Thandie Newton felt reborn when she had children.

The British actress - who has daughters Ripley, eight, and four-year-old Nico with husband Oliver Parker - was overcome with emotion when she became a mother.

She said: "Becoming a mum was the single most profound, self-adjusting moment in my life. I birthed myself. It's like I took back my life. I took back the essence of who I am."

Although she loves motherhood, the 36-year-old 'RocknRolla' star is worried about the way her career is affecting her daughters' lives.

She explained: "We went to Vancouver for all the summer and a huge chunk of the winter. Ripley had a tutor, who was great. It was necessary, so I had to do it. But I feel incredibly guilty."

Thandie also revealed she named her daughter Ripley after Sigourney Weaver's character in 1979 horror movie 'Alien' in the hope she would adopt similar personality traits.

She said: "Wouldn't you? Ripley is, like, the woman: kicks a*s, saves the world with a kid under one arm and a huge weapon in the other."

Thandie has previously revealed she loved giving birth so much she would be it annually if she could.

She said: "Birth is very challenging in the best way possible. Every fibre of your bring in alive. It's like you are conducting electricity, literally creating something. I'd like to give birth every year if I would, just for the experience."