Angelina Jolie 'rediscovering' self as children grow up

American actor Angelina Jolie, after years of being a doting mother, wants to go on a journey of rediscovering herself and finding the person she was before becoming a parent.

Jolie, who is a proud mother to daughters Vivienne (11), Shiloh (13), and Zahara (14) and sons Knox, (11), Pax (15), and Maddox (18), recently told HELLO! magazine in a new interview that her older kids have recently taught her a valuable lesson, reported People.

The Oscar-winning actor said that her kids' growing up has made her reconnect with herself outside of her maternal role and she is finally "rediscovering herself."

"When your children are little, you feel more 'Mommy.' When they are teenagers, you start to remember yourself as a teenager. You see them going to punk clubs and you wonder why you can't go. I'm in this fun moment where I'm rediscovering myself," said Jolie, whose oldest child, son Maddox, recently left for college.

"As they grow up, I find my children are strong individuals but still open-minded. I try to lead by example and be kind and gracious, as my mother was -- and loving and tolerant. But when there's a fight that needs to be had, get in there. We need to prepare the next generation because there's so much happening in the world -- they're up against it," she added.

And her children still always prioritise their mother, even as they grow older. On Mother's Day, Jolie's kids "treat me like a lady," she shared, explaining that they "make me breakfast and pick me flowers."

"When I do take time for myself, I rediscover that softness I speak of. I also realize I have more fight and resilience in me than I knew," the actor said.

"But at my core, I'm soft and vulnerable -- it's not my dream just to be strong. I want to be allowed to be soft and I don't want to be harmed or feel unsupported when I am," Jolie added.

Despite her kids growing up fast, Jolie always strives to teach them to leverage "kindness" both "to others and themselves."

"It's important to be humble -- know the freedoms you have and what you've been blessed with and make sure you help others. And always remember your place -- we're all human and very flawed. We're tiny pieces in a much bigger world," she said.

Jolie revealed that she has shifted her focus away from directing and back to acting in order to spend more time with her children.

"I'm acting a little bit more now because I can't be what my family needs me to be while directing -- it takes a lot more time and effort to direct and I look forward to being able to do that again when things are better," she said.

The 44-year-old star revealed that she enjoys bringing her kids on set with her when she's filming because it enables them to see their "mommy" in a new light.

"They're great on set. But when they see me doing some cool action thing, they think it's funny because they know me so well. They're used to seeing me as Mom in my nightgown, not very good at making breakfast and being silly. It's fun and interesting because different sets bring you into different worlds, different cultures, and different places," she said.

On the work front, Jolie will be next seen in 'Maleficent: Mistress of Evil', 'Come Away', 'Those Who Wish Me Dead' and 'The Eternals'.