Lucy Liu Reflects on Having a Baby in Her Late 40s

Lucy Liu is offering a glimpse into her personal life. In a new interview for The Cut‘s March 2023 cover, the 54-year-old actor opened up about having her son, Rockwell, now 7 years old, via surrogate in her late 40s. After living in Los Angeles for a decade, the Queens native made the decision to move back to New York City to raise a kid on her own, admittedly without a plan.

“I just thought, I want to change the conversation a little bit,” she told the publication, explaining that she grew “tired” of focusing on her work and career. “I didn’t want to talk about the next project. I felt like I was reading the same script . . . I’d heard myself say the same things many, many times and just thought, Well, this can’t be what’s next. It wasn’t enough.”

Liu candidly revealed she didn’t “mull over” or do much research on having a baby. “I just pulled the trigger,” she said. “I can think myself out of something easily; if I think too much I won’t do it. It’s better for me to feel something and just go for it.” She even opted out of reading parenting books and was determined to just “figure it out” when Rockwell arrived.

Though she may have not set a plan in motion, the “Charlie’s Angels” actor knew she wanted to raise her child in New York, despite people warning her about the inconveniences of city life. “This way, they’re going to see all the things,” she said. “You’re going to show them what’s safe and what’s not, and they’re going to understand that through experience. It’s hard to build common sense when you’re in a car all the time. They’re going to smell the smells.”

Among discussions about her artwork, her upcoming superhero film, and Asian American representation in Hollywood, Liu also spoke about straying from another social norm: being a single parent. While the Hollywood veteran, who’s notoriously private about her dating history, acknowledged a partner would be supplemental to her life, she sees it as an “investigation” for now. “It hasn’t occurred to me that that should be the next thing,” she said. “I think it will present itself when it’s supposed to, but I’ve never lived according to what’s supposed to happen next.”