AceShowbiz - Sigourney Weaver was overwhelmed with guilt after agreeing to film "Avatar" abroad - because her teenage daughter was preparing for her first year of college at the same time. The actress was approached by James Cameron to play a scientist in the sci-fi epic but felt reluctant to jet out to film in New Zealand because her daughter Charlotte was finishing high school and heading for university.

Weaver says, "She was applying to colleges at the time, and leaving almost killed me. I was a b**ch because I made her do all the essays and applications before I left. I made her life miserable. It's tough being away; it never gets easier. I've always had a lot of guilt of about leaving my family, because I enjoy work so much. I think it was definitely mixed up for Charlotte growing up."

"I remember a friend of mine said to her, 'Don't you know that your mom is a huge feminist icon for all women?' And she said, 'That goes in the little box of things I don't need to know.'" Weaver also admits she only recently managed to convince Charlotte to watch her hit Alien films: "She had never seen them before. I think she just prefers to think of me as good ol' mom, not some person running around a spaceship with a flame-thrower."

"But when children see their mother devoting herself to something she loves, I think it makes them appreciate that their mothers have something more to do than just be around them at home. Sometimes, our daughter missed out on having two parents at home, but we're very, very close."