Actress Kim Cattrall, 51, is on top of the world right now with the release of the much anticipated movie, Sex and the City, and for now doesn’t see where kids would come into play. Although she has been happily dating chef Alan Wyse, Kim says,
Right now, in my life, I don’t know how I could fit a child in.
Sex and the City, which proved to be a record-breaker, was released this past weekend.
Source: Female First; Photo by Shane Gritzinger/WireImage.com
Thanks to CBB reader Mary Beth.
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Showing 42 comments
Deeb on
Erm ‘right now in my life’. You’re 51 for god’s sake woman! LOL
Tracy on
well, since she is 51 I would think that any chances of a baby should have been scrapped a little while ago; of course adoption of an older child would be an option that would be wonderful for her as well as the child.. so maybe!!
Tricia on
She’s always been pretty clear about the fact that children aren’t in her plan, even years ago at the time she was married. I wonder why, at 51, she’s still being asked that question? She should only live the life that’s right for her–it’s her choice.
moore on
I’m sure the reason she’s asked that is nowadays 51 is not old. If she wanted, she could adopt a child of any age and give it a good home, she could get a surrogate to have a child for her and become a mom, anything. She has options that she can explore but she doesn’t have to by any means.
Valerie on
Wow, she’s 7 years older than my mom, and I’m 20 =)
I’m surprised that she didn’t say “I don’t want kids at all”, and that she simply said “I’m not ready right now”…
I’m just saying, if she doesn’t want kids ever that’s totally ok, but if she does want them she’d better start making plans of some sort…
Susan on
Well, if Nancy Grace can do it…
chris on
Certainly she knows that her days of carrying a baby herself are slim. She would know better than anyone else whether she’s menopausal or not! But maybe she’s talking about adoption, surrogacy, etc. There are a lot of options for women her age. I think it’s great that she knows she wouldn’t be able to devote time to being a mother. I know several women who seem to lead very fulfilling loves without motherhood being a part of it.
Lindsay on
In hollywood if an actress says “No I don’t want to have kids I’ve never wanted to have kids” she will come off as shrill. So to disguise that actresses usually say something like “I’m not sure I’ll ever be ready” because it sounds more acceptable in a society where women are supposed to want to have thousands of babies and be thrilled to pieces about motherhood.
Ana on
Ok, Valerie but your mom was pretty young when she had you, anyway…at least to me, so don’t be surprised she didn’t say “I don’t want to have kids at all”…we have Diane Keaton’s example.
I think such questions are a bit dumb anyway, no matter the age of the person…it’s just personal. (imagine asking that to a person who cannot have children…).dah! LOL
iluvallbabies on
She looks A*M*A*Z*I*N*G for 51!
Stef on
Okay, I’m sure I’ll get raked over the coals for saying this, but it’s how I honestly feel.
The trend for parents to start their families in their late 40s and 50s and beyond is something I disagree with immensely. And I do for the simple reason that having kids later in life does not lengthen your life expectancy, and you will die earlier in your child’s life than you would if you had them in your 20s or 30s.
I feel that such a decision is selfish IN THE LONG RUN. I lost my dad to cancer when I was 23 and even though I was officially an adult, I still needed a father in many ways. Not having a dad as a young adult has had a huge bearing on my life that people can’t appreciate unless they are in that situation. I won’t go into detail here.
If you have a child in your 50s and, if you’re fortunate, make it to your 80s (which many people don’t) you will only get to see your child start adulthood before you’re gone. Losing a parent that early sucks.
chloe on
Well, she’s old enough to be her boyfriends’ mother and I guess that’ll have to do.
Lizzie on
I totally agree with you, Stef.
Erica on
No flames from me, Stef. I agree with you. I completely understand why women are putting off motherhood as there are so many more options for us nowadays, but I do think that starting a family at around 48+ is a bit late. Adoption is a different story, because the children are already here and desperately need homes, but to consciously bring a new baby into the world a few years into middle age…yeah, I think that is at least a little selfish.
