Eva Mendes Sizzles on 51st Birthday

Eva Mendes Celebrates Milestone 51st Birthday With Dramatic Look

Eva Mendes is celebrating her 51st birthday in style — literally. The Hitch star, who shares daughters Esmerelda, 10, and Amada, 8, with long-term partner Ryan Gosling, posed in a dramatic Stella McCartney gown in an Instagram post shared on her birthday: Wednesday, March 5. “My new campaign and my new age just dropped!” Mendes began the lengthy caption. “I’m 51 today and so grateful for all the reasons.” Mendes went on to praise the iconic fashion designer “for making the most beautiful, cruelty free clothing that I feel so great in,” gushing that she’s “never felt sexier in anyone else’s designs.”

Mendes’ Instagram slideshow was made up of the same photo posted three times — one from McCartney’s Summer 2025 campaign — all with varying degrees of close-ups. She wore a sheer black Stella McCartney dress that featured a nearly waist-high slit. The floor-length frock also featured a low neckline and a cutout at the hip. The Ruched Knotted Sheer Panel Maxi Dress retails for $3,600. While the actress shared her disappointment for not being able to attend McCartney’s fashion show that day, she had the “best reason in the world” for missing it, she wrote. “I’m with my family,” she said.

A Look at Mendes’ Values and Family Life

Prioritizing Family Over Fame

Mendes’ decision to prioritize family over attending a high-profile event speaks volumes about her values. She has consistently emphasized the importance of her daughters in her life, often sharing glimpses of their bond on social media but carefully guarding their privacy.

This dedication to family isn’t a recent development. Mendes has spoken openly about stepping back from her acting career to focus on motherhood. “I’ve had opportunities, and I’ve said no to them,” she told Latina magazine in 2018. “It’s not that I don’t want to work, I’m just really conscious of what I’m choosing to do and the time I’m giving to it.”

Finding Balance in a High-Pressure World

The contrast between Mendes’ glamorous birthday look and her family-oriented life highlights a common struggle for celebrity parents: finding balance between personal and professional commitments. Mendes seems to have struck a harmonious chord, embracing her roles both as a mother and a style icon without sacrificing one for the other.

Love Story: The Eva Mendes and Ryan Gosling Connection

From On-Screen Chemistry to Off-Screen Romance

The seeds of Mendes and Gosling’s love story were sown on the set of their 2012 film, The Place Beyond the Pines. Their on-screen chemistry was undeniable, sparking rumors of a romance that eventually blossomed into a long-lasting relationship.

Gosling’s Transformation: Finding His Family

Gosling, who was previously known for his playboy persona, revealed to GQ in 2023 that Mendes was the catalyst for his desire to start a family. “I wasn’t thinking about kids before I met her,” he confessed. “But after I met Eva, I realized that I just didn’t want to have kids without her.

He further elaborated on how working with Mendes on The Place Beyond the Pines made him realize the family life he craved. “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,” he shared. “I realized that this would be a life I would be really lucky to have.”

A Private Partnership

Despite their fame, Mendes and Gosling have fiercely guarded their privacy, rarely appearing on red carpets together or discussing their relationship in detail. They prioritize their family life and maintain a relatively low profile, choosing to raise their daughters away from the constant scrutiny of the media.