Mendieta was a performance, video artist, sculptor and painter. She was born in Havana, Cuba, and at age 12, fled Fidel Castro’s Cuba with her sister, Raquelin, who was 15. In 1969, Mendieta earned her B.A. from the University of Iowa, in 1971 an M.A. in painting, and in 1972 an M.F.A. in Intermedia.