What Happened When Eva Mendes Ran Into A Childhood Bully

We bet you can still remember the name of you high-school sweetheart, the color of every Winter Formal dress you ever wore and every word to your favorite throwback song. When we sat down with Eva Mendes, actress, mother of two and creative director of Circa cosmetics, we talked about her favorite beauty products and even took a trip with her down memory lane. “I’m still really close to my best high-school friends.” She made us laugh when she remembered, “we called ourselves DESK—it was an acronym for our names (Debbie, Eva, Shawn and Kharla). It’s so funny to look back now.”

But like every other human who ever went to high school, she admits, “sure, there was a time when I was bullied. I was definitely afraid of some girls in high school. It made me stronger and it taught me to stand up for myself. I actually ran into one of them at the mall a few years ago—she was really sweet. They all grew up to be so nice but I’m still kind of scared to say their name. What if they come after me?” she jokes. “Junior high school was particularly painful but it really prepared me for the world. The things that I didn’t like about myself back then are the things that work for me now in my career.”

That’s a true lesson in acceptance if we’ve ever heard one.