Eva Mendes was born on March 5, 1974 in Miami. Her parents came from Cuba. The girl, raised in the Catholic faith, even planned to go to a convent for some time. After graduating from high school, she studied marketing, but left university to pursue an acting career. Initially, she appeared in B movies. She made her debut in “Children of the Corn V: Fields of Terror” in 1998.
In 2001, Mendes starred alongside Steven Seagal in “Dark Quarter.” When the actress watched the finished film, it turned out that someone else had voiced her character. She heard from the producer that… “she didn’t sound intelligent enough.” In the same year, she appeared in the second set of the sensational “Training Day” with Denzel Washington and Ethan Hawke. The film turned out to be important for the three actors. Washington received an Oscar for it, Hawke received a nomination, and for Mendes it was the first serious role in her career.
After appearing in “Training Day”, Mendes received a number of further offers. In 2003, she appeared in four films. Among them was the continuation of “Fast and Furious” – “Too Fast and Furious”. There, she played the role of a government agent who helps Brian O’Conner (Paul Walker) in the fight against an Argentine drug lord.
In 2007, Mendes appeared in the comic book “Ghost Rider” – as the love interest of Nicolas Cage’s Johnny Blaze – a stuntman by day and a motorcyclist with a flaming skull instead of a head by night, who fights the forces of darkness. The second collaboration between the two actors, “Bad Lieutenant” from 2009, was better received. Cage played an addicted lawman, and Mendes played his girlfriend.
As her career developed, Mendes became more and more willing to engage in artistic projects. In 2012, she appeared in a small role in the famous “Holy Motors” by Leos Caraks. She also played in “The Other Face” by Darek Cianfrance. On the set of the latter film, she met Ryan Gosling, whom she soon started dating. In 2014, their first daughter – Esmeralda was born, and two years later the second – Amada.
“The Other Face” turned out to be Mendes’ last appearance in a leading role. Since then, she has only appeared in one film. She appeared in an episode in “Lost River” (2014), Godling’s directorial debut. She then devoted herself to raising children. Professionally, she works in the fashion industry – she supervises her clothing line for New York & Company.
“I have the opportunity not to work professionally and I am aware of what a great privilege it is,” she admitted in an interview with the Australian daily “The Sydney Morning Herald”. Together with the Canadian, nominated for an Oscar this year for his role in “Barbie”, they remain one of the most mysterious couples in Hollywood. In recent years, Mendes has focused one hundred percent on her family life.
“I admire those women who can combine being a full-time mother with professional life. I didn’t manage to do it. And since I could afford to take a break from work, I did it,” she added, not hiding that raising daughters is like… hotel management.
“I know it’s quite a surreal description, but there are days when I feel like that. The guests are overbearing, the service is supposed to be lightning fast, and at the end of the day there is a conversation about what went well that day and what still needs to be worked on. work,” the star colorfully described her everyday life.
For years, the American with Cuban roots was considered one of the most beautiful Hollywood stars. And although she is now aware of her attractiveness, it wasn’t always like that. In her youth, Eva Mendes had huge complexes about her appearance.
“I came across this photo from one of my films from almost 20 years ago. I remember that when I saw it back then I thought that my face looked weird and that I had a strange bone structure. You know all those complexes that a 26-year-old girl can have “Now, 20 years later, I wish I had that weird face and weird bone structure that I hated,” Mendes wrote on social media some time ago.
And she added that young women reading her story should stop worrying too much about their appearance, because over time they will miss it – just like she did. “If you hate your photos, wait 20 years – I guarantee you will love them then,” the actress noted.