She put Hollywood on hold a decade ago to raise a family with Ryan Gosling. Now the 50-year-old actress is reemerging as a cleaning-supplies entrepreneur, and dishes on why doing dishes is her happy place. There’s Cuban music playing in the background with the scent of verbena in the air and a sink stacked with dirty dishes—Eva Mendes’ idea of a dream evening.
Even after decades of Hollywood premieres and glamorous walks down the red carpet, the kitchen is where she feels the most joy. “Cleaning for me and for my family, it’s not just cleaning. It’s an emotional bonding experience,” Mendes says of household chores.
“When I found mindful meditation, I was like, this is my jam.” To get to this blissful place in her life—where she spends most evenings finding happiness over that kitchen sink in her Southern California home, where she lives with 43-year-old actor Ryan Gosling and their two daughters—took years of hard work, a gene she says she got from her Cuban immigrant mother. From the time Mendes was a little girl, her mom would explain that freedom is when you make your own money.
She led by example: Mendes watched her mother work all sorts of jobs—everything from selling Easter baskets to neighbors to working as a housekeeper and later as a bank teller. Now 50, a decade removed from her career in Hollywood, Mendes has led a life of many acts as well. Since performing in her last movie, 2014’s Lost River, Mendes has become a mother, fashion design.