There are few actors who can boast a four-decade career and still be under age 40. Mae Whitman is one of them. She laughs, saying, “It’s so crazy, isn’t it?” when reflecting on her younger days starring as the daughter to some of Hollywood’s biggest stars, from George Clooney in 1996’s One Fine Day (Clooney gave her a charm bracelet from Tiffany — “It has all these sweet little charms on it, and I’ve always really treasured that”) to Meg Ryan in 1994’s When a Man Loves a Woman and Bill Pullman in 1996’s Independence Day.

Fast-forward a few decades — with plenty of films (The Perks of Being a Wallflower, The DUFF) and series (Parenthood, Good Girls) in between — and you find Whitman now a mom to her son Miles. For her latest role in Twelve Dates ‘Til Christmas (premiering December 5), she traveled to the U.K., along with 4-month-old Miles, to play Kate, a textile pattern designer who is in a rut when her friends recruit her for The 12 Dates of Christmas, a holiday-themed matchmaking program. The series, based on the beloved book by Jenny Bayliss, finds Kate in some very elaborate, unusual, magical and massive dating adventures.

Originally published on tvinsider.com, part of the BLOX Digital Content Exchange.