‘MY FAMILY ALWAYS COMES FIRST’
THE STAR OPENS UP ABOUT MOTHERHOOD AND HER LIFE NOW
Sandra Bullock is a bona fide movie star renowned for hit films, including Bird Box, The Blind Side and Miss Congeniality.
But the star of the new movie, The Unforgivable,
tells New Idea that her priorities have shifted in recent years, and that being a devoted mother to her two children is now her focus.
“I have been given a great gift with being allowed to be a mum. That’s probably why I don’t work as much as I used to now,” 57-yearold Sandra shares.
Sandra adopted her children, Louis in 2010 and Laila in 2015, as a single parent. Ever since, she admits to being choosy with the type of work and projects she takes on.
“I have something that is so much more important to me than work in my life, so it makes me very selective,” the Oscar-winning star adds.
In a recent appearance on Jada Pinkett Smith’s online series, Red Table Talk, Sandra made the raw confession that being an adopted mother of African American kids comes with a multitude of challenges.
“To say that I wished our skins matched … sometimes I do,” Sandra admitted in the interview. “Because then it would be easier on how people approach us. And I have the same feelings
as a woman with brown skin, and it being her babies. Or a white woman with white babies.”
In that same interview, the Speed star confessed she also felt a responsibility to educate Louis, 11, and Laila, 9, about the realities of discrimination.
“[My son] knows how the world works. He knows how cruel it is. He knows how unfair it is, and now Laila is knowing it.”
Sandra, who also has an adult stepdaughter through her de facto relationship with her partner, Bryan Randall, says her family’s personal experiences also impacted on her decision to take on The Unforgivable, which contains social commentary about people stuck in an unfair system of poverty and imprisonment.
“It resonates with me as a mother of a daughter who came through the foster care system,” Sandra explained. “As a mother, I felt very connected to this story, but also as a human being.”
Roles that explore the complexities of motherhood have been a more recent drawcard for the versatile actress, but Sandra reveals she’ll always “love comedy” and is even potentially open to a television series.
“We are entertainers and I feel like my job is to make you laugh and escape,” Sandra explains.
“I will go wherever I feel
I can still be a good mum.”