Born to Brazilian parents, Camila Mendes grew up in Atlanta, but mainly spent her life living in Florida. With avid interest for the world of arts, Mendes attended a Fine Arts program, as well as graduated from New York University Tisch School of the Arts. Starting with an IKEA commercial, the actress managed to land herself the coveted role of Veronica Lodge in The CW’s Riverdale right after, which would help her make a name for herself across the globe.
Despite her growing success, Mendes has faced both racism and sexism in Hollywood. More significantly, she still manages to stay grounded and humble. Recently, she starred in the Netflix hit Do Revengealongside Maya Hawke, which appears to be strengthening her position in the acting world. With that being said, let’s look at Camila Mendes’ six best performances, ranked.
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6 The New Romantic (2018)
Elevation Pictures
Written and directed by Carly Stone, The New Romantic is a Canadian romantic comedy-drama starring Jessica Barden in the lead role. It revolves around a journalism student who gets attention after writing a column about her experience as a sugar baby. Mendes also plays a fellow sugar baby who gets interviewed for the paper column and ends up befriending the lead girl. Although the film received limited release, it was met with positive reviews and praise for its acting performances. It discusses the difference between being a sugar baby and sex work, and how sexual intimacy plays into all of it.
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
5 The Perfect Date (2019)
Netflix
Based on the novel The Stand-In by Steve Bloom, The Perfect Date is a Netflix romantic teen comedy. Directed by Chris Nelson and starring Noah Centineo in the lead role as Brooks, it tells the story of a high school senior, who in need for money for his dream college, decides to sell himself as a ‘plus-one’ boyfriend for whomever needs it. Although he plays a fake boyfriend on some ocasions, he has his eyes set on the snobby Shelby (Mendes), who, after finding out about his job, completely loses interest in him. The film garnered quite the attention from audiences as it was viewed by 48 million households in its first four weeks of release. Despite being labeled as a typical rom-com, what sets it apart from others of the same category is its endearing lead actors who keep the story going.
4 Riverdale (2017 – Present)
The CW
Based on the characters of Archie Comics, although it started as a teenage crime series, Riverdale has turned into a supernatural horror series. The CW TV show is precisely what has helped Mendes to make a name for herself in the acting world, with her leading performance of former it-girl Veronica Lodge. The latest (sixth) season, per Collider, is a far cry from the first season that revolved around a teenager who was mysteriously murdered, which forced other teenagers get involved with the case. Although the show has been somewhat of a joke on social media, with all the unexpected and out-of-context events that happen in it, Veronica has remained audience’s favorite character to this day. She’s sassy, seductive, and her own person. We’ll see what the final seventh season has in store for her.
3 Coyote Lake (2019)
Cranked Up Films
Directed and written by Sara Seligman, Coyote Lake is a psychological thriller starring Mendes, Charlie Weber, and Adriana Barraza in the lead roles. The plot focuses on a woman named Teresa and her daughter Ester, who live outside of society, run a bed-and-breakfast guest house where they drug and kill the visitors. However, when two drug dealers come by to stay at the accommodation, Ester sees a way to finally escape her overbearing mother. It’s a movie that truly allowed Mendes to show her acting skills. It has clean cinematography, great acting even outside of Mendes, and the plot stays intriguing until the end. Ester’s character is completely on the opposite end of the spectrum compared to Veronica in Riverdale, and it provides a space for Mendes to showcase the complexity of her skills as an actor.
2 Do Revenge (2022)
We have to mention Mendes’ most recent project that released on Netflix just this September: Do Revenge. Directed by Jennifer Kaytin Robinson, the movie is a teen black comedy starring Mendes and Maya Hawke in the lead roles as Drea and Eleanor. After getting outcast by their peers, they decide to join forces and go after everyone who has ever done them wrong. What some of you may not know is that the concept was loosely inspired by Hitchcock’s Strangers on a Train. It focuses on the evil side of women, ones that decide to take matters into their own hands and freely express their female rage. Despite all the praise, the movie received some dissatisfied reactions from the audience for completely ignoring the actresses’ chemistry and not making their relationship romantic.
1 Palm Springs (2020)
Hulu / Neon
Directed by Max Barbakow, Palm Springs is a science-fiction romantic comedy starring Andy Samberg, Cristin Milioti, and J. K. Simmons in the lead roles. It’s about strangers who happen to meet at a wedding in Palm Springs, only to get stuck in a time loop. Mendes plays the bride of the wedding and a half-sister of the main character Sarah (Milioti). The movie was highly praises for the cast’s performances, as well as for a great execution of the concept. It heavily focuses on nihilism and the difficulty of finding purpose when your life repeats itself over and over again. It will definitely make you cry, but in a good way.
