Eva Mendes has remembered her late brother on what would've been his 61st birthday.

The 50-year-old actress has confessed that while she saw her sibling Carlos Mendez - who died in April 2016 aged 53 after being diagnosed with cancer - as her "annoying older brother" when he was alive, she now realises he was "cooler" than she thought.

Eva posted a GIF of actress and comedian Teri Garr to remember her brother by, and she added the caption: "My mood today...

captured by the coolest, Teri Garr. I post her because it’s my brother’s heavenly birthday today and he LOVED her.

You can tell a lot by a person on who they crush on, looking back I didn’t appreciate it, he was my annoying older brother, but now I realize he was cooler than I thought. It was me who didn’t get it. (sic)"

Just last week, the 'Hitch' actress spoke publicly about another family member - her mother Eva Perez Suarez.

Eva described her mum as "incredible" for retaining her sense of humour during her battle with cancer, eight years after they lost Carlos to the disease.

During an appearance on the 'Today' show, Eva said: "She lost my brother just a few years ago to cancer ... This woman is incredible. She’s still funny as hell."

Eva went on to explain she has been taking her mum to her follow-up appointments, and she has still been cracking jokes.

She added: "If I take her to the doctor’s office, which I take her often, and they ask her, like, 'Oh, you know, have you had this removed or do you have this?'

"She goes, 'Listen, it’s easier if I tell you what I still have. Everything’s gone.' "

Eva opened up about her mother's health crisis two months ago, revealing her mum is now a "cancer survivor" after finishing treatment.