9 Films Eva Mendes Starred in Before She Quit Acting

Eva Mendes portrays Monica Fuentes’ role in Fast and Furious’ installments 2 Fast 2 Furious and Fast Five.

In the 2003 film, the character works as a U.S. Customs agent who undercovers as an aide for drug lord Carter Verone (Cole Hauser). She is also the love interest of Paul Walker’s character, Brian O’Conner, an ex-police officer who gets involved in the street-racing scene in Miami.

2 Fast 2 Furious also stars Tyrese Gibson, Ludacris, James Remar and Devon Aoki, to name a few.

The blockbuster film Ghost Rider follows the story of Nicolas Cage’s Johnny Blaze, a motorcycle stuntman who decides to sell his soul to save Roxanne Simpson’s life. He transforms into the Ghost Rider and starts his journey to find sinners.

Mendes plays the role of Cage’s onscreen love interest in the film.

Mendes’ Grace is a single mom in the Patricia Riggen-directed film Girl in Progress. Because of her busy schedule as a parent, she often fails to pay attention to her teenage daughter, who soon gets inspired to become an adult and skip adolescence immediately after reading coming-of-age stories at school.

The 2012 film features Matthew Modine, Cierra Ramirez, Patricia Arquette and Eugenio Derbez as some cast members.

Hitch explores the life of Alex “Hitch” Hitchens (Will Smith), a dating expert and matchmaker who helps men date. But one day, he meets his match, Sara Melas (Mendes), but cannot easily win her heart.

Directed by Andy Tennant, the film also has Kevin James, Amber Valletta, Philip Bosco and Julie Ann Emery in the cast.

One of Mendes’ most successful works, Holy Motors is a surrealist fantasy drama film by Leos Carax that unfolds the journey of a man working as an actor in Paris. While he changes outfits and acts throughout the day, no cameras or audiences can be found around him.

Denis Lavant plays the titular role, while Mendes stars as Kay M. and works alongside Kylie Minogue, Édith Scob, Michel Piccoli, Élise L’Homeau and Jeanne Disson.

Lost River, Mendes’ last film before her retirement, features Christina Hendricks, Saoirse Ronan, Matt Smith, Barbara Steele, Ben Mendelsohn and Iain De Caestecker. It shares the lives of the people living in the Lost River, an eerie and deserted city where a mother needs to do everything to raise her sons despite the crisis around them.

Denzel Washington is a police chief in the Florida Keys who gets involved in a criminal investigation in the thriller film Out of Time. He needs to solve a double homicide case while also facing issues in his career.

Mendes appears as a police officer and the chief’s estranged wife.

Starring Mark Wahlberg and Will Ferrell, The Other Guys sees Mendes play the role of Dr. Sheila Ramos Gamble. Her character’s husband, Detective Allen “Gator” Gamble (Ferrell), works together with Detective Terry Hoitz (Wahlberg) to solve a case in New York City.

The Place Beyond the Pines — where Mendes and her now-partner, Ryan Gosling, met— offers three unique stories with different main characters. The couple stars as a bank robber and his ex-lover, respectively. Things become interesting when he finds out he is the father of her child.

Bradley Cooper also appears in the film alongside Emory Cohen, Rose Byrne, Dane DeHaan and Mahershala Ali, among others.