Mendes was born in Miami, Florida (although many sources incorrectly state her birthplace is Houston, Texas) to “lower-middle-class” Cuban parents and was raised in Los Angeles by her mother after her parents’ divorce; Mendes has said that her mother “suffered so much to make my life OK” during her early years. Her father is a car salesman and her mother, Eva, is an elementary school principal. As a child, Mendes was teased about her “buck teeth”. She went to Hoover High School in Glendale, California and later attended California State University, Northridge but dropped out to seek an acting career. She studied with Ivana Chubbuck.