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All About Ryan Gosling's Family: Partner Eva Mendes & Their Kids
Here's everything you want to know about The Fall Guy star's family life with Eva Mendes.
In David Leitch's The Fall Guy (now streaming on Peacock), Oscar nominee Ryan Gosling plays a beleaguered stuntman trying to patch things up with an old flame (played by Oppenheimer's Emily Blunt, also an Academy Award nominee) by saving her big-budget studio blockbuster from certain disaster.
In real life, however, Gosling, 43, is in a happy partnership with fellow actor, Eva Mendes, 50, who you may remember from such projects as 2 Fast 2 Furious, Hitch, and Ghost Rider. Read on to find out all about how Gosling and Mendes met, their daughters, and more about their family.
RELATED: Eva Mendes on Her Daughters' Reaction to Her Bluey Role vs. Ryan Gosling in Barbie
How Ryan Gosling found love with Eva Mendes
Following relationships with Sandra Bullock and his Notebook co-star, Rachel McAdams, Gosling began dating Mendes in 2011 after the two met on the set of Derek Cianfrance's crime thriller, The Place Beyond the Pines, where they played lovers Luke and Romina. Gosling and Mendes also shared screen time in the Drunk History Christmas special released in 2011.
When asked by Netflix what movie he'd take with him if he had to go on the run, Gosling replied: "Ghost Rider. I like the actress in that film. Big fan." When asked to recommend a movie viewers should really check out, he said, "My Brother the Pig, starring a young Eva Mendes. The younger brother becomes a pig and it's gold."
Are Ryan Gosling and Eva Mendes married?
While Gosling and Mendes have never outright announced their marital status, they've heavily hinted that they tied the knot. During a 2022 interview in Australia with Channel 9's Today, Mendes called Gosling her husband for the first time to the media. "Everybody is welcoming us, it's been so beautiful. My husband Ryan is here … we're having the best time," Mendes told the hosts when asked how she's enjoying her time in Australia. Mendes also has a tattoo on her wrist that says "de Gosling" in Spanish, which translates to "of Gosling."
In a September 2024 appearance on The Tonight Show, Mendes told Jimmy Fallon that Gosling's "Cuban Papi" Saturday Night Live sketch is easily one of her favorites. In the skit, Gosling's character is married to a Cuban woman, like Mendes, and says with a thick accent, "A Cuban wife can change you." Mendes told Fallon Gosling's accent in the skit was inspired by his relationship with her Cuban father.
Ryan Gosling and Eva Mendes' kids
Gosling and Mendes are currently raising two daughters: Esmeralda Amada (born 2014) and Amada Lee (born 2016). Their first child was named after the character Esmerelda in Victor Hugo's celebrated novel, The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Amada, on the other hand, was the name of Mendes' grandmother (via Business Insider).
“I wasn’t thinking about kids before I met her, but after I met Eva, I realized that I just didn’t want to have kids without her," Gosling told GQ in May 2023. "And there were moments on The Place Beyond the Pines where we were pretending to be a family, and I didn’t really want it to be pretend anymore. I realized that this would be a life I would be really lucky to have."
Gosling often praises Mendes and gushes about the family they've built together. In a 2024 interview with Men's Health, Gosling said Mendes is "obviously" his hero and explained that his daughters are always top of mind. "I don't think I'll regret anything professionally, but I do think when it comes to Eva [Mendes] and the girls, they come first," he told the magazine.
Eva Mendes stepped away from acting to raise their daughters
While her husband continues to bring home the Hollywood bacon, appearing in such high-profile features as The Nice Guys, La La Land, Blade Runner 2049, First Man, The Gray Man, Barbie, and The Fall Guy, Mendes has decided to put her acting career on hold to raise their daughters, which, as any new parent knows, is a job in and of itself.
"People are so sweet. They really try to warn you, prep you, when you're pregnant," the actress said during a 2019 appearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show (watch the interview above). "But nobody can prep you. Nobody told me it was really gonna be a job, and a job that I needed an incredible amount of skill for in different areas. [I'm] a chauffeur, a cook, a personal assistant to an abusive boss ... The hardest part, hands down, is the amount of snacks I have to carry with me all day long."
Even though she's not acting in movies these days, Mendes released a children's book, Desi, Mami, and the Never-Ending Worries, and scored a gig that impressed her daughters: voicing a character on Bluey. "That impressed them," Mendes told Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show in September 2024.
Ryan Gosling and Eva Mendes made a rare appearance together in 2024
While Gosling and Mendes haven't walked a red carpet together in years, the couple attended the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris with their daughters, who they keep out of the spotlight. In an August 2024 Instagram post, Mendes wrote that she had her "guard" up around photographers at the event and thanked NBC cameras for not panning to their kids in the stands. "I love @nbcolympics didn't cut away to the kids!" Mendes wrote in a comment on her post. "And most sites blurred their faces so mama bear is happy about that."
Ryan Gosling revealed his daughters' nicknames while hosting SNL
When Gosling hosted Saturday Night Live in April 2024, he gave a shout-out to his wife and their children as he closed out the episode with the rest of the cast and crew on stage. "Eva, Ezzy, Ama, I love you!" he said to the camera, referring to Mendes and their daughters, Esmeralda, 10, and Amada, 8.
Originally published Mar 13, 2024.
