Why you won't see Cate Blanchett on the big screen next year

Actress Cate Blanchett says 2016 will bring more focus on family. Photo / Getty

Cate Blanchett plans to take a break from acting in 2016.

The Carol star - who is nominated for a Golden Globe for her role in the period drama - admits she is taking some time off next year to focus on her family.

She said: "I'm not planning on working much in 2016 either."

The 46-year-old actress also opened up about adopting her fourth child, a little girl called Edith, and admitted it was made easier by the fact she already has three biological sons, Dashiell, 14, Roman, 11, and Ignatius, 8.

She added: "We got a phone call earlier this year and we adopted a little girl. You're on the list and then you get the call. You don't know anything about the child you're going to meet.

"It's always the first time. Always. Our three biological children have been extraordinary. It's been wonderful watching them become a little brood."

Blanchett also spoke up about the adoption laws, insisting they should be changed to be in the "best interests of the children".

She told Harper's Bazaar magazine: "The laws have to shift towards the best interests of the children. Otherwise what happens is these children end up being shunted back and forth through the foster system, and ultimately if that goes on until the child is five or seven, then the damage is just ...

"We're going to see a new wave of orphans coming out of the Syrian crisis and Europe, and the rest of the world is going to have to respond. It's a world issue."

-Bang! Showbiz