Patricia Clarkson is happy as a 63-year-old single woman without kids: 'A great, sexy' life

Patricia Clarkson is challenging the idea that single women are unhappy.

"I'm a 63-year-old single, straight, Southern woman who never married and never had children," she said on Tuesday's episode of the Table for Two with Bruce Bozzi podcast. "Come to our house one night and see just how unhappy Chelsea (Handler) and I are."

In the interview, recorded before Hollywood actors went on strike, the "Sharp Objects" actress called Handler, who has been open about not wanting to become a parent, her "hero."

"Look, I have so many sisters who have beautiful children and they now have beautiful children. I love being an aunt. I love it, probably, more than acting, which is odd," Clarkson said. "OK, they're on par. But I'm telling you, these are gorgeous children but that doesn't have to define everyone."

Ironically, some of the Emmy and Golden Globe Award-winning actress' more beloved roles are ones in which she plays a mother in films such as "Easy A" and "Friends With Benefits."

Patricia Clarkson knew she didn't want to be a parent at a young age

Though she has done her share of dating and almost changed her mind about having children at one point, Clarkson has been steadfast in her decision for a long time.

"You made a choice (that) you didn't want kids," Bozzi said.

"I made a big choice," she agreed. "But I knew it when I was young. I've had beautiful men in my life and I've thought about it with this one artist I dated when I was 38; I had a window to have a child."

Ultimately, Clarkson "loved working" more than the thought of motherhood. She also had a fear of falling short as a parent.

"I grew up with great parents who sacrificed everything for me. And you have to really be committed to having children. You have to be a great parent, and I was afraid I couldn't be," she said. "I didn't want to fail at being a parent; I'm fine failing as an actor."

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Patricia Clarkson has been living a 'great, sexy' life

"Don't get me wrong, I hate being single. I've had beautiful, extraordinary men in my life and I wouldn't change any of that," Clarkson previously said in a 2013 interview with The Guardian. "But I've never wanted to marry, I've never wanted children – I was born without that gene."

She added, "I love being in love – I'm a moth to a flame."

Her parents, whom she told The Guardian had been together for 60 years, were on board with her decision to be childless, too. In fact, her mother is "the coolest about it," Clarkson told Bozzi.

However, her parents expressed concern that she would "wake up at 50 and be unhappy."

"I woke up at 50 in stilettos and a thong," she joked, adding she's had a "great, sexy" life.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Patricia Clarkson doesn't regret never marrying or having children