Annette Bening, Acting on Her Maternal Instincts From: The Washington Post | Date: October 24, 2004| Author: Desson Thomson | Copyright 2004 The Washington Post. This material is published under license from the Washington Post.  All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Washington Post.Copyright information

When she was 8, Annette Bening was already thinking about her plum role. Not onstage or on-screen. In life. She wanted to be a mother.

She just knew. The acting would come later. So would the marriage to Warren Beatty. For the time being, she fantasized about the children she'd have. By 13, she was the go-to babysitter in her San Diego neighborhood.

"I was baby-sitting like crazy," says Bening, who sits sideways on a hotel sofa, feet up beside her. Like she's home.

That ...