Deborra-Lee Furness opens up about parenting with Hugh Jackman
Deborra-Lee Furness and husband Hugh Jackman have long been advocates for adoption, but have largely kept their two children away from the spotlight.
We often don't hear from the 64-year-old about her own two kids, 20-year-old Oscar and 15-year-old Ava, whom she adopted with Hugh.
In a rare interview with People, Deborra has spoken about parenting their two kids and maintaining a dynamic that explores their diversity.
"It's so interesting being a parent, and they've both made me smarter than I think I ever could have been on my own," Deborra revealed.
"But when you're a parent, you can't lie to them or yourself. They will shine a light on every one of your flaws, your Achilles heel, whatever. You've got to look at yourself."
Oscar has Bosnian heritage and Ava has Mexican lineage, so Deborra says she has taken a special interest in "epigenetics" - the study of how your behaviours and environment can impact the way your genes work.
"What I'm very interested in is epigenetics, and it's even more so when you have adopted children because I'm coming from my lineage of my mother, how she parented me, how her mother parented her, and I'm translating that to my children."
"But my children also have a separate lineage. So it's almost like we have more players at the table."
The mother-of-two says she has made a conscious effort to open both Oscar and Ava up to their cultural traits.
"When my son was younger, he found out he was part Bosnian, so we went and got this Croatian/Bosnian cookbook and he was very proud to carry that around when he was 7 years old."
"My daughter has a Mexican lineage, so we've been to Mexico."
She then went on to say: "We completely embrace the ancestors and the extended family; they're family to us. And it's in there, even though it's generational. It may be subtle, but it's in there."
In a recent interview with the Herald Sun, Hugh spoke of his unwavering love for his children.
"I don't think of them as adopted – they're our children. We feel things happened the way they are meant to. Obviously, biologically wasn't the way we were meant to have children."
"Now, as we go through life together, sure there are challenges, but everyone's in the right place with the right people. It sounds airy-fairy, but it's something we feel very deeply."