Charlize Theron wants a baby.

The "Burning Plain" star would love to have children with her long-term partner Stuart Townsend but is in no rush to get pregnant.

Charlize, 33, said: "I've always known that I wanted to be a mom. I love children. I've always loved children. But I'm not like, 'Oh my god, I really must have kids right now.' I've never felt this pressing urge that some biological clock is ticking. We both want to be parents one day, but I've no idea when that will be."

The 33-year-old actress - who has dated Stuart for eight years - says her life changed completely the day they met.

She told Marie Claire magazine: "Since I've been with Stuart, my vulnerability has become something I'm more comfortable with. I think there's a part of me that is very much a survivor. I don't know if it was in my genes, I don't know what it is. But I guess being young and starting out in a sense of, 'I'm not going to be a wallflower, and I'm not going to be messed with.' That was the only way I knew how to survive at that time.

"But all that has changed since I've been with Stuart. I don't feel like I'm in survival mode any more. I feel like it's OK, I can breathe, so I'm very grateful to him."

(China Daily/Agencies, April 7, 2009)