Geena Davis, 70, who gave birth to her daughter at 46 and twin sons at 48, recently opened up about how playing powerful women on screen reshaped her real-world confidence before she became a mother.. In a candid interview, she also detailed the ageism and sexism that stalled her career for a decade after Thelma & Louise, and offered rare reflections on her three divorces.

How portraying a 'badass' first changed her parenting perspective

According to Davis, the roles she played—like Thelma in Thelma & Louise—transformed her before she had children. ‘I’m really glad I had children later in life, because by the time I had them I’d changed a lot,’ she stated. The confidence she gained from embodying brave , strong characters, she says, gave her a more grounded approach to raising her three children. This echoes a broader trend among Hollywood women who delay motherhood until after establishing a career, but Davis’s explanation is uniquely tied to the fiction she performed.

The decade with only one film after 'Thelma & Louise'

Davis revealed that following the 1991 blockbuster, she faced a significant career lull where she was primarily offered generic wife roles, leading to a decade with only one film. The contrast between her sudden fame and the abrupt slowdown underscores a persistent Hollywood ageism problem, as the report notes. While male stars of her generation continued landing leads, Davis’s experience highlights the double standard that accelerates for actresses past their 30s.

Three marriages, one 'too hasty' split from Jeff Goldblum

In the interview, Davis described her turbulent love life, icnluding marriages to Richard Emmolo (1981–1984), Jeff Goldblum (1987–1991), and director Renny Harlin (1993–1998). She expressed particular regret over her divorce from Goldblum, calling it ‘self-instigated’ and admitting she was ‘too hasty.’ Her split from Harlin was ‘painful’ after he ‘betrayed me in the worst way possible,’ though she did not elaborate on the betrayal .. She praised Reza Jarrahy, father of her children, as a ‘fantastic father’ despite their 2017 separation.

The unnamed betrayal and the dating app she won't try

What remains unclear from the source is the specific nature of Harlin’s betrayal—described as the ‘worst way possible’ but never detailed. Additionally, Davis said she is ‘too self conscious’ to try the celebrity dating app Raya, suggesting she is not currently dating . These open questions leave readers wondering whether she will ever share those stories, or if, as she wrote in her memoir Dying of Politeness, she simply values privacy too much. The interview also does not address what roles she might pursue next, though Davis said, ‘I can’t wait to see what the next decade will bring.’