20 celebrities who are childless by choice

When this former Bachelor star appeared on Bethenny Frankel's podcast, Just B, she told the Real Housewives star that she never wanted kids; however, that wasn't shared during her time on ABC. "We don’t want kids,” she said. As she continued, she shared that she and her partner, Robby Hoffman, both had difficult childhoods and that they'd rather focus their time on strengthening their relationship.

Mary J. Blige is hilarious. On Daily Pop, she spoke about her decision not to have kids and didn't hold back. "I like my freedom to go and move and do what I want to do. I don't want to have to tend to someone all the time." At least she was honest!

If you were paying attention to John Cena's relationship with Nikki Bella in the past, you likely already knew that he was uninterested in children. "It's hard work to balance the time I need to run myself correctly," he told Drew Barrymore. "It's hard to keep connections with those in my life that I love. And it's also hard to put in an honest day's work. … You have to have passion for [parenting]. You have to have fuel for it."

Anna Kendrick hasn't been shy about not wanting to have children. She wrote about it in her 2016 memoir: "I will always feel children aren’t for me.” She doubled down on her statement during an E! interview, saying her would-be child would be "another kid that your kid is going to have to fight when the water wars come.”

Seth Rogen may have played a father in the movie Neighbors, but that doesn't mean he wants to be one in real life. "I don't know anyone who gets as much happiness out of their kids as we get out of our non-kids,” he told Howard Stern in 2021. "Like, [my wife, Lauren Miller, and I] are f—g psyched all the time! We're laying in bed on Saturday mornings [and] smoking weed. If we had kids, we could not be f—g doing this."

Miley Cyrus comes from a big family, and that seems to be enough for her. In an interview with W Magazine, the singer told the publication that even at 31, she's unsure "if I want kids or not." She later joked that she's taken on motherhood via her fans: "I feel like my fans kind of are my kids in some way."

You can add Dolly Parton to the list of celebrities who are more than content with their special bond with their fans.

In 2018, Chelsea Handler revealed she wasn't "interested" in becoming a mother. "I just don't think it's the best use of my time." Another time, she joked on The Daily Show that children don't respect her. "And quite frankly, the feeling is mutual."

Ellen's reasoning for not wanting children is one of the most relatable for me. During a Today Show appearance, she said the idea of kids seemed too "long-term." The talk-show host added, "It seems like a commitment that you have to stick with, and I just don't know if I can." 

Jon Hamm kept it real during his 2012 chat with Us Weekly about becoming a dad. "I'd be a terrible father," he said. Honestly, I get it.

Oprah has been busy since she stepped on the scene, and that's part of the reason she doesn't want children. She also owns the Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa, which has become the "perfect fit" for her. "I have 172 girls, and 20 are in college in the United States and use my home as their home base," she said.

This Mad Men actor told The Sunday Times that she didn't want kids because of the stress parenthood could bring. "It would be nice, but I think of all the things that would be so stressful," she said. "I think about how much we're involved in our cats' lives. ... Oh my God, if it was a child!"

Sam Rockwell told The Standard that he doesn't have a special reason for not having kids; he's just not into it.

Jay Leno's wife revealed in a 2014 interview with The Washington Post that, from a young age, she knew she didn't want to have children. "I remember telling my mother when I was 7 or 8 that I was never going to get married or have children," she said.

Pedro Pascal from Game of Thrones understands he's been dubbed the internet's "daddy," but he won't be a father to a child of his own in this life. "I'm not a daddy," he said, "and I'm not gonna be a daddy!"

Bill Maher is happy to be the "cool uncle" in his family, but he won't father kids, and it's for environmental purposes. "There's nothing literally that you can do that is better for the environment than to not produce another resource-sucking, waste-making human being probably with a bad attitude," he said.

Leonardo DiCaprio told OK in 2010 that he was "too busy" for kids, but pop culture pundits know the real reason the actor is childless.

Most people would say the point of having kids is to populate the earth, but actor Tracee Ellis Ross feels differently. "I think there are a lot of babies. Isn't that part of what's going wrong? There's too many?'" she asked. "Some people could be working on the world being a better place or just being happy."

He may have been an actor in Spy Kids, but that didn't make Ricky Gervais want them anymore. However, his reasoning may surprise you. “I didn’t have a work ethic for such a long time," he told Metro. "Imagine if I had a child like me? I didn’t start earning until I was 36. I’m the sort of person who has to check three times that I’ve shut the door, so I’d probably stare at a kid all day to check it was breathing.”

Insecure actor Issa Rae married her husband in 2021, and since tying the knot, she's been loving her life. “I like my life," she told Self. "I like this selfishness, and I know that I have a window."