Karen Gillan talks career shift after becoming a mother in 2024
The actress says she is prioritising motherhood while continuing her acting career
Karen Gillan has revealed that she is prioritising parenthood over her acting career, saying she wants to be as present as possible for her young daughter.
The 38-year-old actress and her husband, comedian Nick Kocher, welcomed their daughter Clementine in 2024, and Gillan says motherhood has now become her central focus alongside her professional work.
Speaking to The Telegraph, Gillan explained that she hopes to balance her career with family life without missing important moments in her daughter’s upbringing.
She said her biggest goal is to be “as present as I can” for Clementine while still giving her career everything she has, adding that finding the right balance is now her main priority.
Gillan admitted that the biggest challenge is the fear of not getting that balance right, but said she is actively making her family life a priority as she continues working in film.
The actress has recently been filming the upcoming installment of the Jumanji franchise, Jumanji: Open World, and revealed that she was able to bring her daughter to set during production.
She shared that having Clementine on set made the experience especially meaningful, allowing her to experience motherhood and her acting career side by side.
Gillan also spoke fondly about her co-star Dwayne Johnson interacting with her daughter during filming breaks, describing it as one of her favourite moments on set.
She added that seeing colleagues engage with her child made the environment feel warm and supportive, noting how much the cast doted on her daughter.
Gillan previously described becoming a mother as “the most incredible experience” of her life, saying it has brought both joy and adjustment in her daily routine.
She also revealed that during the early months of motherhood, she wrote a pilot episode for a television project while in what she described as a “postpartum haze,” using writing as a creative outlet during her daughter’s sleep times.
Gillan said she continues to explore creative work at her own pace, hoping the project she developed may eventually move forward into production while she navigates her new chapter as a mother.
