Billie Piper has described the suggestion that young women can ‘have it all’ as “very stressful”.
The Secret Diary of a Call Girl actor spoke out about the pressures faced by women on the eve of her directorial debut, Rare Beasts, which concerns the conflicting demands placed on women of balancing a career and a family.
“When I reached my 30s, I was told I could have it all, but many of the women around me were finding life really hard,” Piper, a mother of three, told BBC News.
“I was interested in pulling that idea apart a bit more and writing about it, and it became Rare Beasts,” she said.
The Doctor Who star acknowledged the tension that can sometimes exist for mothers, stating that “women want to be recognised and have equal opportunities and that can be hard as a mother”.
”The world is pointing us towards becoming the ultimate soloist, because there’s a lot you can do on your own as a woman now, you can earn money, work, enjoy yourself, and that’s amazing, but it’s challenging too.
“It’s hard being alone in the world, but the world seems to be pushing us towards that,” she said.
The actor has two sons with her ex-husband and fellow actor, Lawrence Fox, and a baby daughter with her current partner, musician, Johnny Lloyd.
In 2018, she said that expanding her family was her “dream” and that in her dream world she’d have “loads”.
Piper identified the fight for gender equality in the film industry as crucial in securing funding for her film.
"I would never have got this film made even two years ago," she said.
”It’s a dramatic shift and it’s turning around so much. I just wish it would extend to every industry and every household.“
The 36-year-old acknowledged the positive roles for women in TV and theatre, but lamented the lack of similar opportunities in film, saying “it still feels like the stories can be male-led.
”So that’s powered my quest to make this film,” she said.
