Famous Women Who Chose Not To Be Moms

Motherhood is not the right fit for every woman, and lots of high-profile women have said so. Stars like Jennifer Aniston, Miley Cyrus and Dolly Parton have made conscious choices to skip parenthood for different reasons. Here are some of our favorite celebs who opted out of raising kids.

Alison Brie, No Baby Plans

Alison Brie has said she does not really want children, which fits her hectic work life. Filming schedules, like on Glow, make the whole idea of pregnancy complicated. She admits kids "would be nice," but says the stress and logistics give her pause. For now she does not dwell on it.

Renee Zellweger, Taking Each Day

Renee Zellweger seems content to leave mothering to her famous on-screen alter ego, Bridget Jones. She does not have plans to become a parent and says she does not like to plan much at all. Renee takes life one day at a time and has been open that "motherhood has never been an ambition." That honest approach works for her.

Sarah Paulson, Loves Kids, Chooses Not To

Sarah Paulson says she loves kids but is glad she does not have any of her own right now. She worries about being impulsive and fears making a decision she would later regret. To keep her options open she froze her eggs, so parenthood remains possible if she changes her mind. For now she is comfortable with her choice.

Oprah, Long Partnership, No Children

Oprah Winfrey and partner Stedman Graham have been together for decades and have chosen not to raise children together. Oprah has spoken about a loss early in her life and has not had children since. She has also quipped that "if I had kids, my kids would hate me," pointing to the demands of her life and career. Her focus has been on work, philanthropy and a long-term partnership.

Ashley Judd

Ashley Judd is not only known for being the daughter of the famous country singer Naomi Judd, or for her own successful acting career, but also for being pretty outspoken about why she does not want any kids.

Her reason for this is more to do with feeling like there are already so many children in the world as opposed to having an aversion to kids. Ashley has said that there are abandoned and orphaned children out there, who are deserving of her attention, love and care.

Christina Hendricks

Perhaps playing the hardworking mom on TV in her most iconic role as Joan Harris in Mad Men, has scared Christina Hendricks off from having any children. The actress has been married for over a decade to Geoffrey Arend, a fellow actor.

However, Christina has said in an interview that her idea of starting a family was getting a puppy, so that is exactly what she did.

Winona Ryder

Winona Ryder has had quite the rollercoaster of a career, taking on some of the most well-known TV and movie roles, like acting in Little Women, Beetlejuice, Dracula, and, more recently, Stranger Things.

There is no denying that Winona has been very busy with all of this. Perhaps it could be said that Winona has been a little too busy. The actress has yet to get married or have kids.

Marisa Tomei

Marisa Tomei has certainly not held back when it comes to expressing her opinions on women and their place in society - or lack thereof.

Marisa has been quoted expressing that she does not really support marriage as an institution, and why women feel as though they need to have children so that the rest of the world can accept them as complete human beings. Marisa has dedicated herself to her career, which explains why she is so immensely successful.

Chelsea Handler

Chelsea Handler is known for saying it how it is, and her honesty is certainly extended to how she feels about having children.

Chelsea has said that she doesn't see herself being a good Mom, and doesn't want to dedicate the time necessary to be one. The actress and comedian has also said that she would not want to have a kid and then hire a nanny to raise it.

Betty White

We feel like Betty White is like the ultimate grandma, so we were pretty surprised to learn that Betty does not have any kids or grandkids of her own. The actress has said that she has no regrets about not having children, especially being the compulsive person that she is.

Betty continued on to say that she does not feel like she would have been able to juggle both her acting career and having a kid, because one of the two would have to take up her whole focus.

Jennifer Westfeldt

Jennifer Westfeldt and Mad Men's Jon Hamm were together for around 18 years, and yet, the couple had no children. Jennifer has said that she never really thought that she would reach the age that she is at and not have any kids, but then again, her life has been full of surprises.

The actress continued to say that the thought of perhaps regretting it one day is not enough of a compelling reason to have children.

Tracee Ellis Ross

Tracee Ellis Ross questions whether or not she considers having children for herself, or because people expect those that have reached a certain age to have a husband and babies.

She said that people fall back on saying that the point of being human is to procreate, but that is part of the issue with the world at the moment - that there are too many people.

Kim Cattrall

Kim Cattrall clearly has some similarities to her onscreen counterpart, Samantha Jones, from SATC. Both of them care little for responsibility, which Kim expressed with her decision to not have kids since it simply was not for her.

Kim has said that she does not mind having kids around, but not for a long period of time. She thinks that they are cute and funny, but eventually give her a headache.

Ellen DeGeneres

Since tying the knot in 2008, Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi have yet to have kids. Despite Ellen evidently loving kids, as we see on her show, she has said that she would not want to take on the responsibility of bringing children into the world.

For now, Ellen said that she is committed to taking care of her pets. The couple have 3 cats and 3 dogs.

Sarah Silverman

Sara Silverman does want to have kids eventually, but at least not for the next little while. The comedian has said that she only wants to have them when she can be fully devoted to them.

Sara has also said that she kind of wants to be a young-grandma age when she has her kids, since grandmas are so much more laid back. She just wants to be like Diane Keaton, and "go straight to grandmother-hood."

Miley Cyrus

Miley Cyrus has stated that she does not want to have children until they can "live on an earth with fish in the water."

The musician has expressed her disappointment in the world around her, with everyone always taking and having this expectation that the earth will keep producing. Miley said that the planet is now destroyed, and she does not want to hand down such a planet to her kids.

Dolly Parton

Despite having a wildly successful music career under her belt, it seems like a lot of people are still concerned as to why Dolly Parton does not have any children.

Well, Dolly is more than happy to answer this question, saying that she grew up with eight younger siblings - several of whom came to live with her in the earlier years of her career. Now, she feels like all of her siblings' kids and grandkids are her own.

Rachael Ray

It seems like Rachael Ray is taking over mainstream media, with her television show and being a celebrity cook. Rachael has been married for over 10 years, and has said that she is "a borderline good mom to my dog."

She has continued with explaining that she can not even imagine how she would be to look after a human baby, and that it would not be fair to both the child and everyone she does business with.

Katharine Hepburn

The Academy Award winning actress, Katherine Hepburn, had a Hollywood career that spanned over 60 years. In fact, in 1999, the American Film Institute named the actress as the greatest female star of classic Hollywood cinema.

When it came to the subject of children, however, Katherine was quoted saying that she is "basically a very selfish human being" which would have made her a "terrible mother."

Dita von Teese

For several years, Dita von Teese had been married to rocker Marilyn Manson. It was during this time that the famed burlesque dancer thought about having children. In the end, she decided agains it.

Dita said that her husband was barely able to look after himself, let alone a child, so she changed her perspective and adapted to her situation. She said that she does not believe she will see herself in a lesser light if she never has kids and that everything works out the way it's meant to.

Jennifer Aniston

Even though it may seem like there is another pregnancy rumor printed about Jennifer Aniston in the tabloids every other day, Jennifer herself has made it pretty clear in regards to how she feels about having children.

The actress has said that there is no checklist in her life that validates how successful she is at being a feminist, or her value as a woman. Jennifer added that she feels as though she has already "mothered many things."

Joan Jett

Joan Jett is known for her epic guitar skills in the all-female American rock band, The Runaways, as well has being the front-woman of her own band, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts.

In fact, the rocker is so famous that there is even a film that has been made based on Joan's life. When it comes to having kids, Joan has explained that she "was too focused on my own situation," and never really had time for them.

Kylie Minogue

At the height of her career, the singer Kylie Minogue was known as the Princess of Pop. Despite being all the way Down Under in Australia, her songs were known internationally and people around the world knew her name.

Kylie has had her fair share of high profile romances, but none of them have eventuated into a marriage and the singer has not any of her own kids.

Margaret Cho

Back in 2012, Margaret Cho wrote on her blog that for right now, she does not see kids in the cards

The comedian also wrote that she is unsure about if she had ever even wanted kids, and whether or not she would be able to have that sort of commitment. Currently, Cho is divorced from her ex, Al Ridenour, and is in her late 40s.

Stevie Nicks

The incredibly famous Stevie Nicks is known for being the lead singer of the British-American rock band, Fleetwood Mac, as well as having a super successful solo career.

The musician has certainly had love in her life, but she has made the conscious decision to not have any kids with any of her former partners. The Queen of Rock 'n Roll, as she is referred to by many, has chosen for her career to be the focus of her life.

Liza Minnelli

When being interviewed back in 2012, Liza Minelli explained that she made the right choice by not having any children.

The singer said that working with kids who are suffering from AID and children who have brain damage rationalizes her decision to not have kids. Liza said that she feels like she was meant to do something else other than to be a mother.

Aisha Tyler

Aisha Tyler is known for having a great sense of humor, but when it comes to fertility, the talk show host and actress nearly broke down when relaying her experiences with IVF.

After choosing not to continue with the treatment due to it having a low probability of being successful due to her condition, she wanted to ket everyone know that it is a "valid choice not to get on this crazy merry-go-round of IVF."

Helen Mirren

Dame Helen Mirren has been pretty outspoken about the fact that she does not have any kids. She said that she though she would for sure have had kids one day, but that "it was not my destiny."

Since 1997, Helen has been married to her husband, Taylor Hackford. The actress is known for being the leading lady in a number of famous films and TV series, like Catherine the Great, The Queen, and The Good Liar.

Anjelica Huston

Anjelica Huston is basically an icon in Hollywood, known for playing the character Morticia Addams in Addams Family movies. The actress has made the choice not to have children, due to the emotional elements of having a career in this industry.

Anjelica has said that sometimes she is grateful to not have kids, and sometimes she wants them, but she does not know how she would cope with leaving them behind when going away for a job.

Megan Mullally

Megan Mullally relays that she never really wanted to have kids with a "burning desire," but when she met her husband, Nick, she considered the possibility.

Well, for a while the couple attempted to conceive, but after a year of trying, Megan was still not pregnant. So, they decided to stop trying and took it as a sign that they were not supposed to be parents.

Fiona Apple

The Grammy Award winning American singer and songwriter, Fiona Apple, has said that she never had any desire to have children. Despite this, however, she does read a lot of parenting books and finds them extremely interesting.

Fiona has said that she thinks she enjoys these sorts of books because she is "big on self-parenting." The musician is known for staying under the radar, and is rarely seen in the press.

Mavis Leno

Mavis Leno, who is married to television host and comedian, Jay Leno, told the Washington Post back in 2014 that she recalls telling her mom when she was younger that it was never going to be her plan to get married or have kids.

Mavis believes that "this is the way women get caught," and that she has no intention of ever feeling like she is trapped.

Lily Tomlin

Lily Tomlin has expressed that she is quite glad that she does not have any children. The legendary actress was quoted saying that "there wouldn’t have been room in my life to raise children."

She also said she would have had to let go of a large part of her career to be able to be a good mom. Lily also thinks that there are too many people in the world regardless.

Amy Tan

The name and brains behind the widely-known novel, The Joy Luck Club, is none other than Amy Chan. The book has also been adapted into a film in 1993. Tan has been married for many years, yet has not had any children.

She has expressed that whatever she has wanted to pass on into the future has been written down in her books. Well, that's one way of looking at it.

Gloria Steinem

Since the 1960s, Gloria Steinem has been thought of as a leader of the second-wave Feminist movement. Gloria had been married to for a few years to actor Christian Bale's father, David Bale.

The journalist and activist said that she is "completely happy not having children," and does not believe that just because she has a womb, she should be having getting pregnant and having a kid.

New Voices Joining the Conversation

Jameela Jamil is one of the newer celebrities to say she’s chosen to be child-free, and she’s been clear about why. For her, the freedom to write, travel and keep working mattered, and it also let her be present for her father in his final months. That mix of career and caregiving shaped a decision that feels deliberate, not accidental. It’s another reminder that the reasons people make this choice are personal and varied.

Kim Cattrall’s Practical, Work-First View

Kim Cattrall’s stance on not having kids reads practical more than ideological. She calls her career a passport to independence and points out the brutal hours she once worked, the kind that make stepping into motherhood a tough fit. Research also notes she weighed IVF later in life but found the demands of her work and schedule hard to reconcile with the process. It underlines that for some women, the choice comes down to logistics as much as preference.

Tracee Ellis Ross On Expectations

Tracee Ellis Ross has been vocal about the pressure women face to follow a set timeline. She questions whether wanting kids is truly her wish or just a response to social expectation, and says she feels 'fertile with creativity' in other parts of her life. That line captures how fulfillment can show up in different forms, not only parenthood. It’s a useful counterpoint to the idea that life has a single correct script.

Mary J. Blige Chooses Personal Freedom

Mary J. Blige has said that part of what she values is the freedom to move and act as she pleases. She doesn’t want to be tied to constant caretaking, and that preference informs her choice to remain child-free. It’s a blunt, honest take: for some people, autonomy comes before parenthood. That perspective gets at how lifestyle matters as much as feelings about kids themselves.

Jennifer Coolidge Keeps It Light and Real

Jennifer Coolidge admits she didn’t want to grow up, and she’s laughed about choosing not to have children for that reason. Her honesty is goofy but telling: not everyone sees parenthood as part of their personal map. Sometimes the decision is about temperament, and Coolidge’s answer is refreshingly plainspoken. It’s another voice showing there’s no single right reason to opt out.