It’s obvious that Olivia Wilde is, well, wild about being a mom.
“The amazing thing about becoming a parent is that you will never again be your own first priority,” the actress told reporters Tuesday at the International Women’s Media Foundation‘s 25th Anniversary Courage in Journalism Awards.
“The gift of Motherhood is the Selflessness that it introduces you to, and I think that’s really freeing.”
Wilde — who co-hosted the event in Beverly Hills, California — and fiancé Jason Sudeikis welcomed son Otis Alexander in April.
The busy 30-year-old actress says everything about life with her baby boy has been “amazing” since his arrival.
“He’s a very sweet person,” shares Wilde, who jokes that she and Sudeikis are “getting there” in terms of Otis sleeping through the night. “The empathy that it floods you with — being a mother — I think makes you a better storyteller.”
Continues Wilde: “I take my place in the world a little bit more seriously being a mother … I hope I can tell stories that somehow benefit the world that Otis will grow up in.”
The event was especially meaningful for the HER star: Wilde’s mother, Leslie Cockburn, is an investigative journalist and her personal hero.
“She Taught me the importance of speaking truth to power, to being unintimidated by people telling you to give up,” explains Wilde. “So in terms of my own career, her example of perseverance has been very helpful.”
Adds Wilde: “My mom was the first person to really introduce me to what it means to really dedicate yourself to your profession, and about self sacrifice. And I think being a mother in a very dangerous profession is even harder, and she knew that she was risking her life, and yet we grew up just admiring that type of passion and bravery.”