Annette Bening Says She Wanted Kids Before She Knew She Wanted to Be an Actress

12/29/2016 04:03 pm EST

Annette Bening says she always wanted to be a mother before she thought of becoming an actress.

In an interview with ET during a press junket for her new movie 20th Century Women she revealed she has always wanted to be a mom. "That came before acting, that came before I knew anything," she said on the carpet.

"I was the youngest of four," she said. "I remember wanting my mom to have another baby and she said, 'No I'm not going to have any more.' So I don't know if that was the connection. I wanted a sibling, then very quickly [afterwards] I wanted to be a mommy. I was the little kid in the neighborhood that played with the little tinies. So I always wanted that."

The actress has two daughters and two sons with her husband Warren Beatty and discussed the qualities she hopes her children will grow up with as they become adults.

"Ideally, I guess, it's what we would want of any human being: that sort of openness and a kind of recognition of our own vulnerability," she said of her children. "I mean, intelligence, a certain passion about life, gratitude about the gifts that come with life. Being able to tolerate all the disappointments that we all have."

Just last week, Beatty was on the red carpet for the couple's latest movie gloating about his wife, including her talent and beauty.

20th Century Women is set to be released to theaters on Christmas Day.

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