Julianna Margulies Adjusts To Being A Working Mom

In the new CBS series The Good Wife, Julianna Margulies plays a politician’s wife who stands by her man – even after he’s publicly implicated in a sex scandal.

Julianna tells USA Today the role has given her a lot to think about.

"My reaction would have been to get the hell out of there. Until I put myself in her shoes — since I've been playing her — everything has changed. And since I've had my own child. It's not just about your feelings. The thing I love about her is that she's always balancing things. It's just survival."

In real life, the former ER star is happily married to Keith Lieberthal, with whom she has 1 1/2-year-old son Kieran. Her return to work after being a stay-at-home-mom has been an adjustment for the entire family.

"[Kieran] is still getting used to it,” she says. “He's a year and he doesn't quite understand. He says, 'Mama work.' And I say, 'Yes, Mama is going to work now.' When I was leaving today, he waved bye-bye. Sometimes he gets sad."

Admitting she’s still struggling with the long hours and little sleep, Julianna, 43, says that she turns to her friend Kyra Sedgwick, also a working mom, when she needs words of wisdom.

"Kyra e-mailed me to say 'One scene at a time and you'll get through it.’ I find the work exhilarating. I love that I can bring my kid to the show, and I love that weekends are just family."