Ivey on
Who is the idiot that asked?
kate on
Stef, yes, losing a parent sucks and I wholeheartedly feel with you for your loss. I myself have lost my mother when I was 10 and my father when I was 18, there really are no guarantees in life.
jenni on
Stef…I totally see your point and I don’t necessarily disagree. Of course, the counter argument is that people can die at any time. My husband lost his father when he was 5 years old and his dad was 33.
I realize that statisically the older you are to begin with the greater chance you have of not being around for kids as they get older but, at the end of the day, no one is guaranteed anything in this life so I’m not sure it necessarily matters.
brannon on
I see both sides — yes, it’s a little unfair. On the other hand, you can pass at any age? So to each their own. However, and I am sure you didn’t mean it this way Erica, but it seems as if you are saying something is good enough for adopted children but not for (lack of a better word) other children. I agree that I think adoption is a wonderful option for “older” mothers past the age of conception, but if it’s going to be unfair for “new” children, then it is also another unfair card for an adopted child to be dealt? Hope this makes sense – and again, I’m sure from the tone of your message you meant nothing by what you said — it just got me thinking about the debate:) Anyway – just thinking it needs to be one way or the other for all children – but now sure how I feel!
Stef on
Jenni–That is absolutely true and I did mean to say that myself. There’s always the chance of losing someone young/unexpectedly. But those chances are very slim. Dying at 85, not very slim at all.
It’s the same as saying that you could die in a car accident at any time, which is true, but you lessen those odds by taking care of your car and driving safely and defensively. In the same way, you increase the chance of living to see your children into adulthood by having them at a younger age.
Ana on
yes Stef, I get you, but do you think you wouldn’t miss your dad the same way if he had died when you were older. Dad is dad, and mom is mom, no matter your age, you need people at any age, and kids do in fact recover faster than adults, we like to think otherwise because we are, well, adults (ah hey, I had a tough childhood).
I also think we don’t have to think anything, it’s not our lives, anyway. I know people who were parents earlier and others who were parents later, and sincerely, for me, I see better “results” with the latter (of course it depends a lot on the people we’re talking about). I don’t think it’s selfish. It’s a judgement that we can’t make about someone else we don’t know. They may not be here for their kids when they’re 40, but while they’re here maybe they’re better and have a life experience a younger parents don’t have, and estability. So there are pros and cons in boths cases, we just can’t say it’s wrong and spend our lives thinking about death, we know it’s coming so let’s live the present (of course we can’t forget the future, but we can’t life FOR the future, I hope I’m making myself clear).
I agree with Jenni. My grandparents died pretty young, and I ask myself, well, would my parents have suffered less? No way, I can now as my grandmoms are getting older.
Well, if I end up with an older spouse, I’ll want to have children anyways!! LOL
Nicole on
I agree, Stef! I can’t imagine losing my parents now (I’m 27). But, if they had been 50+ when they had me, then it’s be a pretty good guarantee they’d be checking out soon.
And for those that say there are no guarantees, I agree. There isn’t any guarantee my parents (who are 47 and 51) won’t die tomorrow. BUT, even though we don’t know how old we’ll be when we die, I have a good chance of seeing my parents live into their 70s, 80s, even 90s. But, I will be in my 50s, 60s, or 70s when that happens, much more prepared to lose them than I am right now.
I’m not for people having babies just to have a baby, but to wait decades for a career’s sake or whatever, it is kinda selfish.
If she wants children, then I hope she adopts an older child…
chris on
I get what everyone is saying….but IMO age of a parent is not the only — or most important — factor in deciding whether (or when) to have a child.
Bugs on
I also don’t see how a child would fit in her right now since she’s already 51.
Keis on
Wow. You all are so judgmental. Lots of GRANDPARENTS take care of their grand children as their own and they’re not always young. You don’t know what her plans for parenthood might be, whether it is adoption or otherwise. Who are any of you to say what she does with her life?
Bess on
I’m not going to get into the whole older women having babies debate, but I do agree with Lindsay- it’s probably just an ambiguous response to a question she doesn’t want to answer because answering it honestly may cause her to be judged negatively.
claire on
Stef – I totally agree with you! It is not fair to the kids AT ALL! Not only do they have to worry about their parents’ mortality, they are likely to be playing caregiver waaay too early. And don’t even get me started about the medical heroics and high-risk pregnancies…many babies of older moms are born too early and face life-long health challenges as a result. SELFISH all the way around!!
