At the height of the Cold War, Jonna Mendez was chief of the CIA’s Disguise Division, a branch of the agency responsible for equipping secret agents operating overseas.
By 1991, the department was developing remarkably realistic latex masks, and Mendez was eager to deploy his sophisticated new spy technology where it was needed most: the Soviet Union. Russia.
But first, Mendez had to prove that his deceptions would work under the most perilous conditions.
So she organized the ultimate test.
Could she be cheating White House security and the President of the United States himself?
Excerpt from “In True Face: A Woman’s Life in the CIA, Unmasked”
By 1989, our fully animated ethnic and gender shift mask was ready for parade.
I put on a man’s costume and donned the mask of a black man, adding matching skin-tight latex gloves, painted precisely the same skin color, including the veins.
Exercises like this, if successful, provided proof of concept.
Could I convincingly change my gender? And skin color? Can I change both at the same time?
I had previously disguised a Caucasian field officer as an African student during a live operation, but this was new mask technology, and we were always testing new scenarios and pushing the proverbial limits further than that. ‘previously.
Once I was fully disguised, someone accompanied me to the office of Frank Anderson, our office manager. I was introduced as a new entrepreneur. Nodding, I walked towards his office but said nothing, aware that I didn’t look like a man.
Reaching out my hand, I shook his, which I knew would be the moment of my revelation. As soon as he felt the latex on my right hand, I removed the mask with my left. His eyes lit up as I transformed into myself.
He loved it and insisted we model it for CIA Director Judge William Webster.
A week later, as we entered Webster’s offices on the 7th floor of CIA headquarters, I was more than a little nervous.
Anderson had always supported our costume program, but I had not yet met Judge Webster, former director of the FBI.
A tall, broad-shouldered executive, Anderson entered first, followed by a 5’7′ black man wearing a suit and tie.
![Jonna Mendez met with President HW Bush in the Oval Office, wearing one of the fancy dress department's most sophisticated masks.](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/02/29/15/81836847-13136783-image-a-23_1709219210309.jpg)
Jonna Mendez met with President HW Bush in the Oval Office, wearing one of the fancy dress department’s most sophisticated masks.
![After Jonna removed the mask, the president's eyes were almost sparkling as he asked questions.](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/02/29/13/81836849-13136783-When_Jonna_told_the_president_she_was_already_wearing_the_disgui-a-7_1709212585264.jpg)
After Jonna removed the mask, the president’s eyes were almost sparkling as he asked questions.
![The 'Becky' mask that fooled the president – and White House security](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/02/29/13/81836843-13136783-The_Becky_mask_that_fooled_the_President_and_White_House_securit-a-8_1709212585325.jpg)
The ‘Becky’ mask that fooled the president – and White House security
“Sir,” said Frank, “I would like to introduce to you…”
His voice trailed off as, wearing the latex gloves again, I reached out my hand.
As soon as I removed the full face mask, Judge Webster’s face lit up like that of an enthusiastic little boy.
Amazed by the mask’s ability to change ethnicity and gender, he and Frank decided we needed to show this new ability to President George HW Bush.
I hesitated before speaking, but I had to.
“I don’t think I could wear that to the White House,” I said. “Even though it’s realistic and well animated, I can’t walk or talk like a black man. The Secret Service will examine me, ask me a question, and it will all be over.
Anderson and Judge Webster recognized my point of view. We would present a female mask to the President, we decided.
Quickly dismissed from their meeting, I returned to my office and the disguise labs with instructions to prepare another mask. But it wouldn’t be just any mask. This would have to be the best mask we’ve ever made.
Our first task was to choose a face. In the creation of each mask, the sculptor played an essential role. We specified gender, ethnicity, age range, sometimes even a specific identity, but ultimately it was the hands of the sculptor that shaped the final product.
At that time, one of our top sculptors, a young Latina named Becky, was preparing to move to California.
As a parting gift and as an inside joke, she decided to give me her face. She knew her face dimensions would easily fit mine, and it was a perfect solution. Younger! Prettier! No woman in her right mind would refuse that.
We were officially in a race against time and a lot depended on my meeting with the president. To get this new mask into production and into the hands of field workers, we needed additional funds. Obtaining support from the White House was essential and the meeting date was fast approaching.
Five days later, I was in our lab at Langley putting the finishing touches on “Becky.”
