Eva Mendes

EVA MENDES captured the attention of moviegoers in a small, but pivotal role in the critically acclaimed film Training Day. Since then, she has proved she is adept in both comedic and dramatic roles.

Since arriving on the motion picture scene, she has had the opportunity to work with an esteemed and diverse group of directors and co-stars, earning the reputation as a serious actress who is committed to her craft.

Mendes' performance in Training Day led to the celebrated director Carl Franklin hiring Mendes for the MGM feature Out of Time, once more starring opposite Denzel Washington. In the same year, Mendes appeared in Robert Rodriguez's film Once Upon A Time in Mexico, opposite Johnny Depp. Mendes also starred in the action blockbuster 2 Fast 2 Furious, the comedy feature film, All About the Benjamins opposite Ice Cube, and the Farrelly Brothers comedy, Stuck on You opposite Matt Damon and Greg Kinnear.

Mendes went on to star opposite Will Smith and Kevin James in the Columbia Pictures comedy blockbuster, Hitch, which grossed over $367 million worldwide. She subsequently co-starred in Trust the Man, opposite Julianne Moore, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Billy Crudup, directed by Bart Freundlich and starred opposite Nicolas Cage in Sony Pictures' blockbuster Ghost Rider, based on the Marvel Comic, which broke box office records around the world in its opening weekend and took in well over $200 million worldwide.

Mendes starred in the gritty, critically-acclaimed 2007 drama, We Own the Night, opposite Joaquin Phoenix, Mark Wahlberg and Robert Duvall, as well as the independent feature, LIVE!, which also marked her debut as an executive producer. Her other credits include roles in The Women, for director/writer/producer Diane English, with Meg Ryan, Annette Bening, Debra Messing and Jada Pinkett-Smith; the fantasy thriller, The Spirit opposite Samuel L. Jackson, Gabriel Macht and Scarlett Johanssen; and Werner Herzog's Bad Lieutenant, which reunited her with Nicolas Cage. She appeared in Last Night, opposite Keira Knightley and Sam Worthington.

Since 2008, Mendes has been featured in global campaigns for Calvin Klein fragrances, underwear and jeans. Design and textiles have always been a passion for Mendes, which led to the 2008 launch of her original home décor line, Vida, which includes bedding and a collection of hand-painted dinnerware and serving pieces, Vida for Espana.

Mendes, who is Cuban-American, was born in Miami in 1975 and raised in Los Angeles, where her mother was as an accountant for an aerospace company and her father worked as a meat distributor. She began honed her acting skills with the respected acting coach Ivana Chubbuck and soon thereafter, made her dreams of becoming a working actress a reality.

Columbia Pictures (Sony)