Tara Reid said not having kids ruined her career.

You have kids, you don’t have kids. Your career is screwed either way, according to former Hollywood It Girl, Tara Reid. 

Best known for playing Vicky in the American Pie movies, the actress's career was on the way up in the early 2000s and then it wasn’t. A mixture of bad movie choices and too many nights out derailed her career plans, and she ended up becoming tabloid fodder. 

And who could forget the infamous nip slip at Diddy’s 35th birthday party in 2004 when the then 29-year-old stood on the red carpet with her breast exposed for 30 seconds. 

Watch Nadia Bartel on having a career after having kids. Post continues after video.

While photographers snapped away and high-fived each other, debate swirled over whether it was a PR stunt or Reid had quite simply not realised that her dress has fallen down. 

It’s been almost 20 years since then and according to her IMDB profile, the now 47-year-old has barely stopped working with plenty of films and TV shows under her belt. But the thing is, I’ve barely heard of any of them and like, did anyone else know that there are at least FIVE Sharknado films?

Reid has now said that she never really became a success because she never had a family, saying she couldn’t shake that ‘party girl’ image she’s been haunted by. 

The American Pie days. Image: Getty.

“I’m not married, I don’t have kids, and I think in Hollywood if you don’t have kids or you’re not married, you’re judged,” she told the Mr Warburton Magazine. 

“So they still think you’re that party girl from 40 years ago.” 

“But all of a sudden, if you have a kid and you get married, ‘Oh she grew up, that’s great!” 

“What if you can’t have kids or what if you don’t want to get married? You can’t judge people on that anymore. And it’s the one thing that I think is really unfair about our society.” 

Listen to Holly Wainright on balancing her kids and career. Post continues after podcast.

“I never did anything wrong.”

Before there was Lindsay Lohan and Paris Hilton battling the paparazzi and their disgusting treatment of celebs, it was Tara Reid who got branded as the “bad girl”. 

“I was the first one that started this image,” she said. “The difference is I never did sex tapes. I never did anything wrong. I’ve never even gotten a speeding ticket.

“But what I did get punished for, if I wasn’t at work and I wasn’t shooting, I went to Europe right away. I’d be popping bottles and having a great time. But who doesn’t do that?”

But unlike heiresses and big-time actresses, Reid was an easy target.

“I didn’t have the money like Paris Hilton and Kim Kardashian [who] have the greatest lawyers in the world,” she said. “If you try to sue them, you’re gonna get crushed. So what are you gonna do? You gotta go away for a little while.”

Image: Getty.

Hearing this, you can’t help but feel sorry for the almost-big-time actress. When I think back to American Pie, that should have been the start of this actress’s trajectory. It should have propelled her future into main character roles and big-screen success. 

But instead, she’s been left on the sidelines as the nip slip girl.

It’s clear now though that the 47-year-old has come a long way since then and learned some tough lessons after four decades in the business. From a pigtailed six-year-old who was talent-spotted in a New Jersey shopping mall to where she is today with 18 projects on the horizon according to IMDB. 

“I’m still here now, I’m at the second coming of my age and I’ve never been happier,” Reid said. “If I didn’t get checked and get hurt and realise what was going on, I would never be the girl sitting here.

“I learned my privacy, I learned who’s my friend, who I need to keep around me, and who I love.” 

Image: Getty + Mamamia.