Gabrielle Union says there are still some baby steps to take before she actually gets around to having a baby of her own.
At a party in New York on Monday for her new film The Perfect Holiday, the actress, 35, told PEOPLE that she loves the idea of being a mom – though the reality of it would overwhelm her.
"I would love to think [I would have a child], and that's the answer my mom was waiting to hear," says Union, who played a cheerleader with Kirsten Dunst in 2000's Bring It On. "It's like being a superhero or the president. It's the hardest job there is in the world. I'm just not ready."
Instead, she's testing the waters through her career, playing a divorced mother of three in the new movie, with stars Queen Latifah and Terrence Howard. For Union, who says while she was growing up she even refused to babysit her sister, just taking the role was fraught with some anxiety.
"In Hollywood, you play a mom, and the next thing you know, you're on The Golden Girls," she says. "They age you so fast."
Before becoming a mom in real life, there's another minor detail to work out: who will have the honor of being the father. (In 2005, Union separated from her husband of four years, NFL star Chris Howard.)
"A couple of my friends started having babies," Union says, "and I thought, 'Maybe one day, with the right guy.' I have to find the guy first."
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