Here’s Why Marisa Tomei Never Had Kids

Marisa Tomei is an American actress of stage and the silver screen, best known for her Oscar-winning role in the 1992 comedy My Cousin Vinny. Tomei’s portrayal of the gum-smacking, wise-cracking Mona Lisa Vito, girlfriend to the titular Vinny (Joe Pesci), earned her the Best Supporting Actress Academy Award that year.

She went on to earn Oscar nominations for In the Bedroom and The Wrestler, the latter of which also earned her Golden Globe and BAFTA nominations.

Tomei has also received critical acclaim on stage for several roles; she has appeared on and off-Broadway in Wait Until Dark, Salome, Top Girls, The Rose Tattoo, How to Transcend a Happy Marriage, and more.

Now she’s appearing on ABC’s Live in Front of a Studio Audience, playing Edith Bunker to Woody Harrelson’s Archie Bunker, two roles made famous by Jean Stapleton and Carroll O’Connor on the 1970s sitcom All in the Family.

Tomei also recently wrapped Judd Apatow’s latest comedy, King of Staten Island, starring Pete Davidson. So the 55-year-old actress is keeping plenty busy — and she doesn’t feel the need to have kids or get married.

Tomei reportedly told Manhattan Magazine (via Glamour UK) in 2009 that she’s “not that big a fan of marriage as an institution” and she “[doesn’t] know why women need to have children to be seen as complete human beings.”

A close friend of hers also told Closer Weekly, “[Marriage] wasn’t something she ever truly pursued — even in her twenties. Work has really been her life force.”

Despite never tying the knot, Tomei has been linked to several different high-profile men over the years. She was in a relationship with actor Logan Marshall-Green from 2008 to 2013. There were rumors the two became engaged at one point, but a rep for the actress told E! News that there was “no truth to the rumor.” She began dating How I Met Your Mother star Josh Radnor after breaking it off with Marshall-Green, but she and Radnor ended things in 2014.

Tomei also dated her Spider-Man: Homecoming co-star Robert Downey Jr., though that was a long time before they filmed Spider-Man — the two were linked in the mid-1990s. She has also been linked to actor Dana Ashbrook, Christian Slater, Lenny Kravitz, playwright Frank Pugliese, and director Nicholas Carpenter.

Tomei has most recently been seen out and about in New York with playwright Marco Calvani; the two attended the opening night of The Children on Broadway in 2017, the Golden Heart Awards in October 2019, the opening night of The Rose Tattoo in October 2019, and the Dramatists Guild Foundation Gala in November 2019.

But she is also keeping quite busy with work. In a 2018 interview, she told The Cut that she’s going to take a swing at getting into the production side of things because it can be hard for an aging actress to find good roles.

“I’m still looking for those Barbara Stanwyck roles, which are very rare. I think it’s great that a lot of women are starting to create their own production companies and creating roles for themselves and for other women. I’m taking a swing at that now. We’ll see how that pans out,” said Tomei.

To watch Tomei on the second installment of Live in Front of a Studio Audience, tune in Wednesday, December 18 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC.

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