Reese Witherspoon's children helped her work out who she was "as a woman."
Witherspoon who has 14-year-old daughter Ava and nine-year-old son Deacon with actor Ryan Phillippe, and 12-month-old son Tennessee with husband Jim Toth - admits she was "confused" before she became a mother but her kids helped her find her way.
Talking to US Elle magazine she said: "Somebody was saying to me the other day, 'Oh, people get less interesting when they have kids.' I just don't think that's true.
"I feel like I was so confused before I had kids, I almost got in my own way. Having kids made me clearer about who I was as a woman.
"I just wanted to exhibit good qualities for my daughter. I was a little competitive before I had kids- probably really competitive, to be honest. It really made me let go of that."
The 37-year-old beauty is currently producing director Philippe Falardeau's new film 'The Good Lie' and turned to producing in a bid to see women be the star in films not just be cast as a man's asset, as she didn't want Ava to think women were less valued than men.
She explained: "I started noticing a couple years ago that I wasn't seeing women as the stars of movies. I'm seem them as the guys' girlfriends, or so-and-so's wife.
"I just thought, 'God, if I don't start buckling down and start producing some movies, what's my daughter going to see in the movies?' "
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