Ryan Gosling Talks About Daughter Esmeralda: 'I have a little girl now and feminism is important to me'

Like many A-list celebrities, Ryan Gosling hardly speaks about his personal life. For the first time ever, however, the actor opened up about raising his 8-month-old daughter Esmeralda with partner Eva Mendes.

Speaking with Daily Telegraph's Sunday Style Magazine, the Canadian actor said that he didn't make a conscious choice of becoming the "poster boy for feminism." This tag alludes to all those countless memes on social media and blogs on the Internet featuring the "Lost River" director dishing out advice and quotes for women. However, Gosling admits that being seen as such isn't exactly a bad thing and he sees the value of it more today, especially since he has his daughter.

"I didn't make those [memes], you know? It's not by design. But I do have a little girl now and it's important to me," the actor said in the interview. He further adds, "These things are becoming... not more important to me, but more important in general, I think," and enumerates the names of women he admires, such as actresses Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, and director Kathryn Bigelow.

Gosling also said that growing up, he's had such a strong female presence in his life. He shared, "I grew up with strong women and the amount of them grows exponentially as time goes on, in my world." He also hardly considers himself as a heartthrob growing up. He revealed, "I was in dance class and things like that. Also, I just grew up around a lot of girls." So, with his positive relationship with women in his younger years, it shouldn't be surprising to learn that the "Gangster Squad" actor has good rapport with the mother of his child, Mendes, both personally and professionally.

While filming "Lost River," his first vehicle as a director, Gosling had a lot of help from Mendes behind-the-scenes. One time, she picked out this gold sequined jacket, which was only bought at a Salvation Army, for the movie's lead star, Matt Smith, to wear on the film. It became the signature clothing of the character Smith was playing.

Right there, Gosling was impressed by his girlfriend's good eye. "She indirectly picked things that became very important to different people involved. Never wanting credit. She hates credit and she'll even be mad that I'm giving her that credit," the actor said about Mendes, according to Celebuzz.

Gosling met Mendes while filming the movie "The Place Beyond the Pines" back in 2011 and they have been together since then.