Biography
Her supporting role as Denzel Washington's girlfriend-on-the-side in "Training Day" (2001) put Mendes on the map and she continued to woo male fans with action offerings like "2 Fast 2 Furious" (2003) and "Once Upon a Time in Mexico" (2003). Mendes' pop culture presence rapidly grew out of proportion to her actual on-screen time and she became a favorite fashion model, Revlon spokeswoman, and a boon to the animal rights cause PETA when she …
Career Milestones
2012 | Starred as a single mom in comedy-drama "Girl in Progress" |
2011 | Made writing and directorial debut with the short film "California Romanza" |
2010 | Cast opposite Mark Wahlberg and Will Ferrell in the action comedy "The Other Guys" |
2009 | Co-starred with Nicolas Cage in Werner Herzog's "Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans" |
2008 | Played Sand Saref and childhood friend of the title character in Frank Miller's adaptation of "The Spirit" |
2008 | Featured in Diane English's female ensemble "The Women," a remake of the 1936 play by Clare Boothe Luce |
2007 | Appeared with Joaquin Phoenix and Robert Duvall in "We Own the Night" |
2007 | Co-starred with brothers Luke and Owen Wilson in "The Wendell Baker Story"; co-directed by Luke and Andrew Wilson |
2006 | Cast opposite Billy Crudup in Bart Freundlich's "Trust the Man" |
2006 | Appeared in Lee Daniels' indie film "Shadowboxer" |
2005 | Cast as the object of Will Smith's affection in the comedy "Hitch" |
2003 | Co-starred with Matt Damon and Greg Kinnear in the Farrelly Brothers comedy "Stuck on You" |
2003 | Appeared in Robert Rodriguez's "Once Upon a Time in Mexico," the final film in the "Mariachi Trilogy" |
2003 | Reunited with Denzel Washington for the feature "Out of Time" |
2003 | Cast as the female lead in John Singleton's "2 Fast 2 Furious" |
2001 | Breakout role as Denzel Washington's girl on the side in "Training Day" |
2001 | Cast alongside Steven Seagal and DMX in "Exit Wounds" |
2000 | Cast as Vanessa in the sequel "Urban Legends: Final Cut" |
1998 | First screen credit, "A Night at the Roxbury" |
1980 | Relocated to Los Angeles (Echo Park), CA after her parents' divorce |