She has made no bones about the fractious relationship she has with her adopted daughter, admitting they cannot live together because of the ‘frequent wars’ they have.
But Dawn French revealed she too suffered a strenuous relationship with her own mother Felicity ‘Roma’ growing up, recalling how she used to feel ‘allergic’ to her.
The Vicar of Dibley actress, who recently turned 60, opened up about her struggles to keep the peace with her own daughter Billie Henry in a candid interview about motherhood.
At loggerheads: Dawn French has opened up about the fractious relationship she has with her adopted daughter Billie Henry, admitting they cannot live together because of the ‘frequent wars’ they have
‘I remember the wars I had with my own mum – knowing what it was like to be allergic to her for quite a lot of my teenage years! And then to suddenly wake up and go, ‘What am I thinking? This is my closest darling, someone I can completely rely on, someone who has always got my back’.
‘I kind of had to travel through that to the other side of it.’
Dawn put her career on hold in 2012 to care for her mother and was left heartbroken when the charity boss died in Devon aged 77.
The actress said she hoped that ‘one day’ she and 26-year-old Billie, who she adopted with her ex-husband Sir Lenny Henry, would ‘get to the other side’ of their relationship, after years of being at war.
Optimistic: The actress said she hoped that ‘one day’ she and 26-year-old Billie, who she adopted with her ex-husband Sir Lenny Henry (pictured altogether in 2005), would ‘get to the other side’ of their relationship after years of being at war
Family life: Dawn made-up before the 77-year-old passed away in 2012 caring for the charity boss in her final hours
Speaking at a screening of the second series of Sky 1’s Delicious, she said:’I am always hoping that might be the case with my own daughter and one day we might get to the other side. Time will tell.’
The Vicar of Dibley star revealed in 2015 that she and Billie no longer lived together.
She said at the time: ‘I expected that if you nurture [a child], like a tomato plant, it grows towards the light, and surely if your mum is someone who wants to have fun with you and have adventures and read with you and spend time with you, how could you ever have a war?
Honest: The Vicar of Dibley star revealed she too suffered a strenuous relationship with her own mother Felicity ‘Roma’ growing up, recalling how she used to feel ‘allergic’ to her
Argumentative: ‘I remember my own relationship with my own mother and the warring that we had’ she said
‘But I haven’t got a kid who wants to read with me and have adventures with me, I’ve got a different kind of kid who’s a different kind of set of challenges and that’s been my lesson…
‘Our relationship exists in a bizarre kind of process of peacetime, small battles, war. The peacetime is much more than the other two energies, but we have our wars.’
Dawn, spoke of her split with Henry last month, candidly confessing that she is ‘still a bit broken’ from their 25-year marriage coming to and end.
Heartache: Dawn, spoke of her split with Henry last month, candidly confessing that she is ‘still a bit broken’ from their 25-year marriage coming to and end
Moving on: Two years following their split, French went on to remarry Mark Bignell in April 2013
‘I have mended myself,’ she told The Mirror. ‘I have seen what happens if you stay broken. When I was single I found my new self. But I think it is OK to grieve over a relationship.’
Two years following their split, French – who lost more than seven and half stone after embarking on complete dietary overhaul as she prepared for a hysterectomy in 2014 – went on to remarry and wed husband Mark Bignell in April 2013.
She now lives around 12 minutes away from her daughter in Cornwall.
Looking foward: The couple were together for 25-years before they split but are now said to be on amicable terms