Vanessa Paradis: Motherhood Is Humbling

In her new film, Café de flore, French actress Vanessa Paradis plays a role she knows well: A devoted mother.

The multi-talented star - she is also a singer and model - says that she identified with her character immediately.

"I understood this character as soon as I read the script," reveals Vanessa, who has been in Canada this week for the movie's Toronto International Film Festival premiere. "She had to be tough. She had to be both a mother and a father. She had to fight for this kid."

As for her own experience with motherhood, Vanessa, who has kids Lily-Rose, 12, and Jack, 9, with her longtime love Johnny Depp, says that it has been humbling.

"Johnny and I love our kids. They're the world to us. But when you become a mother things change a lot. It's not about you anymore. That's a humbling lesson. I'm grateful that it found me and changed my life."