Eva Mendes Remains Undecided About Acting Return After Taking Hiatus to Prioritize Family

It’s been over a decade since Eva Mendes made the conscious decision to step away from acting. Despite her decision, she said she feels her career in the industry was a big success.
“I don’t know. If there are interesting roles. I left at a time where it was also, 10 years ago … I kinda felt like I did it, you know?” she said.
Mendes shares two daughters with actor Ryan Gosling and paused her acting career to prioritize motherhood and spend more time together as a family.
The couple met while on set of the 2012 film “The Place Beyond the Pines” before working together again on “Lost River” which would be her final movie project in 2014.
“I was like, ‘I just worked with Ryan Gosling,’ he was the best. It was such a high [of] my career to work with him and what we created together, that I was like, ‘This is a good time to just Seinfeld it and walk out!’” she said.
Mendes said her mindset shifted since having children, and she has channeled her creative abilities into other projects and endeavors including the beauty and fashion industry, and, most recently, a children’s book.
“Desi, Mami, and the Never-Ending Worries” was released in both English and Spanish and addresses childhood anxiety and learning to calm your emotions.
Mendes said she wants the book to open up dialogue on the topic and help other children work through their feelings, as it did hers.
“And by naming it and going like, ‘Hey, that’s not you. Don’t believe everything you think. That’s not you, that’s just your brain on overdrive.’”
Speaking to “Entertainment Tonight” back in 2020, Mendes explained being present for her kids is the most important thing in her life, and she has become selective about what roles she’ll consider.
“There’s just so many things I won’t do. Like, I won’t do most of the movies I’ve done in the past. A lot of things are off that list. I don’t want to do anything too violent. Of course, I don’t want to do anything too sexual or sexual at all.”
Mendes began her acting career in the late ‘90s but rose to fame following her performance in the 2001 film “Training Day.”
This led to a number of other successful movie credits including “2 Fast 2 Furious,” “Hitch,” and a starring role in “Ghost Rider.”