She is the icon of the 2000s, she is the heart of British pop-music, she is Lily Allen. She recently shared her feelings on motherhood, and it’s not all that maternal. Lily Allen, now 38, is most known and adored for her hit songs including ‘It’s Not Fair,’ and ‘Smile,’ which triggered her fame to skyrocket with immediate effect in 2006. This hit climbed to the number one spot in the UK charts.
Lily Allen recently shared her thoughts on the impacts of motherhood on stardom. In a podcast interview with the Radio Times, she reported that having her two children, Ethel and Marnie, “totally ruined” her career in the music industry. She had her first daughter in November, 2011 with her ex-husband Sam Cooper, named Ethel Mary Cooper (12 years old) and two years later, Marnie Rose Cooper (11 years old) was born in January. Although, it must be stated that of course Lily Allen only said this in playful, joking terms. She was asked if she’d ever reconsider her career after having her daughters, and she responded comically, “Yes, my children ruined my career.” and added to her response sharing that, “I love them and they complete me, but in terms of pop stardom, they totally ruined it.” Ultimately, she prioritised motherhood over career progression because she 100% wanted to focus on raising her daughters.
This ambition stemmed from her own feelings of neglect that she experienced whilst growing up. Her parents are actor Keith Allen and film producer Alison Owen, whose careers clearly overshadowed Lily Allen’s adolescence. She shared that she felt her Mother and Father were “quite absent,” as she grew up. She continued to extend on this feeling of isolation and why it led to her to make a career sacrifice because it was her parental prerogative. Her neglect “left some nasty scars that I’m not willing to repeat on mine.”
Allen of course has no regrets in this decision. She took a break from the world of music in 2014 after she released her album ‘Sheezus.’ Followed by her final farewell album which marked her exiting from the music world to pursue her ambition of dedicated motherhood, was released in 2018 and is entitled ‘No Shame.’
However, Lily Allen’s career in the limelight is by no means over yet! Since her marriage to ‘Stranger Things’ actor David Harbour on September 7th, 2020 in Las Vegas, she has entered the world of acting. A force to be reckoned with and a golden talent as she received an Olivier Award nomination in 2022 for her performance in the play ‘2:22 A Ghost Story,’ which broadcasted in the West End of London.
