Eva Mendes celebrated the life of her late brother in a personal post. The designer took to her social media and shared a host of throwback photos and a sweet message dedicated to her brother. “Little me on my big brother’s shoulders . Today I celebrate my brother John. He would’ve been 57. We lost him almost 4 years ago,” she wrote. “When I think back to our rocky relationship at times, I realize what he was doing. He was prepping me for the world.”

©@evamendes

Eva, 46, went on to explain how John’s relationship with her shaped her as an adult. “He made me tough as nails. And I thank him for that daily. I love you my big brother. And I know if you were here right now you’d be out there helping people who need it. Somehow I think you’re doing that anyway. From left to right, John, my sister Becky, my Mami, me and my sister Janet. I love you “pato que””

The 2 Fast 2 Furious star’s older brother passed away in 2016, after a long battle with cancer. In September, the actress took to her social media to give a special shout out to her younger brother Carlo – and honor their late sibling. “For those of you who don’t know, this is my younger brother Carlo (cmendez78) not to be confused with Carlos, our older brother who passed away a few years ago, that our hearts ache for every day. I just wanted to clarify so there’s no confusion. Enjoy today little brother. It’s all we know we have. Love you.”

©@evamendes

In addition to her brothers, the Hitch star has sisters. In an interview with Latina, Eva opened up about the affects her brother’s passing had on her family. "Losing my brother brought our family closer, and we were already close to begin with," she told the magazine shortly after his death.

"So to just see everybody be there for one another and show up, I feel so lucky to have them." She continued: "We had a funeral service for him and that same week I had the baby. It was really, really intense and obviously beyond heartbreaking, but also kind of beautiful."