Heather Graham, remembered for her role as Rollergirl in Boogie Nights, opened her heart to talk about her decision not to have children.
“I think the culture is more accepting of this now. I think in the past there was this idea of: ‘Why aren’t you doing that?’ But I think fewer people are doing it [now] than they were [before],” said the 56-year-old actress in Thursday’s episode of the podcast The Bossticks.
“I think it’s great to do that if you have that love in your heart and want to give it to children. But I don’t think everyone should feel obligated. Obviously, there are many people who are terrible parents. It’s better not to do it if you don’t think you could.”
“I had a therapist who said: ‘If you don’t have children, life will bring you other people to nurture.’ So there are other things that come into your life that you can nurture,” added the Austin Powers actress.
According to Graham, the idea that women need to build families is “sexist” and that men don’t receive the same treatment. “I don’t think people are going to say: ‘Well, you’re a guy. Why don’t you have children? What’s wrong with you?’ It’s not the same judgment as for a woman.”
Graham made similar comments in April last year in an interview with The Guardian, when she admitted she was “very happy” to have never had children of her own.
“I think I’ve had moments where I wondered: what would it have been like if I had had a child? I’d say that 80% of the time I feel happy not having children, and I feel free and really good about it, and maybe 20% of the time I wonder what it would be like,” she told the outlet.
“You just have to appreciate the life you have. I think it’s amazing now that more women are expressing their desire not to have children. The culture says: ‘You need to have children.’ But why? If you’re not trying to please people, what do you really want?”
+ Click here and watch the video
Photo and video: Instagram @heathergraham / YouTube @TheSkinnyConfidential. This content was created with the help of AI and reviewed by the editorial team.
