Eva Mendes has paid tribute to her late brother on what would have been his 62nd birthday

She captioned it and other snaps uploaded in a carousel of images of her late older sibling: "My Big brother. Him in a suit - me in my jammies. This is one of my favourite pics of ours together.

"Today would have been his 62nd birthday."

The final slide showed a black and white image of Eva placing her hands on Carlos' arms as they smiled together.

Carlos died of cancer in 2016 at the age of 53.

His and Eva's younger brother, Carlo Mendez, 47, confirmed the news at the time, writing on Instagram Carlos "fought with all his might and power" and was survived by two children.

Last month, Eva reflected on the loss of Carlos ahead of his birthday, sharing an emotional message alongside photos of herself holding a heart-shaped stone.

She said online: "My brother would've had a birthday this April 2.

"He passed almost nine years ago. Then, less than two weeks later, I gave birth to our second baby."

Eva, who has daughters Esmeralda Amada, 10, and Amada Lee, 8, with longtime partner Ryan Gosling, 44, also opened up about how she looks for signs from Carlos as his birthday approaches.

She added: "When his birthday nears, I start to look for signs that could be him.

"Of course, this can all be in my head, but I rather not believe that. It's not as beautiful. So, here I am, starting to see hearts everywhere and feeling him a little extra right now. More to come, I'm sure."

In a 2019 interview with People, Eva spoke about the timing of Carlos' death and the birth of her second daughter.

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."

Remembering her favourite moments with Carlos, Eva recalled how he would roast family members at big gatherings. "At Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner, he would 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."