Lucy Liu has divulged that she did not spend too much time thinking before deciding to have a child alone in her mid-40s.
The actress, who was 46 then, shocked the world when she announced that she had welcomed her child — a son named Rockwell Lloyd — through a gestational carrier. While Rockwell is her first child, the “Kung Fu Panda” voice star’s love for kids has always shown through, especially in her dedication towards helping the less fortunate children by volunteering with UNICEF since the ’90s.
Lucy Liu Did Not Ask Questions Or Do Research Before Her Decision To Have A Child
Although it was not always the norm, older women are becoming more audacious about becoming single parents. And one of the first celebrities to take the bold step was Liu, who birthed Rockwell in August 2015 after what seemed to be a spur-of-the-moment decision.
Even though nobody could have guessed, the “Elementary” actress recently disclosed that she had zero plans for choosing to be a single mom. In her words:
“I didn’t have a plan. I just thought, ‘I want to change the conversation a little bit.’ I didn’t mull it over too much. I didn’t do a lot of research; I just pulled the trigger.”
She explained that deciding on the spot was the best way to go because overthinking it would result in not getting it done. “It’s better for me to feel something and just go for it. A lot of people read books about parenting. I didn’t do any of that. I was like, ‘When the child is here, I’m just going to figure it out,'” the now-54-year-old told The Cut.
The Screen Actors Guild Awards winner added raising Rockwell in New York was an easy choice, despite people’s concerns about the inconvenience of doing so without a car. Furthermore, Liu explained that what a child learns about life is not up to the parents:
“You’re going to show them what’s safe and what’s not, and they’re going to understand that through experience. It’s hard to build common sense when you’re in a car all the time. They’re going to smell the smells.”
Besides “building common sense” in her son, the New York University alum was also determined to create a welcoming atmosphere to grow his confidence. To achieve that, she has begun teaching her seven-year-old son about body positivity and avoided using “silly names” when talking to him about anatomy.
Speaking to Women’s Health about her method, the “Ally McBeal” actress said there had to be “a sense of openness with your body, to run around naked and to feel the freedom of that until you don’t feel comfortable doing it anymore.” Liu concluded that her baby boy got to a point where he did not “want to run around naked” anymore, and she would also be okay with it.
The Saturn Award Nominee Made Drew Barrymore Proud Amid Beef With A Co-Star
In October 2021, The Blast recalled that Liu had gotten into a feud with her “Charlie’s Angels” co-star Bill Murray. The pair had fallen out after Murray could not make it to set to reshoot a scene from the 2000 film, prompting the available cast members to make it “more fluid.”
Upon finding out, the actor hurled “unacceptable insults” at Liu, even though she had nothing to do with the scene rewrite. Instead of taking it in stride, the mother-of-one stood up for herself, noting her displeasure with his tone and choice of words.
“Some of the languages were inexcusable and unacceptable, and I was not going to just sit there and take it. So, yes, I stood up for myself, and I don’t regret it,” she explained during an interview.
While it has been over two decades since then, the drama prompted several people, including their other co-stars, to choose a side. One of the people who stood by the “Tinker Bell” series star was Drew Barrymore, who expressed her delight that Liu did not back down.
Speaking on it during an episode of “The Drew Barrymore Show,” the actress gushed, “I respected her then; I respect her now. I’m proud of us as a team and a company that we didn’t tiptoe on the eggshells.”
Liu and Murray have since squashed their differences, choosing to be pleasant when they ran into each other at a “Saturday Night Live” reunion.
