Zoë Kravitz admits she’s felt pressured to have children

‘There’s a lot of pressure on women to have children,’ movie star says

Zoë Kravitz is feeling pressured to have a baby of her own with fiancé Channing Tatum.

The 35-year-old Divergent actor announced her engagement to the Magic Mike star in October 2023. Tatum, 44, shares his daughter Everly with his ex-wife Jenna Dewan. Now, ahead of Tatum’s impending nuptials with Kravitz, the question on everyone’s minds is if the couple plans on raising more children together.

Speaking to Esquire, Kravitz candidly addressed her internal fears about having kids and whether she sees herself getting pregnant and giving birth. In the article published on August 14, the Big Little Lies lead admitted she’s always thought being a mother wasn’t for her.

“For a long time, I felt like there was something wrong with me. I was waiting for this light to go off in my head, and it never did,” she confessed. “When you’re younger, you’re like, ‘Well, I can’t have kids. I’m too young! It’d be crazy.’”

Kravitz’s perspective on giving birth and becoming a parent has shifted since getting older and noticing the pressure placed on women to reproduce. While she acknowledged the strength and bravery it takes to carry and raise a baby, Kravitz didn’t think women should be made to feel they have to.

Channing Tatum and Zoe Kravitz got engaged in October 2023 (GC Images)

“For a lot of people that have children, it is this giant, life-changing event – and I do think there is a certain amount of focus and respect that they should get from their community,” she explained. “There’s a lot of pressure on women to have children, and there’s a feeling that if you don’t, you don’t have purpose here.”

Nevertheless, the director said she feels like she’s already given birth to her cinematic projects – specifically her new movie, Blink Twice. “But this movie, it feels like I gave birth,” she told Esquire.

Elsewhere in the interview, Kravitz spoke about the surreal experience of being perceived as widely as an actor, director, and daughter of Lenny Kravitz and Lisa Bonet. Many fans believe she often resembles her on-screen characters, especially Bonnie from Big Little Lies, and draw comparisons between their personas. However, the “persona” that Kravitz supposedly gives off is often subjected to misinterpretation and mistaken to be something that’s it not.

“It’s like they’re talking about another person,” she remarked.

With so much uncertainty and visibility, Kravitz has ensured her close circle stays small, only inviting people inside with pure and kind-hearted intentions. Of course, there’ve been a few people in both her life and her father’s that have had bad intentions. As a result, the X-Men actor said she’s developed a strong intuition toward people with hidden agendas.

“I can smell it out pretty quickly,” she said.