Christina Ricci thought being immature made her "special".
Christina Ricci
The 37-year-old actress began her career when she was just eight years old, and she admits she didn't really grow up until she and husband James Heerdegen welcomed their son Freddie into the world in August 2014.
She said: "Marriage shows you your flaws in how you deal with things, and having a child forces you to grow up at the speed of light.
"I'm a completely different person than I was before I had my child.
"Because I was so celebrated for being a child, I think I held onto that immaturity for a very long time. It was the thing that made me special. Then at a certain point, like 35, it's not so special to be immature."
The 'Z: The Beginning of Everything' actress is thankful there was no social media when she was growing up in the spotlight because she did so many "ill-advised" things that she and her publicist were able to conceal in a way that wouldn't be possible now.
She told Net-a-Porter's The Edit magazine: "I did things in public that were so ill-advised. I'm so thankful there was no social media back then.
"My publicist never had a child, I believe, because she had promised her firstborn to so many journalists to quash stories about me. But I had no sense of reality, because I was plucked out of reality when I was eight years old."
Christina admitted one of the traits she's been left with as a result of being a child star is a constant desire for order.
She explained: "There's so much downtime with being an actor, that if you don't create structure and routine for yourself, you will lose your mind.
"I write packing lists, I check things off, I get to the airport early. That's who I am."
The former 'Pan Am' star thinks more young people these days need to be able to understand that life isn't fair.
She said: "When I was a child, I was told, 'Life is just not fair, honey, and you've got to make the best of it.
"I don't think anyone is telling their kids that anymore, and it's important. Life isn't fair; the right thing doesn't always happen for you."
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