Eva Mendes was raised in Los Angeles of Cuban-American heritage. In college she began acting, studying underneath acting coach Ivana Chubbuck. This led to her desire to appear in feature films. Though taking many smaller roles in movies, she was little known until playing the girlfriend of Denzel Washington's character in Training Day (2001). Since then she has been featured in a wider range of roles, from comedic to dramatic. Eva has co-starred in an independent film, The Wendell Baker Story (2005) with Owen Wilson, Luke Wilson and Will Ferrell, with Luke Wilson directing. Before that, her biggest movie was Hitch, a romantic comedy that had her playing opposite Will Smith.

Along with acting, Eva is employed by Revlon Cosmetics as an international spokeswoman. She joins such elite actresses and models as Julianne Moore, Halle Berry and Cindy Crawford, who appear in Revlon's television and print ads. She is also a passionate supporter and active participant in Revlon's fight against breast cancer. Eva's goals are to improve her acting skills by working with such contemporary directors/filmmakers as Steven Soderbergh, Spike Jonze and Pedro Almodóvar, and learning from such renowned directors as Federico Fellini and Michelangelo Antonioni.

Born March 5, 1974, her primary personality traits are represented by the Chinese Zodiac elemental animal, the Wood Tiger. Passion and creativity are the hallmarks of the Wood Tiger. What a great sign for the performing arts or any career that puts you in front of the public where she can use her creative ability and, or, leadership skills. She is the most mellow of Tigers and therefore not so domineering. She tends to be very popular, especially since she is probably charismatic.