Eva Mendes is rediscovering her 'ambition'

The 'Place Beyond the Pines' actress - who has daughters Esmeralda, five, and Amada, three, with partner Ryan Gosling - is feeling the "call to work" again now her children are getting older and her focus is shifting outside of their home.

She told People magazine: "They're starting school and so I'm feeling like I finally have a little time to myself. But also, I'm starting to find that ambition again that I lost a little bit.

"I was fine with losing it, it was a natural thing, but it transferred -- the ambition was in the home.

"I'm still in the home, but I'm getting more of that call to work again. That's exciting because it's happening naturally. It's exciting to feel that again."

In April 2016, the 45-year-old actress' older brother, Carlos Mendez, sadly died of cancer and Eva will always be grateful that she gave birth to her second child shortly afterwards because it gave her a reason to "move forward".

She said: "It's so tough. Thank God I had my baby; it was a week after he passed. So there was something to move forward. There was poetry to it all."

The 'Lost River' star wants to honour her brother by sticking with his festive traditions, even if she doesn't think she can "roast" people the way he could.

She said: "My favourite memories are when he used to, at Thanksgiving or a big dinner or Christmas dinner, roast everybody -- but roast you hard.

"Of course, I miss him incredibly, and that's an understatement, but I'm holding on to that tradition. I'm so happy that he gave me that. I don't think I could carry it on the way he did, but those are some fun memories because he would really get raw."