12 Boss Women Who Are Over 40, Child-Free & Thriving

It’s no secret that there is an expectation for women to have families at some point in their lives. By a certain age, we all get hit with those questions or comments about when we plan to start having kids. But for some women, their dreams and goals are rooted more in their careers. Others may be waiting for the right person or simply living life on their own terms. 

Here are some of our favorite stars over 40 who are child-free and still doing the d-mn thing. 

1. Mya, 45 

Mya is currently 45 and is one celebrity who has never been married or had kids. She’s well aware that the world has questions about if she wants to be married or become a mother. In 2020, she mentioned on The Morning Hustle that having children wasn’t a desire yet. 

“I have not had the baby bug yet. It hasn’t kicked in for me. it hasn’t been there for me. I don’t know,” she said. “I mean I have fur babies. I have some godchildren, nieces and nephews. But having kids hasn’t kicked in for me. I’m sure it will but I’m still on my hustle, I’m still on my grind.” 

Four years later, she did an interview for Way Up With Angela Yee where she explained how being celibate for seven years gave her clarity. “It shifted my mindset. It was no longer a focus. The rush to be in a relationship, the rush to be married, the rush to be in something because that’s what you’re taught to do, to have kids or procreate. I think there’s a lot of pressure on women to be able to do that,” she revealed at the 23:39 mark.

2. Bianca Lawson, 46

If there is anyone who has done an excellent job at keeping her life private, it’s Bianca Lawson. There aren’t any public details about who the Queen Sugar star has been linked to in the past. There are only rumors that she and her co-star Kofi Siriboe were dating. So with that there’s even less known about whether or not she wants to start a family. But for now, the actress seems to be enjoying the people she has around her while continuing her career on screen—and doing so without aging a bit. 

3. Sanaa Lathan, 54

Sanaa Lathan is another celebrity who stays pretty tight-lipped about her personal life. She hasn’t seemed to find The Perfect Guy to jump the broom with or to expand her family. But Lathan doesn’t publicly mourn over it. She talked to Bossip back in 2016 while celebrating the release of her friend Regina Hall’s film, When the Bough Breaks. 

The outlet asked her about children and if she feels the pressure from society to have them. She responded, “Of course, of course I feel it. I feel it all the time, from family, from the world because I’m a public person but I believe in a higher power and I believe that when it’s right it’s right and I also believe that it’s not necessarily everybody’s destiny. It doesn’t make you less. Sometimes you have a different purpose, so who knows what the future holds for me, I’m just trying to keep it positive, always.”

4. Regina Hall, 54 

Speaking of Regina Hall, The Best Man star talked about her desire to have a family. In a 2013 interview with Rolling Out, she said, “I want a family. I look forward to having kids one day, and having a great partnership.” She added, “I’d love to raise a son. I think I’d like to offer the world an amazing Black man. But then again, I try my best not to think about it too much, because what can I do about it? It is something that’s important to me though, and something that I pray can be a part of my journey here.”

5.  Octavia Spencer, 54

As Octavia Spencer continues to dominate in her roles on screen, the Truth Be Told actress doesn’t seem to have an interest in parenting. During a roundtable discussion with The Hollywood Reporter, she said, “I should be married and have 19 kids. And now I’m thinking my eggs are dying on the shelf. They’re going to go past their expiration date. But it’s what I chose, so I’m fine with that decision.”

6. Tracee Ellis Ross, 52 

Tracee Ellis Ross has always voiced her stance that just because a woman may not have a partner or children, it doesn’t make her worthless. That does not mean she doesn’t want to have children, but she will not settle with just anyone. Last month, the Girlfriends star opened up to former First Lady Michelle Obama and her brother, Craig Robinson, about the subject. 

At 22: 51 on their IMO podcast, she said, “As much as grief does surface for me around not having children and not having a partner, I still wouldn’t want the wrong partner. I am not interested in that, you have to make my life better, it can’t just be I’m in a relationship just to be in a relationship.”

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7. Oprah Winfrey, 71

Having kids and getting married is not something Oprah Winfrey wanted to commit to. She was engaged to her longtime partner Stedman Graham in 1992 but they called it off the very next year. They’ve remained a couple but never went through with getting married because Winfrey knew the traditional idea of marriage was something she did not want. She also knew pursuing motherhood was out of the question.  Her busy work life being a talk show host helped her realize that when she saw “the depth of responsibility and sacrifice that is actually required to be a mother.”

In a 2019 interview with People, she said, “I realized, ‘Whoa, I’m talking to a lot of messed-up people, and they are messed up because they had mothers and fathers who were not aware of how serious that job is.’ I don’t have the ability to compartmentalize the way I see other women do. It is why, throughout my years, I have had the highest regard for women who choose to be at home [with] their kids, because I don’t know how you do that all day long. Nobody gives women the credit they deserve.”

8. Ava Duvernay, 52

Filmmaker Ava Duvernay told Instyle in 2022 that she chose not to expand her family. 

She said, “I didn’t have kids by choice, and I’m not married by choice. I was able to embrace my career later in life, in my 30s. So I’m going to do what feels good to me, and I’m going to have fun.”

9. Vivica A. Fox, 60

Vivica A. Fox is a godmother and she’s good with being just that. In a live Q&A session in 2021, a fan asked if she would adopt a child to have a legacy. The Two Can Play That Game star said, “Girl, I’m 57. I’ve got six godbabies. Don’t think that because I didn’t birth children that I don’t have children. I have six godchildren.” She added, “I do not feel less fulfilled as a woman—period. I love children. Please do not get me wrong, I absolutely love children! In my life, it was career or children and I never met the man I could have children with. I didn’t.”

10. Anika Noni Rose, 52

Anika Noni Rose, who voiced Princess Tiana in The Princess In the Frog, has yet to have children. She hasn’t opened up about the subject recently so there is no telling whether she is looking to expand her family or not. Right now, she appears to be focused on her career and enjoying her marriage with actor Jason Dirden. The two tied the knot in October 2022.

11. Aisha Tyler, 54

Aisha Tyler flat out said she “never wanted kids.” She told HuffPost Live in 2014 that she and her now ex-husband, Jeff Tietjens, got to an age where they decided to try and have them because they knew they were getting older. But after trying, they came across fertility issues that made them realize there was little to no chance that they would be able to expand. 

She said, “Once we decided not to get pregnant, I snapped back into work mode and now I have just been really enjoying my career,” she said. “There’s a clock ticking on the pregnancy thing, but not a clock ticking on adoption.”