Julia Roberts sees herself as a "homemaker".

Julia Roberts reveals why she stepped back from making rom coms

Julia Roberts reveals why she stepped back from making rom coms

The 54-year-old actress - who has been married to cinematographer Daniel Moder since 2002 and has 17-year-old twins Hazel and Phinnaeus as well as Daniel 14, with him - has not starred in a romantic comedy since 'America's Sweethearts' back in 2001 and admitted since having children she is a lot more considerate about the sort of roles she takes on.

She said: "'I consider myself a homemaker. It can't be 20 years, can it? Here's the thing: If I'd thought something was good enough, I would have done it.

"But I also had three kids in the last 18 years. That raises the bar even more because then it's not only 'Is this material good?', it's also the math equation of my husband's work schedule and the kids' school schedule and summer vacation. It's not just, 'Oh, I think I want to do this?' "

The 'Pretty Woman' star went on to explain that she didn't set out to avoid doing romantic comedies but she just hadn't been offered anything she thought lived up to her previous work.

She told The New York Times newspaper: "It wasn’t by design, so much as not finding something that I was interested in. I was surprised how quickly the years seemed to go by.

"People sometimes misconstrue the amount of time that’s gone by that I haven’t done a romantic comedy as my not wanting to do one. If I had read something that I thought was that 'Notting Hill' level of writing or 'My Best Friend’s Wedding' level of madcap fun, I would do it."

She'll be back in the genre with 'Ticket To Paradise' - due out in October - which will see her star alongside her friend George Clooney, and she's finally found a script she feels matches her past roles.

She said: "They didn't exist until this movie that I just did that Ol Parker wrote and directed."