Although we're in the midst of an Artificial Intelligence arms race, with ChatGPT and its omnipresent contemporaries making headlines as you read this, Google still seems uncertain when you scout for images depicting a "child-free" lifestyle.
You might see grown-ups on a sofa playing Xbox and a plethora of more-confusing-than-not stock illustrations. However, no Patricia Clarkson, Keanu Reeves or other actual human beings for that matter.
The reason why we're suddenly mentioning Patricia Clarkson stems from her honest and insightful perspective on her decision to forgo marriage and parenthood.
In a recent interview, Patricia Clarkson opened up about her decision to be childfree
Image credits: Dia Dipasupil / Getty Images
"I have so many sisters who have beautiful children, and they now have beautiful children," Clarkson said on iHeartPodcast's "Table for Two with Bruce Bozzi" recorded before the actors strike. "I love being an aunt, I love it more than— probably more than acting, which is odd."
"I had a window to have a child, but [at] the end of the day, I loved working and I grew up with great parents who sacrificed everything for me," she explained. "And you have to really be committed to having children. You have to be a great parent, and I was afraid I couldn't be [one]."
Curiously, a few of the roles that have endeared the Emmy and Golden Globe Award-winning actress to audiences are those where she portrays a mother, as seen in movies like "Easy A" and "Friends With Benefits." However, despite this, the 63-year-old actress has come to terms with the reality that she "was born without that gene."
"You have to be a great parent, and I was afraid I couldn't be [one]"
Image credits: Dominik Bindl / Getty Images
Her parents were supportive of her choice to remain childless as well, she told the Guardian in 2013. In fact, Clarkson mentioned to Bozzi that her mother is "the coolest about it." However, this didn't stop them from expressing concerns that Patricia would "wake up at 50 and be unhappy."
On the contrary, Clarkson "woke up at 50 in stilettos and a thong," she joked during the interview, adding that she's had a "great, sexy-ass life."
Image credits: Emma McIntyre / Getty Images
The Matrix superstar, Keanu Reeves, opted to journey along this path, although driven by different reasons
Image credits: Wikipedia
Of course, Clarkson is not the only celebrity who has spoken about her choice to remain child-free. The Matrix's Keanu Reeves told Esquire magazine in 2017 that he's resigned to the fact he will never start a family of his own.
"I'm too... it's too late. It's over. I'm 52. I'm not going to have any kids," he said, after being surprised by the age of superstar Mick Jagger, 80, who welcomed another child in 2016.
Some fans speculate that the reason why Reeves chose to abstain from having children or forming a new family may stem from the emotional distress he endured in 1999. This was when his daughter Ava tragically passed away due to stillbirth shortly before his girlfriend Jennifer Syme's fatal car accident, which occurred just a month later.
Oprah Winfrey said she thought she was simply not cut for it and instead found other ways to experience a sense of maternal connection
Image credits: oprah
Speaking with People magazine, Oprah Winfrey, 65, the media mogul revealed that she contemplated the prospects of marriage and parenthood after meeting her long-time partner, Stedman Graham. Although she ultimately chose not to pursue either path, she maintains a sense of contentment and has no regrets about her decisions.
"I have not had one regret about that. I also believe that part of the reason why I don’t have regrets is because I got to fulfill it in the way that was best for me: the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa," she said.
"Those girls fill that maternal fold that I perhaps would have had. In fact, they overfill – I’m overflowed with maternal."
"There are far too many people in the world. It is my contribution to ecology"
Image credits: helenmirren
Acclaimed British actress Dame Helen Mirren, who recently spoke about the benefits of gardening, meanwhile, offers another take on her decision to remain childfree.
"There are far too many people in the world. It is my contribution to ecology," the Prime Suspect actress told the Guardian in 2011.
"It's not that I don't love children. They are funny, and I just love them, but I never wanted to have them. I really tried to want it at one point… I thought maybe I should. But I never convinced myself."
Most people supported Patricia Clarkson in her decision to remain childfree
