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lily allen kids career.jpg

Lily Allen Says Having Kids 'Totally Ruined' Her Music Career

By Emily Richardson | Celebrity | March 12, 2024 |

By Emily Richardson | Celebrity | March 12, 2024 |


lily allen kids career.jpg

Lily Allen appeared on the latest episode of Radio Times Podcast and talked about balancing her music career and raising two daughters. Turns out, it’s kinda hard. 38-year-old Lily straight-up admits, “My children ruined my career.” Then she and her fellow guest/childhood friend Miquita Oliver both burst into laughter. Lily clarifies that she loves her daughters and they “complete” her, but “in terms of like, pop stardom, totally ruined it.”

TV presenter Miquita says she’s “so happy” to hear Lily say that, “cuz everyone’s like, ‘Oh, of course not!’” Lily repeats that raising kids and being a pop star “does not mix.” She continues:

“It really annoys me when people say you can have it all because, quite frankly, you can’t. And some people choose their career over their children, and that’s their prerogative.

But my parents were quite absent when I was a kid, and I feel like that really left some nasty scars that I’m not willing to repeat on mine. And so I chose stepping back and concentrating on them. And I’m glad that I’ve done that. Cuz I think they’re pretty well-rounded people.”

Here’s the clip:

Lily’s parents are actor/TV presenter Keith Allen and film producer Alison Owen. Keith left the family when she was four, and she attended 13 different schools as a child. She got into music in her teens, and released her debut album, Alright, Still in 2006 at age 21.

Lily is sober now, but has said she was “off [her] face” on booze and drugs from ages 18 to 33. Remember the time she got visibly wasted while hosting the 2008 GQ Men of the Year Awards, and her annoyed co-host Elton John told her he could still snort her “under the table”? A truly historic pop culture moment. But I’m happy she got it together.

Lily’s second album was 2008’s It’s Not Me, It’s You (one of my faves, honestly). She and ex-husband Sam Cooper welcomed their first daughter, Ethel Mary, in 2011, and their second, Marnie Rose, in 2013. The following year Lily released her third album, Sheezus (meh), and in 2018 she came out with No Shame (didn’t listen to it).

In 2020, Lily married David Harbour. She and her daughters live with the actor in Brooklyn (their townhouse was featured in Architectural Digest and it is a trip). Last October, a tabloid reported the couple were “living separate lives,” but they’ve continued to make public appearances together, so who knows?

As for Lily’s opinions on being a working mother, she has a good point. Parents can’t throw themselves into their careers without spending much less time with their children. Celebrity moms make it look like you can, but they’ve got round-the-clock nannies, cooks, and housekeepers helping them out. So, can women really “have it all”? I sure as hell don’t have the answer, but I’ll tell ya who does: Sarah Jessica Parker in 2011’s I Don’t Know How She Does It: