I’m turning 40 this year. Single. No kids. Over the last few years I’ve been conscious that there were a few female celebrities of about my age or a bit older who didn’t have kids yet - Elisabeth Moss, Hayley Atwell, Aisling Bea, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Michelle Dockery. The first three have all had a kid in the last year or so, and PWB and MD are just recently announced as pregnant.
Obviously in one way it has no bearing on my life, but it sort of feels like the opposite of what the media seem to be constantly claiming, which is that fewer and fewer women are having children. In real life most women my age that I know of have had kids, and now that all of the above celebrities have or are having kids I’m not sure I can actually think of any well-known actresses in my age group who don’t have them.
I guess I’m just thinking that I can think of several famous women 50 or older who never had kids (Helen Mirren, Kim Cattrall, Jennifer Aniston), and a few who had kids at 45+ via adoption (Diane Keaton, Kristin Davis, Sandra Bullock). But I can’t actually think of famous actresses my age who don’t have them. AIBU to wonder whether with the improvements in reproductive technology and egg freezing etc, availability of surrogacy etc, childless female celebrities will become a thing of the past? Obviously us ordinary mortals can’t afford those things, but if you’re a celebrity and you can afford to have a baby on your own timeline, and as much childcare as you want etc, there’s sort of no reason not to?
I just feel increasingly isolated in my society and wider culture I guess, really doesn’t feel like what the statistics claim about more and more women being single and childless. I don’t really feel I know anyone like me, even the couple of women my age who don’t have kids have partners.