you'll be seeing her face in films for quite a long time.

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