Blake Lively Says Having Kids Made Her Feel More at "Ease in My Own Body"

Blake Lively's confidence has only grown since having kids.

The actress opened up about growing into her own in a new interview with Forbes, sharing that her children have helped her feel more sure of herself in her professional pursuits. Lively shares three daughters—seven-year-old James, five-year-old Inez, and two-year-old Betty—with husband Ryan Reynolds.

Lively told the outlet that, as her career developed, she felt "less and less fulfilled" about not having "authorship" in her work.

"Once I had children, that just became even more profound because my time was even more precious," she said. "But also I think having children for me made me feel so much more in my skin. I never felt more myself or at ease in my own body or more confident—not to say that there aren't a bevy of insecurities coming at me a million times a day, but I just feel incredibly settled."

Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively, and their children in 2016.

She additionally mentioned that her daughters influence the kinds of projects she chooses to take on now.

"I just think that growing up, having kids, all of those things made me feel like I only want to do things where I can have really meaningful collaborations and have authorship," Lively continued. "When I say authorship, I'm not trying to be like the sole leader or genius. There's nothing worse to me than that and I also don't really believe in that. I believe in really valuable collaborations and that's where I'm getting my fulfillment these days and I've never been happier, professionally."

Chelsey Sanchez

Digital Associate Editor

As an associate editor at HarpersBAZAAR.com, Chelsey keeps a finger on the pulse on all things celeb news. She also writes on social movements, connecting with activists leading the fight on workers' rights, climate justice, and more. Offline, she’s probably spending too much time on TikTok, rewatching Emma (the 2020 version, of course), or buying yet another corset.