Saoirse Ronan's mother still does her grocery shopping for her - to make sure she eats healthy food

Saoirse Ronan

Saoirse Ronan

The 23-year-old actress was staying in an apartment in Los Angeles while promoting new movie 'Lady Bird', and arrived to find bags of groceries from Whole Foods waiting for her which her mother Monica had ordered online from over 5,000 miles away in Ireland.

Saoirse told the Los Angeles Times newspaper: "She bought vegetables for me to cook with. I have such a great mam. She makes sure I'm getting a good dinner from across the pond."

The former child star was just 12 when she made her debut in Oscar-winning film 'Atonement' but her parents Monica and Paul Ronan - who is also an actor - never let her be affected by her career and always have ensured she remains grounded.

Saoirse explained: "You do have a lot of stuff done for you when you're young as an actor. People tell you where to go, where to stand. People steam your dress and make you cups of tea. I remember on 'Atonement,' an AD [assistant director] came over to me and asked me if I wanted anything, and I asked for a cup of tea.

"My mom called them back and said, 'No, she'll go and make her own tea.' Little, gentle reminders like that helped me separate real life from on-set life."

In critically acclaimed new film 'Lady Bird', directed and written by Greta Gerwig, Saoirse plays a teenager at odds with her mother.

But the 'Brooklyn' star insisted she and Monica are extremely close, despite her having to travel around the world for her career.

She said: "We talk more than once a day. The only reason we're not talking now is because she's probably asleep. I want to know what she had for dinner."