Actress Marisa Tomei Reveals Why She Never Had Kids

Suzanne Rothberg
Marisa Tomei
Marisa Tomei

Actress Marisa Tomei who starred in the 1992 popular film, "My Cousin Vinny" omei’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.

She reveals why she doesn't need a family or a husband to be a complete person.

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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.”

Marisa Tomei: Her Lost Lovers

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.

Marisa Tomei's New Man

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.

Tomei keeps very busy. 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.