Zooey Deschanel admits it is not her "ambition" to have children.

The 'New Girl' star - whose big sister and 'Bones' actress Emily welcomed baby Henry with husband David Hornsby in September - says that while she loves her nephew, she has no plans to start a family of her own.

She said: "That's never been my focus. My sister was always very motherly, babysitting and stuff.

"I like kids, and I like being around kids, but it was never an ambition - something, like, I need. I like working. That's what I like doing. I like to work."

Having split with Death Cab for Cutie front man Ben Gibbard in November after just two years of marriage, Zooey also insists dating is off her agenda for now.

She said: "Honestly, I'm just going through a divorce, so I don't really think [dating] is something I want to get into now. I don't have time to date. I literally don't have time."

Meanwhile, the 32-year-old actress' growing fame means she has started finding it difficult to go about her day-to-day life.

In an interview with Marie Claire magazine, she explained: "It's harder to do normal things. I think that if you haven't been to the grocery store in a really long time, it's really easy to get very out of touch."