Eva Mendes

Eva Mendes Biography

Eva Mendes was born March 5, 1974, in Miami, Florida. A particularly observant Catholic, Eva was bitten by the acting bug while attending California State University at Northridge. “Acting fell into my lap when a neighbor took pictures of me and showed them to an agent,” she recalls. “Then I found an acting coach and worked my butt off.”

eva mendes debuts in a night at the roxbury

Eva Mendes’ first foray into showbiz came as a featured performer in music videos before she made her big-screen debut in 1998 in the schlocky horror film Children of the Corn V. “I was awful in Children,” she admits. “It was my first movie, and I hadn’t acted since being the fairy godmother in fourth grade. C5, as I call it, was a disaster.” Luckily, Eva Mendes learned from the experience, and she bounced back later that year with a memorable role in A Night at the Roxbury starring opposite Will Ferrell and Chris Kattan. “It was only my second job in the business,” she says, “and seeing them work and have fun made me decide that I could do it too.”