London, Sep 17 - Hollywood actress Uma Thurman who has been working exclusively in New York for a number of years so that she can be close to her children thinks it is time to return to Hollywood.

'I am a mother, but I need to do what I am good at doing. Even your kids need you to be who you are. I have been living at home...for a long time. If I don't leave soon, I'm going to literally choke my career to death,' femalefirst.co.uk quoted Thurman as saying.

The 39-year-old actress has two children, Maya, 11, and Levon, seven, from her first marriage to actor Ethan Hawke, whom she divorced in 2004.

Thurman also revealed that her life 'constantly surprises' her, especially as she is getting older.

'I feel like I have lived my life backwards. Getting older has been a process of realising. To realise that just when you think you have figured it out, life surprises you,' she said.