Heather Graham is happy to be living the life she has without kids, but doesn’t fail to wonder “what if?”
In an interview with The Guardian published on Monday, April 28, Graham, 55, candidly reflected on how she differs from her Chosen Family character, Ann, who is a yoga teacher who “cannot escape her manic family, miserable dating life, and inability to say no, leaving her constantly trying to fix everyone else’s problems.”
While Ann seems sad that she never had children, per the outlet, Graham couldn’t stray farther away from those emotions in real life.
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“I think I’ve had moments where I wondered: what would it have been like if I had a kid?” Graham explained.
“I guess I would say 80% of the time I feel glad I don’t have kids, and I feel free and really good about it, and maybe 20% of the time I wonder what would it be like. You just have to appreciate the life you have,” she said.
The actress said she believes it is “awesome now that more women are expressing their desire to not have kids.”
“The culture says: ‘You need to have kids.’ But why? If you’re not being a people pleaser, what do you really want?” she told the outlet.
While speaking to PEOPLE about the topic in April 2023, Graham said that she believes people are on “different paths.”
“You just have to embrace the one that you’re on. If, somehow, I had had kids, I’m sure that would’ve been cool. But at the moment, not having kids, I do feel free. And I get a lot of sleep. That is pretty great,” she said.
For Graham, “If you’re meant to have kids, you have kids.” For people like her who don’t, Graham said, “The universe gives you someone or something to nurture.”
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“I don’t feel that I’m missing anything,” said Graham. “I do sometimes feel like my projects are little kids; I have started to get more involved in producing and writing and directing.”
Graham wrote and directed Chosen Family, which was released in the U.S. last year. She recently starred in the Western Gunslingers with Nicholas Cage.
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