Actress Reese Witherspoon says she moved to Los Angeles to escape the "very conservative" society she grew up in.

The actress was raised in Tennessee. In an interview with OK! Magazine, she revealed that she always "challenged" the belief systems that surrounded her, reports femalefirst.co.uk.

"When I would go back home I was always the person who comes from Los Angeles with all the crazy ideas. I grew up in a very conservative family and a very conservative society, so I have always challenged the ideas and the belief systems that I grew up with. That's probably why I moved so far away -- to meet people who have similar ideas to my own," she said.

She has Ava, 20, and Deacon, 16, from her marriage to Ryan Phillippe and seven-year-old Tennessee with husband Jim Toth.

The actress said she felt like she could do anything after becoming a mother.

"After you have a child, you have this amazing feeling that you can accomplish anything because it is so challenging on your body and your mind. It changes your entire life. I feel like if you can adapt to that, and do it to the best of your ability, it's a great achievement in life," she said.

The 44-year-old star also admitted that she became more "vulnerable" after embracing motherhood .

"It makes you incredibly vulnerable. It feels like you're walking around with your heart outside your body. If anything happens to my children, it wrecks me. If they suffer or if they feel sad, it really makes me feel bad. As a mother, I feel like the most important thing you have to do is to be there, to be consistent, and be part of their lives," she said.