Lily Allen insists ‘you can’t have it all’ after choosing motherhood over pop-stardom: ‘I love my children but they ruined my career’

After years as one of London’s most notorious party girls, she moved to the country and had children in 2011.

But now Lily Allen has admitted her two daughters ‘totally ruined’ her pop career because she chose to prioritize them over work, insisting: ‘You can’t have it all’.

The 38-year-old singer and actress said she believes women should decide whether to put their children or their careers first, saying she chose the former.

‘My children ruined my career. “I love them and they complete me, but in terms of pop stardom they’ve totally ruined it,” she told the BBC Radio Times podcast.

“I get really annoyed when people say you can have it all, because honestly, you can’t.

The 38-year-old singer and actress said she believes women should decide whether to put their children or their careers first, saying she chose the former (L-R: Lily Allen, daughters Marnie Rose Cooper and Ethel Cooper, and actor-husband David Harbor)

‘Some people choose their career over their children and that’s their prerogative, but my parents were quite absent when I was little.

“I feel like it left some nasty scars that I don’t want to repeat on mine.”

Lily’s father is actor Keith Allen, 70, who left her film producer mother Alison Owen, 63, when Lily was four.

Lily has now said that she has ‘chosen to take a step back and focus on my children’ and she is glad she did because ‘they are quite versatile.’

The Smile singer shares two daughters Ethel Mary, 12, and Marnie Rose, 10, with her builder ex-husband Sam Cooper, 45, but released her last studio album No Shame in 2018.

Lily now lives in New York with her children and new husband, Stranger Things star David Harbour, 48, who she married in 2020 and has turned her hand to acting.

She said, “I had been sober for about two years, I had just moved to New York.

“A big part of sobriety is surrendering and letting God – whatever you want to believe – have a plan for you.

‘My children ruined my career. I love them and they complete me, but in terms of pop stardom they totally ruined it. I get really irritated when people say you can have it all, because honestly you can’t’ (photo 2006)

The Smile singer shares two daughters Ethel Mary, 12, and Marnie Rose, 10, with her ex-builder husband Sam Cooper, 45, but released her last studio album No Shame in 2018 (pictured 2021)

‘I got a call from a casting director who was doing a play (2:22 A Ghost Story) in the West End. I said, “No, I’m not an actress.”

‘But then I spoke to David. I felt a bit directionless and didn’t really know what I was doing with my life other than being a mother and setting up a new home in Brooklyn.

“He said, ‘Maybe you should call them back,’ and five weeks later I was rehearsing.”

For her performance in 2:22 A Ghost Story, Lily received a 2022 Olivier Award nomination for Best Actress.

She has since starred in Martin McDonagh’s The Pillowman last year, for which she received mixed reviews.

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