Woodard dives into work to cope with empty nest

The Associated Press, Tuesday, September 18, 2012, 5:47pm (PDT)

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Alfre Woodard says she was born to be a storyteller, but the greatest experience of her life has been raising her two children.

The 59-year-old actress, whose credits include "Primal Fear" and the HBO series "True Blood," says "being a mother to Mavis and Duncan was my high calling." She adds that her 21-year-old daughter and 18-year-old son recently left home.

Woodard confessed, "I'm three weeks into my empty nest and I'm still a little weepy."

Woodard says that throughout her career, she cooked meals for her kids daily.

She made the remarks Tuesday while promoting her Lifetime movie, "Steel Magnolias," which also stars Queen Latifah and Jill Scott.