Patricia Clarkson Does Not Have a Husband & Has Been Open about Her Decision

Brendan Gleeson and Kevin Costner are among the actors who have portrayed Patricia Clarkson's husbands in movies and television. In performing the role of a wife, the actress relied on her acting prowess rather than personal experiences to bring the character to life.

Patricia Clarkson is an actress and producer who developed an interest in acting at a young age and graduated with honors in theatre arts from New York's Fordham University. She went on to earn a Master of Fine Arts from Yale School of Drama and has starred in over 90 movies and series, including "Learning to Drive" and "Cairo Time."

The indie darling has won mainstream audiences with her performances, including roles she had to play as a wife. However, in real life, she is not married and is outspoken about her choice of not settling down and having kids.

Patricia Clarkson Once Revealed Why She Never Married

The 2014 independent film "Last Weekend," written and co-directed by Tom Dolby, sees the character actress take on the lead role as Celia Green, a smothering mother of two grown boys. The complex character is averse to change, yet she makes impulsive choices.

While promoting the comedy-drama in August 2014, Clarkson was asked by Salon which characteristics of the role she relates to. Is she more controlling or impulsive? The then 55-year-old said:

"I can be controlling, but I'm much more impulsive. That's why I never married or had kids. I'd jump in the water in my clothes [as Green does], but not out of an airplane. I'm just fine flying in one."

The New Orleans-born actress was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role in 2004 when she played Katie Holmes' mom and Jim Burns' wife in "Pieces of April."

But Clarkson is not interested in starting a family with a husband. When people express shock over her never having been married, she slyly spins the narrative in her favor:

"No, I've never been divorced, darling."

Patricia Clarkson Hates Being Single

At the close of a Guardian profile in mid-2013, the reporter tactfully asked if not walking down the aisle was a deliberate choice. To which the "State of the Union" star replied:

"No, it's not deliberate. 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. But I've never wanted to marry, I've never wanted children – I was born without that gene."

The performer did not delve into her dating life but revealed that she goes on dates but does not do it enough. She admitted that she loves being in love. Clarkson's dating record is not public other than her years-long relationship with actor Campbell Scott.

Patricia Was Engaged Once, but She Didn't Share Details with Press

At the start of 2019, Clarkson picked up the Critic's Choice Award for portraying Amy Adams' icy mother in "Sharp Objects," to stand beside the Golden Globe that she won for the same part a few weeks earlier.

Clarkson's flirty personality comes across in interviews when she talks about her co-stars.

In the Critic's Choice pressroom, a journalist asked about the best day of her life, "aside from weddings and births." The acclaimed star proclaimed, "I've never done either. Just winning." She added in passing, "I was engaged once, but whatever."

Patricia Clarkson's Longest Relationship Lasted 13 Years, but It Was with Her Beloved Dog Beaux

Clarkson's parents were high school sweethearts and are still together—a relationship she admires but does not want to emulate. However, she has also experienced being in a long-term relationship and is not opposed to marriage.

Another long relationship the actress once enjoyed was with her dog, a pit-bull-hound mix named Beaux, who was 13 in 2008. She owned the dog after rescuing it in Los Angeles.

Clarkson has a flirty personality which comes across in interviews when she talks about her co-stars and collaborators. She fell in love with director Martin Scorsese "in a pure and chaste way" while making "Shutter Island," a rare blockbuster for the actress, led by Leonardo DiCaprio.

After filming "State of the Union," she gushed about how wonderful it was when one's hero does not disappoint and that she would probably have a crush on her co-star, the "witty" Brendan Gleeson, for the rest of her life.