Eva Mendes is reflecting on both the merry and emotional memories that the holiday season can conjure up.
Though the Hitch actress, 49, is notoriously private when it comes to her own family with Ryan Gosling and their two daughters, Esmeralda Amada, eight, and Amada Lee, seven, her fans are familiar with her occasional tributes to her mom, Eva Pérez Suarez, dad, Juan Carlos Méndez, and her siblings.
Her latest, in which she reflected on what Christmas was like for her growing up, left her receiving countless encouraging messages from fans as she remembered her late brother Juan Carlos Méndez Jr., who passed away in 2016 aged 53 after a battle with cancer.
Eva took to Instagram Tuesday and shared a throwback photo of herself celebrating Christmas as a kid, looking happy as can be posing next to a festive Christmas tree, surrounded by gifts like baby dolls, a Barbie toy house, and more.
"Little me in the 80's at Christmas," she wrote in her caption, adding: "We were paycheck to paycheck – at best – but my Mami always went all out for me on Xmas morning."
The mom-of-two, who also grew up with older sister Janet Mendes as well as a younger paternal half-brother, Carlo Méndez, added: "My older siblings were also part of the magic."
She continued: "Since they were way beyond their Santa years then, when I look back now, I realize how they all did their part in making it magical for me," endearingly noting: "I'm so grateful."
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"I miss my brother," she then said, before recalling: "The last Christmas I had with him was a few years ago when he did something only a big brother could do."
Adding that she would "leave that sweet story for another post," she said: "Anyway, I saw this pic this morning and felt like sharing," and concluded with: "Lotsa love."
Her fans were quick to take to the comments section under the post with supportive messages, with one writing: "I lost a brother too – sending you and your family a hug," as others followed suit with: "Beautiful said, same here so grateful for my parents sacrificed," and: "The joy on your face is priceless. The magic of Christmas is like no other," as well as: "So beautiful that you have this memory to cherish and lift you. Keep going."
Eva was born in Miami in 1974, though she was largely raised by her mother in Los Angeles' Silver Lake neighborhood after her parents, who both hail from Cuba, divorced.
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Her mother, who recently celebrated her 82nd birthday, lives near where Eva lives with Ryan and their two daughters in a quiet California town away from Los Angeles.
Eva and Ryan have been together since 2011, after they met on the set of their 2012 movie The Place Beyond the Pines. Their first and last major public appearance together was for the film's premiere over a decade ago.
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