![Jonna Mendez dancing aboard the SS United States as she sailed to New York](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/03/03/15/81981779-13136783-Jonna_Mendez_dancing_on_board_the_S_S_United_States_while_sailin-m-3_1709480539209.jpg)
Jonna Mendez dancing aboard the SS United States as she sailed to New York
![Jonna worked in a photo lab in Europe early in her CIA career](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/02/29/13/81845819-13136783-Jonna_working_in_a_photo_lab_in_Europe_early_in_her_CIA_career-a-2_1709212585028.jpg)
Jonna worked in a photo lab in Europe early in her CIA career
![Jonna Mendez was once the CIA's master of disguise, helping agents conceal their identities and blend in on dangerous foreign spy missions.](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/02/29/13/81836865-13136783-Jonna_Mendez_was_once_the_CIA_s_Master_of_disguises_helping_agen-a-3_1709212585029.jpg)
Jonna Mendez was once the CIA’s master of disguise, helping agents conceal their identities and blend in on dangerous foreign spy missions.
The mask was a masterpiece.
Our meeting with the President went well!
Two days later, I entered the White House, passing through security behind Judge Webster. However, we got stuck waiting in the president’s field office. His previous meeting had lasted a long time.
I tried to disappear into the woodwork, overcome by the usual paranoia I felt when wearing a new mask in public for the first time.
It was a fairly high-end launch of a mask we’d never field-tested, and I nervously chewed on the end of a pencil while pretending to study my notes. The delay seemed to extend indefinitely. I was afraid that even if the mask didn’t betray me, my nerves would.
Trust is everything, I reminded myself, eagerly awaiting the big moment.
When we were finally called into the Oval Office, we walked inside, where chairs were arranged in a horseshoe shape in front of the President’s desk.
Knowing that I would be the first to speak, Judge Webster asked me to sit in the rightmost chair. As soon as we sat down, we got straight down to business.
Webster introduced me by name and explained that I was here to show the president some of the agency’s new disguise capabilities. I pulled out the folder I had brought, which contained photos of the president himself in disguise, from his days as director of the CIA.
After explaining that our disguise skills had improved immensely since his time at the agency, I began listing all the ways we could use them to escape the KGB.
We could disguise an officer convincingly, or even create an officer clone – a twin! We could change an officer’s ethnicity or gender or “borrow” another person’s identity if necessary.
This technology would change the way we fought against KGB harassment on the streets of Moscow.
As I spoke, I noticed the President looking at the area at my feet, probably looking for a bag containing our new disguises. When I told him I was wearing it, I reached up to start taking it off.
Before I touched my mask, he stood up from his chair. ‘Wait. Just a minute, don’t take it off yet, he said as he walked around me, scanning my face and neck.
At this point he knew I was wearing something wrong. A fake nose? A prosthesis ?
He tilted his head, probably searching for the seams of what I was wearing. When he seemed satisfied, I reached up again and removed the mask.
![Jonna Mendez, CIA chief of disguise (right) with two friends in Amsterdam](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/03/03/15/81981783-13136783-image-a-4_1709480565548.jpg)
Jonna Mendez, CIA chief of disguise (right) with two friends in Amsterdam
![Jonna Mendez and her husband after their wedding in Switzerland](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/03/03/15/81981781-13136783-image-a-5_1709480592033.jpg)
Jonna Mendez and her husband after their wedding in Switzerland
![Some of Jonna's Disguise Department Stuff from the Late Cold War](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/02/28/19/81836831-13136783-image-a-5_1709148011747.jpg)
Some of Jonna’s Disguise Department Stuff from the Late Cold War
Suddenly charismatic and intensely curious, his eyes almost sparkled when he asked questions.
As the president gave me his attention, Dan Quayle tiptoed into the meeting, clearly not amused at having missed the moment of my big reveal.
But as my exchange with the president drew to a close, it seemed clear that we would get the support of the men in this room to deploy our new mask.
Once back at the field office, I was approached by the White House photographer who was present at the meeting to take photos.
“Excuse me,” she said, “what did you do in there?” »
“I thought you were taking a picture of it,” I replied.
“Well, I did, but what was it?”
“I can’t talk about it,” I said after a brief pause. “It’s classified.”
I never sought copies of these photos and only received them ten years later.
When I did, the package included a photo of me wearing the mask and one of me talking while holding it in front of me…except the mask is airbrushed in the second photo.
This is the one I have hanging in my office.
It seems like I’m lecturing the president with my hand in the air, and when friends look at him and ask me what I’m saying, I always respond the same way: “I can’t talk about it, it’s is classified.’
Excerpt from In True Face: A woman’s life in the CIA, Unmasked by Jonna Mendez with Wyndham Wood. Copyright © 2024. Available from PublicAffairs, an imprint of Hachette Book Group, Inc.