LindaLou on
IMO, this entire conversation is ridiculous. What is right for one person isn’t right for another. The arguments for either late or early parenting can easily go both ways and calling someone *selfish* for the choices they make, is insulting. For example, I could easily make a case that I think it’s selfish for anyone under 30 to have children (lack of finacial stability and higher education spring immediately to mind), but it’s not my call to make for anyone else.
Anni on
I see both sides really. My parents were 27 when they had me. I was 17 when my dad died. My Grandma was 40 when she had my mom and is now going to be 91 in July. And is in pretty good health.
Also, I don’t see anywhere in the article where she states she wants a newborn baby. Maybe she wants to adopt a teen or maybe she wants to be a foster mom?
Erica on
Brannon, I totally see what you’re saying. I guess what I meant was that unfortunately, there are tons of children waiting to be adopted and for that reason it’s hard to criticize anyone (regardless of age) for saving these kids from a life with no parents at all. I think of Diane Keaton and her two kids, and it would never cross my mind that she may not live to see them well into their 40′s or 50′s because at least they now have a wonderful mom who loves them. I also think that adoption is usually the anti-thesis of selfishness because there is so much work involved and it’s not just “buying” a child. On the other hand, I still agree with Stef’s point that people who wait until their near 50′s or afterward to start their families biologically are not just risking that they may not be there for their kids’ in adulthood, but that those kids have a much higher risk of being born with defects due to advanced maternal age. I hope that makes sense and I honestly am not trying to offend anyone.
I totally respect Kim C.’s viewpoint though.
rachelsun on
Bette Midler, Sigourney Weaver and Kathleen Turner all had their first child in their 40′s.Last I looked their daughters are grown and they are still alive and doing well. My grandmother had her last child at 41 and died at 90. I don’t think my aunt felt abandoned or left out. she also raised me and my brothers because my mother (her oldest child) was too into herself (she had us in her early 20′s the perfect age according to the judgmental people here. My brother is VP at a telecommunications company and I’m a lawyer, we feel so abandoned we weren’t able to do any thing in life except listen when our grandmother turned off the TV and told us to go read a book. There are no perfect people, therefore no perfect age.
Ms. Catrall was just giving the standard answer when she knows she is not having children because of her age or because she never could and does not want to explain her medical history to the press or she simply never wanted chilfren.
steph on
Well Steph Im 24 my longterm boyfriend is 56 (yes you read correctly and yes its been a long time) and we are planning on having a baby soon. He is the love of my life and I am not going to live my life childless out of fear that he might die on my child (or on his other children).
I am sure alot of people who have children pass the age of “acceptance” feel this way.
I not attacking you, but I was raised by my grandparents and in their old age they did a better job then my young parents
Lauren on
I think having children and when to have them is an entirely personal thing. No one age or way of doing it is the absolutely correct way. True, she is 51 so she might not be around when her children are 30, but you can die at any time. My best friend’s father died of a heart attack when she was 3 and he was in his early 30s. My other good friend’s mother died of cancer a week before her wedding, when she was 25 and her mom was in her fifties. Losing a parent is hard at any age. Nobody is ever ready to let a parent go, whether they are 25 or 55. That should not be a factor in when to have children.
Renee on
I agree Keis. It’s none of our business what age people decide to have kids and it’s not for us to tell people they are selfish for wanting to have a stable career and solid relationship before having kids. Not everyone is ready to have kids in their twenties, thirties or even forties. Why can’t we all accept that not everyone has the same life plans that we all do. Also, I would rather people wait until they are older to have kids than have them when they are not prepared mentally to handle one. Also, I think it’s quite possible that there are older moms reading this site so please consider that.
nahiella on
Oh, it’s her life people. Move on.
Noa on
(…)for the simple reason that having kids later in life does not lengthen your life expectancy////
Actually that’s not statistically true.
It has been found that women who have children later in life DO live slightly longer lives.
Of course, as with all statistics, it’s an average…
I do agree though, my mother had me at 36 (in the 70s) and my brother is 16 yrs older then me (sisters are 12 and 13 yrs older). my mom is a young mom for them… whereas I remember freaking out as a child, thinking I’d lose my mother much younger.
