Eva Mendes used to get pap’d all the time and she used to be gossiped about quite regularly. She invited all of that, part of the tradeoff of “becoming a bigger star” and all of that. It never quite translated to consistent work in films, but she still made a name for herself and had enough of a celebrity brand to make serious money as a model and through fashion collaborations. Then she met Ryan Gosling and everything changed! She gave birth to two girls, Esmeralda and Amada, aged 6 and 4. Eva hasn’t worked in a film in years, but she still has some revenue streams here and there, and she uses her name to promote charities too. Which is why she chatted with the Sydney Morning Herald – she’s promoting her ambassadorship of Ronald McDonald House Charities. She spoke about her kids, and wanting to maybe get back to acting work.
Lockdown life in LA with two kids: “Sometimes it feels like we are running some kind of bed-and-breakfast with very drunk and aggressive guests. We really do feel like we are working in a hotel, and the guests are angry and bossy and demand food brought to them. And by the time they go to sleep, we’re left to just clean up and talk about how they’ve treated us that day! When we feel like we’re just ‘in it’, like all parents do during these times, we remind ourselves that these are the good times, because we’re all together and we’re all safe right now.”
Her Cuban family: “I was definitely the baby of the family, and there was Cuban food and music and loud singing and yelling around the house all the time growing up. One of my earliest memories, around age 11, was having a girlfriend call me. She could hear my family in the background and said, ‘Oh, I’ll call you back later, it sounds like you guys are fighting.’ I said, ‘No, we’re not fighting, we’re having dinner!’ ”
Her brother passed away when she was pregnant with Amada: “It was surreal, but my brother didn’t really want to talk about it, so I respected that and gave him other stuff to talk about, like seeing my pregnant belly and playing with his niece.”
On returning to the screen at some point: “I feel like, as far as my ambition, it didn’t go away, it just shifted onto the children. I applaud and look up to those women who can do it all, but I’m not one of them – and, thankfully, I have a choice not to work and I realise how fortunate I am that it’s even a choice. I’ve been so happy to be able to incubate with my babies, but now they are four and six, I’m starting to feel like my ambition is coming back.”
I’ve always felt – rightly or wrongly – that it was so easy for Eva to kind of slip away from Hollywood because she was never that in-demand anyway, and the scripts had already begun to dry up when she got pregnant with Esmeralda. And honestly, I think that’s why Eva and Ryan worked for so many years too – she stays home with the kids or travels (with the kids) to where he’s working. Everything is built around his career. It’s just a regular old stay-at-home mom thing. And she’s right, it is a choice and she is lucky she can walk away from her career for seven years to be a mom.
Photos courtesy of Backgrid, Getty.
Nothing wrong with that. Many women take time off when their kids are little and return to the workforce when they are school age. I’m a big believer freedom of choice. As long as the child is healthy, happy and safe – it doesn’t matter how you do it.
I have a SAHM friend and she is constantly trying to convince me to stay at home which i find irritating. I’m not telling her she should get a job so I don’t know why she keeps doing that.
Maybe she is trying to validate her own personal choice?
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Checked his IMDB – looks like Mr. Mendes has been spending some time at home, too. His last movie was First Man in 2018. It’s nice that they can all spend time together.
Sounds like it has worked well for her and their family.
I can’t say I was ever really a fan of her acting, I’ve only seen her in a few things, but I hope if she wants to come back to it, she can find roles.
So she’s not a Kate Middleton, lol.
I was confused on that part about her brother died but he didn’t want to talk about it. I guess he had an extended illness? I feel like her, some women(and men) seem super human to me, being a single parent of multiple kids and working full time to support them? I couldn’t do it alone, I would have a mental break down at some point, one must know their limits. I waited and had one child after I had enough money so I wouldn’t need to work even with that I needed breaks sometimes. It takes a village as they say, I can’t imagine how hard it must be these days for parents with with toddlers and kids in general being on lockdown especially if they live in the city or crowded areas. Must be so hard for so many these days, my heart breaks for all who are having a hard time.
I really admire the fact that her and Ryan Gosling clearly put so much into spending time with their kids and putting that family time ahead of their careers. I know it’s not for everyone, I just think it’s cool that they made that choice.
There’s something a bit weird about him to me, and I don’t find him attractive at all. But she seems happy and I think that’s nice.
All I think when i see her lately is that she is messing a lot with her face… She was a bad actress (i remember laughing watching the film Women) but she was a liitle bit better in funny roles like Hitch
Agreed. Too much of everything. She’s starting to look like Raquel Welch. I don’t want to offend anyone, but all these celebrity face mess-ups has just convinced me not to ever touch my face. I’d rather look old and natural, and like myself.
I wonder if the fact that it’s so common in some circles has people’s gauges off? The last several times I’ve been to LA, I’ve noticed that I always see at least once personal with very noticeable plastic surgery face (if not more). If they are used to being around lots of people with cat face and ridiculous duck lips and perpetually surprised forehead, maybe they don’t see it – like collective facial dysmorphia.
She always resembled Raquel Welch. They’re both Latina.
I have a friend who has done botox and sincerely the result is wonderful. Just no more wrinkles on her forehead. I know à spécialist and she says that they just do too much. Ah ah @yup yes it must be the trend in LA
She can do dramatic roles very well; just watch that Pines film (with Bradley Cooper and her partner). Probably was just never offered many of those.
I must admit. I have not seen that film and i have listened she was ok in it. But after all the opportunities she already had, I remember watching films with her and thinking she was bad actress. She was beautiful and sexy i Know a lot like her for her beauty There are thousands of talented women who are waiting just one opportunity
No one can do it all.
Good for her. I liked her as an actress for the types of movies she made. I believe not everyone needs to be Meryl Streep, just like we don’t have experts at everything in out industries.
If she goes back, I wish her well.
I think their relationship is kinda like Gwen&Gavin- where it works for now because her world revolves around him, and he’s kinda trapped because of the kids. He’s just never seemed extremely happy with her. I predict if she goes back to work, he’ll find a way to escape.
Or maybe they’re like Jen&Ben Affleck- either way I think he’s jumping ship in a few years.
Same. I have never get them together, they have notthing in common for me but then we don’t realy know them
They were together years though before they had kids. RG has a face that never looks extremely happy. People are obsessed with him and Rachel mcAdams even though she has 2 kids of her own with someone else. I hate it when people say men are ‘ trapped’ by women having babies. If that was the case, there wouldnt be any women left to bring their children up in their own when the kids father runs off.