25-03-2025
Eva Mendes Honors Her Brother Nearly 9 Years After His Death
Originally appeared on E! Online
is paying tribute to her late brother, Juan Carlos Mendes.
The Hitch actress shared insight into how she's carried her older brother's legacy with her in the years since he died after a battle with cancer in 2016 at age 53. And part of that is honoring his special day.
"My brother would've had a birthday this April 2," she wrote on Instagram March 24. "He passed almost 9 years ago."
Eva, 51, who shares daughters Esmeralda, 10, and Amada, 8, with Ryan Gosling, 44, added, "Then, less than 2 weeks later I gave birth to our second baby."
Along with a series of photos, the first a selfie of her standing outside in nature, holding a heart-shaped rock to her chest, and the last a heart-shaped hole in a tree, she wrote, "When his birthday nears, I start to look for signs that could be him. Of course, this can all be in my head, but I rather not believe that. It's not as beautiful."
The Place Beyond the Pines star continued, "So, here I am, starting to see hearts everywhere and feeling him a little extra right now. More to come, I'm sure."
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Shortly after Carlos' death, Eva detailed the struggle of coping with losing her brother just 12 days before welcoming her and Ryan's new baby.
"We had a funeral service for him and that same week I had the baby," she told Latina in 2016. "It was really, really intense and obviously beyond heartbreaking, but also kind of beautiful."
At the time, she shared that she had not had much time to grieve. "My older little girl is not yet 2 years old," the Ghost Rider actress explained. "My little one is still an infant, and right now it's really about surviving those nights and trying to enjoy this time as much as possible with them."
However, her family carried her through the tough times.
"Losing my brother brought our family closer, and we were already close to begin with," she said. "So to just see everybody be there for one another and show up, I feel so lucky to have them."
Months later, Ryan shared rare insight into the family's heartbreak, when he picked up the Best Actor in a Comedy or Musical award at the 2017 Golden Globes, recounting from the stage that while he filmed La La Land, 'my lady was raising our daughter, pregnant with our second, and trying to help her brother fight his battle with cancer.'
And after thanking her, and their little girls, he made sure to pay tribute to his late brother-in-law.
'If I may,' he added, 'I'd like to dedicate this to the memory of her brother, Juan Carlos Mendes.'
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