Michelle PfeifferMichelle Pfeiffer has said her life was transformed when she became a mum at the age of 34 - but it’s hard to be a parent in Hollywood.

Michelle adopted daughter Claudia Rose in 1993 as a single mother but later than year met and married second husband David E Kelley, and the two had a second child, a son John, together the following year.

The Stardust star said recently: “I think from the age of 34 onwards has been the most enjoyable time in my life, because that’s when my daughter was born.”

“I’ve heard it said that once you become a mother you become a mother to all children. I really find that true - when you hear about tragedies involving kids you just think ‘Oh my God, what would you do’. But you don’t allow yourself to go any further with that thought because its just unimaginable.”

Now that her children are teenagers, she’s having to achieve that precious security/freedom balance: “I have to force myself to let them take responsibility for themselves and not mollycoddle them. I’m really overprotective.”

“For someone like me, where control is a big issue, I really had to learn early on to let it go. Before I became a parent I could control everything in my life and get away with it. When you become a mother you realise trying to maintain that will kill you because kids are so unpredictable.”

“Having said that, you have days where you truly feel disabled as a parent - like you are ruining your child’s lives. You start thinking, ‘Let’s put money into an account for them so they can get therapy’.”

“I truly believe being a parent is the hardest but most rewarding thing a person can ever do.”