Hannah Waddingham 'wants people to talk about how exhausting parenthood is'
Hannah Waddingham wants more people to "talk" about "how exhausting" it is to be a parent.
The Ted Lasso actress, 50, is mother to a 10-year-old daughter - who was born in 2015 during her previous relationship with Italian businessman Gianluca Cugnetto - but she has been raising her little girl alone since the couple's split and Hannah is adamant being a mother is hard work and that needs to be acknowledged.
She told The Sunday Times newspaper: "Thank God she is the utter joy of my life because it is unyielding responsibility.
"I feel like more people should talk about how exhausting it is. Not only physically showing up for them but being the best version of yourself, because they respond to actions far more than words."
She added of her daughter: "[She's] my greatest champion and my most horrific critic."
The youngster has taken an interest in acting and has been starring a school production of 'The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe', but Hannah wants to make her daughter away of all the hard work that went into building her own career.
She said: "She feels such a sense of vitality from that [being on stage], which I love, but I just want her to know that for 22 years I would be on stage thinking: 'Am I going to make the last Tube?
"I need her to be aware that I really grafted for 22 years. Life is not being picked up by a black Mercedes."
Hannah added that's she proud of her career success, but she doesn't care about being famous.
She explained: "I've just become more known. Being afforded the luxury of the kind of roles that I always knew I could play and, as a single mum, the luxury of being able to put my daughter in great schools.
"It does give you freedom. I genuinely don't give a s*** about fame. I never have. I never will."
Hannah previously admitted she battles feelings of guilt whenever she's away from her little girl for work.
She told PEOPLE: "My primary function is being a single mama ... Mommy guilt is real ... But I keep saying to her that we are a team and that I have to do this.
"I have to strike while the iron is hot. I'm not so conceited that I would think that I will always have this kind of focus. I've always said to her: 'Mommy must take this time while the light shines on me, because the light shines on you'."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Perth Now
3 hours ago
- Perth Now
Julia Fox praises women who are open about cosmetic surgery
Julia Fox believes it is important for women to be open about any cosmetic procedures they undergo. The 35-year-old actress - who has spoken openly in the past about having liposuction and Botox - praised the "new wave of women" who have been candid about their treatments and thinks it is particularly helpful for "impressionable" girls to know when people have enhanced their appearance. She told People magazine: "I love it. I think we should be honest." "Women set the bar for each other and I feel like if you're setting an unrealistic bar [if you're not honest]. That's really great for you, but what about all the girls that are so impressionable and feeling like 'Wait, why don't I look like that and what's wrong with me?' "It's like, girl, none of us look like this, you know what I mean? Like we all look really different without the surgery and without the fillers and without the makeup and all the things we do and the face tapes and the wigs and the tanning creams. The list goes on. On and on and on." The Uncut Gems star stressed the importance of women knowing their self-worth. She added: "It's really important [to tell] girls there's nothing wrong with you, like you're perfect the way you are and this is all smoke and mirrors, sweetie, you know … it's such a beautiful message." Julia previously claimed she finds the word beauty "oppressive". She told Vogue magazine: 'I hate the term 'beauty'. I find it oppressive. I wish we could take that word out of cosmetics. Because, for me, when I'm using make-up, and when I'm doing my skincare routine or whatever it may be, I'm not aiming to look beautiful. 'It has more to do with self-care. The version of me that wanted to look hot for guys just does not exist anymore. Being attractive used to be a currency that I could use to get out of a situation, but I changed a lot after becoming a mum. I started to see the subtle ways in which women are oppressed. 'Which is why I don't subscribe to the patriarchal notion that women should try and look beautiful. Look how it affects women and young girls from a really early age: we see the lengths that women will go to, putting their lives at risk, even dying to be beautiful. So for me, make-up is about trying to express myself and be creative – it's another art form.'
Perth Now
7 hours ago
- Perth Now
Brooke Shields reveals how her Tony Awards clutch bag has special connection to theatre
Brooke Shields took a clutch bag made from theatre curtains to the Tony Awards. The 60-year-old actress made an appearance at the annual ceremony honouring Broadway theatre on Sunday (08.06.25) evening at the Radio City Music Hall, and revealed that the red bag she carried with her was made from curtains that once hung at the famed venue before its renovation. She told PEOPLE: "When they renovated Radio City [Music Hall], like, 10 years ago, they tore down all the curtains, and then they made bags out of them, and my husband gave me — bought me a bag." The Blue Lagoon star - who has been married to Chris Henchy since 2001 and has daughters Rowan, 22, and 19-year-old Grier with him - has previosuly starred in productions of Grease, Cabaret, Chicago and The Addams Family over the course of her career, but thinks that she "never work on Broadway again" as she concentrates on her new role as president of Actors' Equity Association. Earlier this year, the former Hannah Montana star celebrated her milestone 60th birthday, and explained at the time that she hoped her book, Brooke Shields Is Not Allowed to Get Old would spark fresh conversations about beauty ideals. She told Real Simple magazine: "I hope it opens up a conversation about what the ideals are and what beauty really means. The more I talked to women who are over 40, the more I realised that part of chasing youth is not just for themselves, but for other people. It's for partners, it's for the way you're looked at in public, and it's a dangerous, slippery slope. "We're not allowed to just grow and experience our life and be OK with it. "Beauty can come in different forms. It doesn't have to be associated with youth."
Perth Now
8 hours ago
- Perth Now
George Clooney's wife delighted he's a silver fox again
George Clooney's wife is thrilled he's got rid of his "drug dealer" hair style. The 64-year-old actor had died his hair black for his run in Good Night, and Good Luck on Broadway but now his stint on stage has ended, George has reverted back to his usual short grey look, and no one could be happier than his spouse Amal Clooney. Speaking on the red carpet at the Tony Awards at New York's Radio City Music Hall on Sunday (08.06.25), George told People and Entertainment Weekly: 'Oh man, my wife was the happiest person when I came home after the play today and I'd cut all the hair off. "Because, you know, I looked like a drug dealer with that bad black dye job.' Good Night, and Good Luck, made history when its penultimate performance on Saturday (07.06.25) became the first time a live Broadway show has been simultaneously televised and George - who lost out on the Best Actor in a Play award to Oh Mary! star Cole Escola - was "excited" that the CNN broadcast allowed "more people see it than just the people in Broadway". He added: "I thought it wouldn't be bad for other people to be able to see this and see it at home for free.' The former E.R. star praised Amal - with whom he has eight-year-old twins Ella and Alexander - for her ongoing support and celebrated her as the "bravest human being" he has ever met. He told E! News of the human rights lawyer: 'I have this incredible partner who I couldn't be more proud of. "She's the bravest human being I've ever met in my life. I am deeply proud of her and the fact that she's in any way proud of me, if just, I can't believe how lucky I am.' The couple's twins are hoping their dad can introduce them to Taylor Swift one day, but George admitted he is always amused by the fact the youngsters never recognise the hugely famous people they often cross paths with. He said:'They want to see Taylor Swift. The funniest part is that they have no idea of references. Robert DeNiro will be at the house and they're like 'Who's that?' They don't care.' George previously admitted Amal, 47, wasn't a fan of his dark hair and had told him she would be "glad when it's gone". He told 'Late Night' host Seth Meyers earlier this month: 'It looks like [I'm] going through some horrible midlife crisis. I'm 64 — midlife is a little stretch... "We do a matinee, and then by the time we go to the Tonys that night, it'll be gone. I may have a shaved head.'
