Opening up about her approach to parenting and discipline, Kill Bill actress Uma Thurman has revealed she does not want to force her children to obey her.
Uma Thurman does not want to force her children to obey her.
The Kill Bill actress is a mother to three children: Maya, 26, and Levon, 23, from her marriage to Ethan Hawke, and Luna, 13, whose father is the financier Arpad ‘Arki’ Busson.
Opening up about her busy life juggling her career and motherhood, Uma told The Sunday Times about her clear view on discipline when it comes to her kids: “You don’t want to make a girl be obedient. It’s not in her best interests.”’
She made the comments during a Zoom interview from her rural New York home.
Uma also spoke warmly about the joys of her childrem’s spirited independence, adding” “It’s kind of wonderful that they know the rules and don’t always listen.”
She added she reflects on her own youth when it comes to raising her family, adding: “As a mother, the freedoms I was given as a teenage girl are mind-boggling.
“I mean, it’s unimaginable. Those were different times.”
Uma described her teenage years as marked by independence and self-reliance during her interview with The Sunday Times,
By 15, she was earning money, navigating New York alone, and attending auditions with “just a Filofax and a quarter in case I got lost and needed to call someone”, she revealed.
Her upbringing had encouraged autonomy – as her parents, Robert Thurman and Nena von Schlebrügge, were independent figures who allowed her to follow her path without restraint.
She said: “Both my parents did the same sort of thing when they were young. They were very independent. So I think there was a certain amount of being raised to be independent.”
Uma shared her approach to parenting her own children, particularly when it comes to giving her eldest daughter, Maya, advice about her blossoming acting career.
She said: “Oh, she knows what she’s doing. She went to Juilliard, thank God. She actually finished high school.
“And what I did learn (about mothering) is that nobody listens. So it’s really about being there for them rather than telling them what to do.”
She also spoke about allowing Maya freedom with her style, laughing her daughter has “ransacked” her iconic 1990s wardrobe, including the very first Prada dress she wore to the Oscars.
With her youngest now a teenager, Thurman described entering what she calls the “sunset period” of motherhood.
She added: “I’m starting to think about what comes next, when I don’t have to invest so much energy in shopping and driving and emailing teachers and all the things we do.”
Uma Thurman reveals the one reason she doesn’t want to force her children to obey her
