Mendes was born in Miami, Florida, to Cuban parents, and was raised by her mother in the Los Angeles suburb of Glendale after her parents’ divorce. Mendes was raised a Roman Catholic and at one time even considered becoming a Catholic Nun.
Her mother worked for an aerospace company and her father ran a meat distribution business. She attended Hoover High School in Glendale and later attended California State University, Northridge to study marketing, but left college and studied acting under Ivana Chubbuck.
Mendes began her acting career after a talent manager saw her photo in a friend’s portfolio. Her first film appearance was in the direct-to-video Children of the Corn V: Fields of Terror. Mendes was disappointed in her performance and she hired an acting coach. She then appeared in the films A Night at the Roxbury, Mortal Kombat: Conquest, My Brother the Pig, The Disciples, Urban Legends: Final Cut and Exit Wounds.
In September 2011, she began dating her The Place Beyond the Pines co-star Ryan Gosling. On September 12, 2014, she gave birth to their daughter. Gosling and Mendes named their daughter Esmeralda Amada.
DEGENERES SHOW.
Agencies/Various/Wiki/InternetPhotos/youtube/thecubanhistory.com
The Cuban History, Hollywood.
Arnoldo Varona, Editor.