Nowadays though, lots of kids are born in their parents 30′s. So it won’t seem as scary. 50′s though…
sheba on
Grief over losing a parent is not age related and it’s quite self-centered thinking to think your grief is somehow greater than someone losing an older parent. My grandmother, still misses her own mother to this day. She thinks about her all the time. There is probably no way my great-mother would have lived this long into the next century, but that doesn’t stop my grandmother from thinking what if and missing her terribly?
I think “older moms” totally rock!!!! And I have a special appreciation for all the grand parents who stepped into the role of parent for their grandchildren, because they’re own children were too young, addicted, in jail, dead from AIDS, or simply checked out and left their kids and parents hanging.
I just found out a friend of my husband’s is having his first baby at 48 and his wife is 45. They have only been married 3 years (first marriages for both of them) and found true love later in life. I think this is so cool and I say good for them.
chloe on
Why can’t people disagree and not be labeled “judgemental”?
Aitch on
I think Kim is sick of the question and that is why she responded specifically that way. I have read several interviews where she states emphatically–that she is not going to have any kids!!!
Taylor on
I agree with Stef’s comments. My granddad was 56 when my mom was born (my grandmother was 35, so she was quite a bit younger), but not only do you have to worry about dying earlier in your kids life, but you have to worry about failing health. My grandfather got Alzheimer’s disease when my mom was in her early 20′s and she had to take care of him from her 20′s, until he died when she was 32. He was in such bad health, he couldn’t even walk her down the aisle when she was 26. Yes, he lived until 85, but what kind of life is it, when you don’t know about your surroundings. So while, I know that there are no guarantees in life and that anything can happen, there’s obviously far more risk for death and failing health if you wait so long to have a child, that is why, for women, your body goes into menopause. In the end, it’s obviously everyone’s choice, but I just think there’s a point when you’re too old.
Stef on
Sheba–You are putting a heck of a lot of subtext into what I actually said. At no point did I say that grief for a parent stops at a certain age. My maternal grandfather, at 74, died unexpectedly 4 mos before my dad did and there obviously was grieving. My point was that when a person has a child in their 50s, they (like everyone else in the world) knows that the average human lives into their mid-70s with some living longer. Therefore, they may reason that having a kid isn’t a problem because if the parent reaches average life expectancy, the child will at least be an adult, albeit a young adult, when the parent passes. My point is that having lost my father as a young adult, such reasoning is flawed because it is as hard to lose a parent in your 20s as it is when you’re a child. (My friend lost her mom to cancer when she was in high school and we compared notes, so to speak). It goes beyond grief and missing the person, loss of a parent that young completely devastates your life and shakes up everything you had going for you. I’ve had to give up a lot of the things I’ve wanted to do in my life and career because I feel responsible towards my mom, since my dad’s death wrecked her emotionally and financially. Since my grandfather died at a more typical age, my grandmother has had a less devastating experience. If I get married, my dad won’t be there to walk me down the aisle. All of my married friends in my age range had their dads to walk them down the aisle. You get what I’m saying? But since so few people lose a parent that young, they have no clue what it’s like and assume that if they were to leave their kids at that age, everything would be fine. If a parent is willing to fight to give their children the best they possibly can–best health, best schooling, best home environment–and protect them from as much pain as possible, wouldn’t they also want to guarantee their children the best adulthood, one with very little risk of dealing with the trauma of losing a parent?
Everyone is allowed to make their own decisions in life, obviously, but I said from the get-go that this was my opinion on the matter based on my own experience and if it sounds judgmental, so be it. It wouldn’t be the first time posters have been critical of parenting decisions on this site. LOL
m-dot on
I’m not sure why they’d be asking a woman in her 50s about her plans for children. That is so odd to me. I’d think it was pretty obvious that for whatever reason(s), she opted not tohave children.
As for women having babies at older ages…to each his own. If God allows for the life to happen, who are we to reject it?
NancIT on
Kim Is a great actress. Makes me Think I am glad I had my kids young. They are 21 and 25. Moved have moved out . I am 45 …. Think Ill start my Life Now.
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