Eva Mendes is a multi-talented American actress best known for starring in the lead role of box-office smash Hitch alongside Will Smith. Born in Miami to Cuban parents, Mendes was raised in Los Angeles and began her career appearing in music videos for artists such as The Pet Shop Boys and Aerosmith before landing minor roles in Children of the Corn V: Fields of Terror, A Night at the Roxbury and Urban Legends: Final Cut.

Mendes’ big break came after being cast in Antoine Fuqua’s crime thriller Training Day opposite Denzel Washington, a performance that established Mendes as one of Hollywood’s rising stars and an exceptional talent. She soon began to add other high-profile credits to her impressive filmography, including 2 Fast 2 Furious and Once Upon a Time in Mexico, before portraying Will Smith’s love interest in the hugely successful 2005 film Hitch. An achievement for both herself and the movie industry as a whole, the romantic comedy was one of the first of its kind to cast a minority actress in a leading role.

Mendes has famously worked as an international spokesperson for Revlon: as part of this role she was instrumental in raising essential funds for breast cancer research. A style icon with a truly glamorous screen presence, she has appeared on numerous magazine covers, with Cosmopolitan naming Mendes their “Fearless Female of the Year” in 2007.

In addition to her illustrious on-screen career, Mendez has demonstrated abundant musical talent: she recorded a version of The Windmills of Your Mind in 2011, and was invited to contribute vocals to CeeLo Green’s ‘Pimps Don’t Cry’, a song featured in the hit comedy The Other Guys. Mendez is also a talented fashion designer and successful entrepreneur: her custom-designed range of bedlinen and homeware is sold at Macy’s, and she has collaborated with New York & Co on bespoke fashion line Eva by Eva Mendes.