A fiercely independent actress who refuses to be pressed into a conventional mode or typecast, Eva Mendez was studying marketing in the late '90s when an agent stumbled across her photo while perusing Mendez's neighbor's portfolio. Soon appearing in an Aerosmith video and making her film debut in Children of the Corn V: Fields of Terror, Mendez worked her way through the gamut of aspiring actors to appear in such high-profile films as Urban Legends: Final Cut and Once Upon a Time in Mexico.

Dropping out of school soon after being randomly discovered by an agent, Mendez appeared in a few made-for-television productions and hammed it up with Will Ferrell and Chris Kattan in A Night at the Roxbury before being cast in a prominent role in Urban Legends: Final Cut. Working against typecasting despite her teen horror resum鬠Mendez next took roles in Exit Wounds, Training Day, and All About the Benjamins (all 2001). Mendez next began work on a children's book titled Crazy Leggs Beshee in which she wanted to introduce art, history, vocabulary, and values to children in a fun and easily comprehendable medium.

--Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide