Lily Allen shares her surprisingly candid views on whether women can combine motherhood with professional ambitions.
The British pop singer, known for hits such as “Smile” and “Fuck You,” told the Radio Times podcast this week that having children “ruined” her music career.
“I've never been strategic about my career, but my kids certainly ruined my career,” Allen said in an interview. “I love them and they complete me, but they've completely ruined me in terms of my pop star status.”
She further stated: “It really pisses me off when people say you can have it all, because quite frankly you can't.”
Watch a clip of Allen's “Radio Times” interview below.
Ms Allen, from London, has daughters Ethel Mary, 12, and Marnie Rose, 11, with ex-husband Sam Cooper. She and Stranger Things actor David Harbour, who married in 2020, spend most of her time in New York.
Of course, she's not the first female celebrity to talk about the challenges of raising children while pursuing show business. Last year, actor Emily Blunt told the podcast “Table for Two” that she was ready for a change of pace after starring in “Oppenheimer,” which won seven Academy Awards on Sunday, and was taking a year off from acting. He said he was planning to take a break.
Blunt, who has daughters Hazel, 9, and Violet, 7, with husband John Krasinski, said: “I feel like the foundation for a really important day is laid when the kids are little.” he said. “And I was like, 'Can you wake me up?' Can you take me to school? Can you pick me up? Can you put me to bed?' And I just for all of them, You have to be there for a long time. And I felt it in my bones.”
Allen hasn't been in the spotlight since the release of his last album, 2018's No Shame, but that doesn't mean he's been out of the spotlight.
In 2021, she made her London stage acting debut in the play 2:22: A Ghost Story, for which she was nominated for an Olivier Award, the British equivalent of the Tony Award. A year later, she co-starred with Olivia Rodrigo on stage at Britain's Glastonbury Festival, where she performed “Fuck You” in protest of the U.S. Supreme Court's overturning of constitutional abortion rights in the same year. did.
And despite her unsentimental outlook, she doesn't regret focusing on her family. In her chat with Radio Times, she said that her parents (actor Keith Allen and film producer Alison Owen) were career-oriented, and that her decisions were influenced by her own upbringing. He said he was greatly influenced.
“When I was growing up, my parents were mostly absent, and I feel like that left a really bad scar on me, and I don't want that to happen again for me,” she explained. “So I chose to take a step back and focus on them, and I’m glad I did.”
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