Evan Rachel Wood knows the highs and lows of parenting.
The “Westworld” star welcomed a son with then-husband Jamie Bell in 2013. Over the years, she has shared snippets of her experience as a mother in interviews.
In honor of her birthday, here are 14 quotes about motherhood from Wood.
On How Motherhood Changed Her
“It’s less about me. You become less self-obsessed and you let go of things. You forgive your parents for stuff, and you’re more at peace and you’re more motivated. You know you have to be an example for this child, so you have to be the best person. You can’t just say, ‘Do as I say, not as I do.’ He’s the best thing to happen to me, for sure.”
On Her Son’s Experience Having Famous Parents
“Bless him. He’s a gypsy by proxy because his parents are. He’s only 3 now, but he’s starting to understand. He hears one of my songs and he knows that that’s me, and he has seen me on TV and he’s starting to put the pieces together. His parents are very different. My ex-husband is lovely and very British and straightedge, and then he’s got this glam-rock weirdo for a mom.”
On Embracing The Chaos
“People say, ‘What about when the baby goes to sleep?’ But that’s when I’m doing laundry, cleaning the house, answering emails. I pretty much always have a stain on my shirt. That’s my life!”
On Her Home Birth
“It was a psychedelic experience. I felt like I was hitting every corner of the room. Everything was vibrating.”
On Moving To Nashville For Her Son
“L.A. is wonderful, and it has given me so many amazing things, but I’ve also got a lot of demons here. I was ready to break it up a little bit. I wanted to give my kid some grass to run around on. Again, he’s got two actor parents. I was like, you don’t need to live in L.A. full-time. Let’s go somewhere a little ‘normal’ for a bit.”
On The Intensity Of Motherhood
“Becoming a mom is the best thing I ever did with my life, but it’s not for everyone. It’s harder than you think and you are never ready, but it will open up your heart in ways you never thought possible.”
On Her Movie ‘Thirteen’
“It’s hard to watch [as a mother].”
On How Her Son Helped Her Acting
“I think he taught me a lot about deeper emotions. I think that that’s certainly made me a better actor and given me more to draw from and given me a deeper understanding of myself.”
On Co-Parenting After Divorce
“I think any separation, whether it’s amicable or not, is always difficult. But we’re always doing our best, and the most important thing is our son always comes first. ... Whatever issues the parents have, you’ve just got to get over that and put it to the side. Another reason why kids are a gift: They get you out of your stuff and you let go of the things that don’t serve you or them much faster.”
On Learning From Her Son
“He said something to me that was so profound I wanted to put it on a T-shirt. I was just poking fun at him lovingly one day and I said, ‘You’re weird,’ and he said, ‘I’m not weird. I’m playing.’ And I was like, that’s the most brilliant thing I’ve ever heard. ‘I’m not weird, I’m just playing’: That’s my motto for life from now on.”
On Parenting As A Rape Survivor
“I’ve been able to talk about it in a new way — from a place of strength rather than still kind of going through it. And there are still good days and bad days. That stuff never fully goes away. Even when the response is positive, it’s still overwhelming because people start opening up to you about their experiences and that’s really heavy. But it’s kind of like how I felt when I had my son, where it was like, ‘All right, now you get to take your experiences and turn them into lessons and you get to kind of be there for him instead of just wallowing in your thing.’”
On Lessons From Motherhood
“It’s no joke when people say your heart keeps growing every day. The more your heart grows, the more open you get, the more understanding you have of people and emotions, and the deeper you are in tune with yourself.”
On Dating As A Single Mom
“I’m doing my best. Doing my best. I’m very satisfied, very happy. It’s always interesting being a single mom and dating. That comes with its own challenges. But again, everything is an opportunity to learn and grow, and I think I’m just taking it all one day at a time.”
On Expanding Her Family
“I don’t want to have another baby, but my little sister is adopted, and I was hoping that one day I could do that. There are so many possibilities.”
