Who Are Eva Mendes's Parents? Fans Wondering After Viral Video

Known for her magnetic screen presence and a film career that spanned genres from thrilling dramas to heartwarming comedies, Eva Mendes became a fixture in contemporary cinema before she retired to focus on caring for her two children, whom she shares with Ryan Gosling.

But what about Eva's own childhood? Who are her parents? Here's what we know about the star's mom and dad.

Eva's parents are Eva Perez Suarez and Juan Carlos Mendes. Eva was raised by her mother in the Silver Lake neighborhood in Los Angeles, after her parents divorced, per The Seattle Times.

As she told Women's Health in 2019, "I basically come from a single-parent household ... Although I love my dad, my mom mostly raised four of us on her own."

While Eva was growing up, her mom worked at the Mann's Chinese Theatre, but later moved on to working for an aerospace company, as reported by Violet Grey. Juan worked as an owner of a meat distribution company, per The Sydney Morning Herald.

Eva described her upbringing to Marie Claire back in 2008: "I was raised by parents who didn't have much. We didn't use whole pieces of paper towel. We shared, or used rags. Mom didn't even want us flushing all the time."

Eva told Today in 2022 that part of her reason for deciding to be a stay-at-home parent is because of how she herself was raised.

"I really took it back to when I was little," she said. "My mom was able to be there for me at home until I was about 8 or 9 and those memories for me, that just formed who I was, those years with her."

Eva isn't their only child; she's actually one of four. Eva had an older brother, Juan Carlos Mendes Jr., who passed away from throat cancer in 2016 at the age of 53, per ET Online. In March 2024, Eva opened up with her fans to share that her mother has also fought cancer.

In an Instagram post, Eva shared, “I wish this Barbie wasn’t so private then I’d be able to share everything she has survived – but the only thing she’ll let me share is that she is a cancer survivor. Like that’s not enough, I know. I see my strength in her eyes.”

Eva's parents are Cuban immigrants. In December 2023, Eva quizzed her Cuban father about his thoughts on modern-day lingo. In a now-viral video Eva shared on Instagram, Juan is sitting in an armchair in front of a Christmas tree. Eva's talking to her father in Spanish, but the provided captions are in English.

Eva asks her father, "What do you think it means if I say 'she ghosted me'?" Quickly responding, Juan says, "That she's bothering you." Next, Eva asks her father what he believes the meaning of "thirst trap" to be. "Well, a man that drives a truck," Juan stated, using his hands to act as if he was holding a steering wheel.

Eva laughed at his response and asked him, "What if someone says this is cringe? What is cringe?" Juan responded, "Sounds to me like shrimp." To finish off the Q&A session, Eva asked her dad, "What if I say Christmas was epic?" He responded, "That this was a wonderful Christmas."