With nearly six decades of experience in the industry under her belt, and one of the most genre-defining discographies of all time, Stevie Nicks remains one of the most influential artists in music history.
She continues to release works like her poetry collections well into her 70s (turning 78 today, May 26), and has been cited by artists like Beyoncé, Miley Cyrus, Sheryl Crow, Taylor Swift, and more as a major influence.
Not only does she serve as one of the genesis points for the singer-songwriter folk-pop style of music in the mainstream, she's also a fierce advocate for topics such as women empowerment, wounded military personnel, and abortion rights.
The latter is a particularly personal cause for Stevie, having gotten an abortion herself in the late 1970s when she was pregnant at the height of Fleetwood Mac's fame.
© Getty ImagesStevie Nicks and Don Henley
Stevie Nicks' abortion
From her relationship with Eagles drummer and vocalist Don Henley, Stevie became pregnant in 1979. However, by that point, Fleetwood Mac was on the cusp of releasing their third album with Stevie, 1979's Tusk, and were still riding the high of the massive acclaim and sales from 1977's Rumours.
She told CBS Sunday Morning in 2024, in the wake of Roe v. Wade being overturned, that she had taken precautions to not get pregnant, including regular visits with a gynecologist and getting an IUD. "I'm like, 'This can't be happening'. Fleetwood Mac is three years in and it's big. And we're going into our third album. It was like, 'Oh, no no no no no.' It would have destroyed Fleetwood Mac. Absolutely," she recalled.
© Getty ImagesStevie and Lindsey Buckingham
The "Edge of Seventeen" singer especially noted that she was apprehensive about how it would affect her bandmate and former partner Lindsey Buckingham. "It would have been a nightmare scenario for me to live through."
She decided to get an abortion, adding: "[Ultimately, the choice] was mine. And you know what? If people wanna be mad at me, be mad at me. I don't care. Had I made the other choice, had I gone the other way, I would have been a great mom. I went this way, and I've done great."
© Getty ImagesHer conscious decision
Stevie has said that she chose not to have children in order to focus on her career. "I couldn't have really done both," she told ABC Downtown in 2001. "Now, many women can do both. I'm not saying it can't be done."
"For me, I knew that if I had a baby, I would have to take care of that baby, and I wouldn't have been happy with a nanny taking care of my baby and walking into the room and having my child run across the room to another woman. I am very jealous, and I would have hated that."
© Getty ImagesShe continued: "So under those circumstances, if I couldn't be a great mom, then I decided it would be better not to and to go ahead and do what I do, write my songs and try to help people that way."
© Getty ImagesStevie and ex-husband Kim Anderson
A different kind of motherhood
The "Landslide" hitmaker has found familial joy in other ways, however. In 1983, she was married very briefly to Kim Anderson, the widower of her best friend Robin Anderson, so as to care for Robin and Kim's son Matthew. The marriage ended in just three months, but a few years later, Stevie was able to reconnect with Matthew and become an active part of his and his own family's life.
© Getty ImagesIn fact, she is now "Grandma Stevie" to Matthew's daughter, who he named after his late mother. "Last Christmas, she was at my house and she comes into the kitchen, grabs my hand and goes: 'Come with me, Grandma Stevie,'" she recalled to The Guardian. "And on that day I wrote in my journal and it said: 'I promise you, Robin, that I will be Grandma Stevie until death do us part.'"
Referring then to her niece and godchildren, she told The Age in 2006: "I have lots of kids! It's much more fun to be the crazy auntie than it is to be the mom, anyway. I couldn't do what I'm doing if I had kids."
