Michelle Pfeiffer's children helped her develop into a "confident" person.

The actress has recently made a return to film after a four-year hiatus, during which she remained largely out of the public eye to devote time to her family.

Michelle raises Claudia, 19, and 17-year-old John with husband David E. Kelley, and says becoming a mother helped her to evolve into a more positive woman.

"I've overcome a lot of things that were holding me back in life, where you're not confident enough in yourself and so worried about things that you become very controlling at times," she told the UK edition of OK! magazine.

"I've learnt to take things more easily in life and having children and being a mother has taught me so much on that level."

Michelle has gained wisdom with age. The 54-year-old star thinks nothing is more important than hindsight.

"There comes the age when you realise life is limited," she said. "People around you are seriously ill or even die. You appreciate we should enjoy every day as it comes."