Career or family.

Spotlight or motherhood.

LINDA RONSTADT CHOSE BOTH, BUT SHE DID IT HER WAY.

She never married, even after being linked to famous men like Jerry Brown, George Lucas, Aaron Neville, and Jim Carrey.

But Linda never needed a husband to become a mother.

She adopted her daughter Mary Clementine in 1990 and her son Carlos in 1994, then deliberately kept them away from the cameras while they grew up.

Meet Linda Ronstadt’s 2 Children, She Still Has No Husband

But here’s what makes this so powerful…

Linda had already conquered music by then.

She had arenas, awards, hit records, and a voice that could move through rock, country, pop, and Mexican music with ease.

Still, when motherhood called, she cut back where she needed to and raised her children on her own terms.

No apology.

No regret.

And that’s not all…

Now, as Linda lives with progressive supranuclear palsy, the Parkinson’s-like disease that took her singing voice, family matters more than ever.

Reports say she now shares a home with Mary, who helps care for her as Linda adjusts to a quieter life.

Here’s a look at Linda’s life now…

Here’s the truth…

Linda Ronstadt may no longer sing, but she is still creating.

She spends her days with family, food, art, memory, and the Mexican-American traditions that shaped her.

She built a career.

She built a family.

And she did both without letting the world tell her what a woman’s life was supposed to look like.

This touching song about motherhood still says so much: