Katie Holmes is adamant that she's a mother first and an actress second.

In an interview with Town & Country's April issue, the 38-year-old star says she takes her role as the mother of 10-year-old Suri Cruise very seriously. "My child is the most important person to me, and her upbringing is paramount to my work right now," she shares. "It’s very important that I’m present and she has a stable, innocent childhood."

WATCH: Katie Holmes Looks Just Like Daughter Suri Cruise in Adorable Flashback Photo

Holmes adds, "I feel so blessed to do what I do, but there’s nothing in the world better than watching your child succeed."

As many parents can attest to, the Dawson's Creek actress notes that Suri is growing up fast. "Every day, kids get a little further away from you," she says. "That's a positive thing. They should be becoming more independent, but it's heartbreaking. You want them to stay with you forever, but they're these amazing beings, and you have to do everything you can to give them what they need -- and then they're going to go. And that's going to be very, very sad for me."

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As for how she protects her and ex-husband Tom Cruise's daughter from the media, she says that they just don't give it any thought. “To experience something publicly and privately is a lot for a person to go through,” she explains. "In today’s world a lot of celebrities probably shield their children from the tabloids; in my household we know what they print isn’t true, so we don’t pay attention. There are more important things. But it’s very relatable to me; if people know who you are, they might write about you, and you can’t control that.”

When ET sat down with Holmes in October, she praised Suri for being her muse. "She gets a special thanks for everything, [for] every job I do, because she makes every day great and awesome and better," she gushed. "I know myself better because of her, so she'll always get a special thanks."