Scores of Ryan Gosling fans reacted with fury when reports came out in July that girlfriend Eva Mendes was seven months pregnant with his child, but if the actress had gone with her initial career plans, they may never have met-and certainly wouldn't be expecting a child together.

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According to The Belfast Telegraph, the actress once planned on becoming a nun, but changed her plans after she learned there was no financial benefit-and also realized how much she wanted to be in films.

"I don't know why, but between my fifth and tenth birthdays I decided I wanted to be a nun," the actress said in an interview. "I grew up in a very poor family, and when I was ten I told my mother, 'When I'm grown up, I'm buying you a house.' My older sister said, 'Evi, that's not going to work. Nuns don't make money!'"

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Mendes said that she realized being a nun probably wasn't in her future at that point, but wasn't convinced of acting until after watching the French film La Piscine for the first time, specifically a scene between Romy Schnieder and Alain Delon.

"I'll never forget the first time I watched La Piscine as a young girl," she said. "The scene in which Alain Delon strokes Romy's back with a twig-that was the most erotic thing I'd ever seen. I wanted something like that to happen to me too."

Now, years later, the 40-year-old actress may need to thank her sister for giving her the financial reality check-and may need to extend thanks to the actors in that film. Her career has helped her financially, and working on the 2011 film Place Beyond the Pines introduced her to Gosling.

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