Reese Witherspoon Was ‘Competitive,’ ‘Confused’ Before Kids

Actress Reese Witherspoon says she has been grounded by the experience of motherhood, explaining that having kids helped her clear away a lot of unrest about her own personal life and goals.

While Witherspoon was successful before her kids came along, Reese also says that the whole being a mom thing was really a game changer for her as a person.

Parents often talk about how kids changed them — and some say that they make you less in touch with yourself. Reese doesn’t agree, however, explaining in a recent interview:

“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.”

Witherspoon continues:

“I feel like I was so confused before I had kids, I almost got in my own way.”

As to why, Reese says that having a daughter was a huge factor in becoming who she was meant to be as a female and a professional, and explains that some traits she finds less positive were ones she was able to zero in on and change a bit when her daughter arrived:

“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.”

Witherspoon’s daughter didn’t just change the star’s outlook on herself, however — she also inspired Reese’s Type A Films.

Of the reason she went in part behind the camera, Witherspoon adds:

“I started noticing a couple years ago that I wasn’t seeing women as the stars of movies. I’m seeing 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?”

Reese Witherspoon made the remarks in her latest interview, and is featured on the cover of ELLE‘s “Women in Hollywood” November issue.