Knocked Up Celebs

Maggie Gyllenhaal is a busy mom to Ramona, 2, and she is currently filming the sequel to Nanny McPhee in London. She took time out of her schedule to talk to the Daily Mail about parenting, balancing it all and what she would want to do if she wasn’t an actress. Here are the highlights:

On being a mom: ‘Oh, motherhood is all-consuming…I remember people saying, “Believe me, everything in your life is going to change…” And I thought, “Why? That’s such a bourgeois way of thinking.” And then you have a child and yes, everything changes. It affects the way we live, what we do and where we go – everything. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.’

On balancing it all: ‘Ten or 15 years ago there was this idea that women could do everything, and that they should be able to have these great careers and be mothers too. And I think that was a very helpful way of looking at things for a while. But now, with my generation, I think that there’s a sense of, “I can’t do everything, and nor should I have to. I need help and I need a husband and another set of hands, and even then I still might need help with babysitting.” Working and mothering is extraordinarily difficult. So that’s a big part of my character in Nanny McPhee – she can’t do everything.’

On being friends with people in Hollywood: ‘I do know people who make movies, obviously. But my two best girlfriends are nothing to do with it. One is an academic and the other is a photographer. They will come with me to a premiere and know that I’m barely going to be able to talk to them, and they don’t hold it against me. They know that they are there to hold my hand as opposed to be taken to a party, and they are cool with it. They see through the silliness of it all.’

On what she would do if she wasn’t an actress: ‘When you are at college you think you can do anything. I really liked school and I still have a fantasy of being an English teacher. I’m sure any teacher reading this would say, “This woman has no idea how hard it is!” but I think about the teachers who engaged me, and they changed my life. That’s a great thing to do.’

Being a mom is one of those jobs that you really never know how to do it until it happens to you.

[Image by WENN.com]

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