Eva Mendes wore fake glasses to look smart as a teen

Eva Mendes was so desperate to wear glasses as a child, she stared at the sun in an effort to damage her eyesight.

The Hitch actress, who was unveiled as the face of Vogue eyewear earlier this month (Mar13), started needing prescription spectacles two years ago, and admits she's harbored a life-long desire to wear glasses in a bid to look smart.

She tells the Associated Press, "I started to need reading glasses two years ago but the funny thing is I used to want glasses so badly when I was little that I actually used to stare at the sun to damage my sight...

"I was obsessed with looking smart. I also went through a stage in junior high where I would wear non-prescription reading glasses and then I got caught out one day so I stopped that because I felt like a phoney. So as of two years ago I just started needing them. I love them. Wearing glasses adds and instant quirk and elegance."