Uma Thurman Says Motherhood Is the ‘Best Kept Secret’
 Peter Kramer/AP |
In a new interview with PARADE, actress Uma Thurman reveals that making The Avengers — a film she says “really wasn’t good while it was going on” — sparked her desire to become a mom.
“I came home from making that movie and I started rethinking my life,” Uma, 39, explains. “I said to myself, ‘I’m going to have a baby,’ because I felt like I’d gotten to a spot where I wasn’t sure what I was acting for.” She asks,
“Was I running from myself going from location to location? Was I hurting myself? I wanted something different that would change me.”
Mission accomplished! Uma says that after welcoming Maya Ray, 11, she soon realized that motherhood is “the best-kept secret” around. Uma adds,
“You know how parents rattle on to you about, ‘Oh, you won’t believe your life will never be the same,’ and da, da, da and you think, ‘Why can’t these people just get over it? All they’re doing is yakking on about their kids. It’s such a bore.’ And then you have kids and you just want to do all the same things.”
Uma admits, however, that she “struggled” with guilt as a working mom — especially when Maya and her 7 ½-year-old little brother Levon Roan were babies. “You feel much more conflicted,” Uma notes. “Sort of like, ‘What’s worthy enough to interrupt my kid’s life to take them on the road with me while I do a movie?’”
Now, Uma says, she tries to balance the two and be more forgiving of herself when her best efforts fall short. “I probably overthink things, but I try to do the right thing,” Uma says.
“I just do my best. Any working mother will tell you it’s the same. I think every working mom is kind of a superhero. I think we all are.”
Maya and Levon are Uma’s children with ex-husband Ethan Hawke.
Source: PARADE
– Missy
- Posted on Oct 27, 09 at 2:00PM
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- 8 Comments
October 27th, 2009 at 2:27 pm
I like her quote, “I think every working mom is a superhero”. Because somedays, I really do feel like I can do it all.
October 27th, 2009 at 5:56 pm
Finally some loving for working moms.Thanks Uma!
October 27th, 2009 at 7:14 pm
Whenever I see one of her quote about working moms… I just gotta wonder how do nonmovie star working moms feel about it? Normal moms don’t normally pick and choose when they work, and most can’t bring their children into work, etc. It just kinda irks me when movie star moms lump themselves in with every other working mom. It’s nice that’s she giving it up for these moms… it’s just weird IMHO. I’m not attacking anyone… just wondering it anyone felt the same way…
October 28th, 2009 at 6:21 am
I feel tired by these quotes of A-list celeb working moms. They don´t have to work, when they have babies. They are simply not willing to leave their celebrity lifestyle and try to stuff their children into it. Of course it is very demanding, but it was their own decision to do so! And if they do it, they have a great service around them. Then call themselves superhero is just ridiculous.
October 28th, 2009 at 8:29 am
I’m not a working mom (no kids yet), but I grew up with one and I think she has every right to lump herself with the working moms group. You’re right, not everyone gets to pick and choose when they work, and not everyone has the money to hire nanny’s and cooks and other things like that, but every person’s situation is different. Are we only counting those mothers who work a 9-5, don’t have extra help and only make a certain amount of money? That seems unfair. There are plenty of non-movie star mothers who work full time jobs, make a boatload of money and have all sorts of help, do they not get to consider themselves working mothers? It’s not up to someone else to judge how a woman feels about her job in life, whether that’s staying home or working. I would imagine that when she has to leave her kids and go to work or try and get them to school before hitting a set she feels just as harried and guilty as my mom did when she was leaving to go teach her classes. Oh, and my mom had summer’s off…
October 28th, 2009 at 9:36 am
Petra, did we read the same quote? “I just do my best. Any working mother will tell you it’s the same. I think every working mom is kind of a superhero. I think we all are.” As the daughter of a working mother, I think she is totally right and it doesn’t bother me at all that she is an A-list celeb working mom, wether she works for pleasure or money (or most likely both) she is absolutely right. (And please don’t accuse me of not valueing stay at home parents, I do think they are heroes too)
October 31st, 2009 at 5:35 am
Your mom was a teacher and a mom. There is no way any movie star mom, big ceo 3 nanny having mom, any person who has the luxury to dictate large portions of their lives because of their wealth and status, should be mentioned in the same breath as someone who has both the tough jobs of caring for their own children and shaping the minds of other children. Not condemning anyone by saying that, but when I read celeb quotes about how hard it is to be a working mom, I kinda have to roll my eyes a bit and play a couple of notes on my invisible violin. Having children is a major part of life and I’m sure any of those celebs do not take it lightly and love their kids to pieces… I just would once like a celeb mom to say “Yeah it’s really tough to be a working mom, so I can only imagine how hard it would be if I worked 50 weeks a year and was on a limited income.” Or something to to that effect. Just an irk for me… not trying to be sanctimonious, it’s just one of those things that always gets me and I just wanted to know if anyone else felt the same way.
November 1st, 2009 at 4:28 am
OK: I’ll go there. So why are only working mothers superheroes? I am going to take a deep breath, find my happy place and assume she means that all mothers work and thus all mothers are working mothers and thus all mothers are superheroes….