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Ryan Gosling's 5 Tattoos and Their Meanings

The Meanings Behind Ryan Gosling's 5 Known Tattoos

Ryan Gosling's 5 Tattoos and Their Meanings

Ryan Gosling's partner, actor Eva Mendes, recently debuted a wrist tattoo that reads, "de Gosling." In Spanish, "de" translates to "of," which is a common preposition women in Hispanic culture use to add their husband's surname to the end of theirs (Mendes is Cuban). This sparked rumours among fans that Gosling and Mendes have got married at some point in their 11 years together. While neither has commented on what the ink means, it did make people wonder whether the couple have more sweet tattoos.

Although Mendes has just the one known design, Gosling has five known tattoos so far. The actor has been open about the meanings of many of them, and he's even shared that he has some DIY ink as well. Some of them have pretty clear meanings — like his "Esme" tattoo dedicated to his daughter Esmeralda — while others, like his cactus tattoo, have a significance that's less obvious.

Gosling has worn fake tattoos for his movies, like a design that's a reference to Greek mythology in "The Gray Man." In "The Place Beyond the Pines," you can see one of Gosling's real pieces of body art (a tattoo of a ghostly woman) on display among many fake ones.

If you're wondering what each of his five known tattoos means, we've rounded them up for you in the slides ahead. Keep reading for a guide to Ryan Gosling's public tattoos — and the meanings behind them.

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