Sandra Bullock will soon be back on the big screen after a four-year absence, but that wouldn't have been possible without her two children.
The 61-year-old shared a rare insight into her private family life this week, admitting that she only agreed to reprise her role in Practical Magic 2 because her kids, Louis, 16, and Laila, 12, were "out of school" during production.
"I'm not going to sacrifice my time with my kids," she said during a panel at CNBC's Changemakers Summit. "They’d be happy if I was gone, I would not."
Commenting on her family dynamic, Sandra admitted that only she is "raising" her kids, so the quality of the film would have suffered if she had to be separated from them for an extended period.
"I do not do my best work if my children are struggling or if they need something and I can't facilitate it," she continued. "I'm raising my children, not anybody else."
She added: "But I have the luxury of doing that in this business. So many people don't. And I understand that grief and that angst when you are at work, going, 'I'm not where I need to be right now. I'm here being performative and doing my job.'
© Getty Images"But guess what? Women can do it. We can do 15 things at one time and get it done."
Sandra adopted Louis and Laila when she was in her 40s and has never looked back. The actress has been open about her journey to motherhood, telling Jada Pinkett Smith on her Red Table Talk in 2022 that adoption always felt right for her.
© Getty Images"I don't know why that was the only route, but I'm so glad the universe had me wait," she said. "Even though I was anxious and I was eager – and it went nope, you're not going to do it the way you think you're going to do it."
She welcomed Louis, born in Louisiana, in 2010 and told Today that she felt a connection to his birthplace long before he was born.
"Katrina happened in New Orleans, and I knew – just something told me that my child was there. It was weird," she said.
© FilmMagicThe mother of two revealed on Red Table Talk that she is worried about her eldest child leaving the nest, as he will no longer be under her protection.
"With Lou being a young Black man, at one point, sweet, funny Lou is gonna be a young man," she said. "And the minute he leaves my home, I can't follow him everywhere, though I will try...I pray and pray and pray that I have done a good enough job."
Laila was adopted in 2015 at just two years old. According to Sandra, her arrival brought "pink and glitter in the house, " but she told the Red Table Talk panel that it was challenging to parent Laila early on.
"It was really hard to separate yourself and not be hurt because all you wanna do is love," she said. "But guess what? Your love is not going to cut it right then and there."
