It appears there’s a “bump” in the road when it comes to Hollywood these days. After years of interviewing celebrities for Access Hollywood, I’m suddenly getting a different feeling from many of them, and I like it. For example, when I first interviewed Angelina Jolie, she was Goth.Today she’s a UN ambassador. In 1992 Madonna released a book called Sex. Now she writes children’s books
Let’s take a pregnant pause, if you will, and think about what’s different. It seems everywhere you turn these days, another celebrity is announcing her pregnancy or having a baby—Nicole Richie, Ellen Pompeo, Heidi Klum. I remember the celebs who were in the baby groove when I was pregnant—Britney Spears, Jolie, Katie Holmes and Gwyneth Paltrow, to name just a few. Every other story I read on the show was about the Hollywood baby boom. Without question, there is something about a baby that changes people.
I remember an interview I did with Jolie after the birth of her twins and after my daughter, Ashby, was born. She had seen me on the red carpet pregnant, so she knew I was a mom too and asked about it. As we talked about how Jolie’s twins were starting to smile and what an amazing dad Brad Pitt is, I saw her differently than I had ever seen her. She was softer and sweeter when talking about her children, and it was beautiful. I had this revelation time and again when talking to various famous personalities. Jaime Pressly and I bonded while talking about how much there is to learn as a new mom. Russell Crowe turned from tough guy to teddy bear when telling me a story about his son. And I loved it when Pitt told me about getting thrown up and pooped on, and how he wouldn’t trade it for anything. Not exactly how you usually think of Mr. Pitt.
We often see Hollywood stars as if they are perfect and unapproachable, but once they’re parents, they become softer and more human—more like the rest of us.
