diff --git a/.changeset/few-rats-poke.md b/.changeset/few-rats-poke.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..ae97061e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/few-rats-poke.md
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+"markdown-to-jsx": patch
+---
+
+Default `children` to an empty string if no content is passed.
diff --git a/index.compiler.spec.tsx b/index.compiler.spec.tsx
index 99b593e1..69e053a2 100644
--- a/index.compiler.spec.tsx
+++ b/index.compiler.spec.tsx
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ afterEach(() => ReactDOM.unmountComponentAtNode(root))
 it('should throw if not passed a string (first arg)', () => {
   expect(() => compiler('')).not.toThrow()
   // @ts-ignore
-  expect(() => compiler()).toThrow()
+  expect(() => compiler()).not.toThrow()
   // @ts-ignore
   expect(() => compiler(1)).toThrow()
   // @ts-ignore
diff --git a/index.tsx b/index.tsx
index 80fb5f32..62c8c79c 100644
--- a/index.tsx
+++ b/index.tsx
@@ -1107,7 +1107,7 @@ function getTag(tag: string, overrides: MarkdownToJSX.Overrides) {
 }
 
 export function compiler(
-  markdown: string,
+  markdown: string = '',
   options: MarkdownToJSX.Options = {}
 ) {
   options.overrides = options.overrides || {}
@@ -1946,7 +1946,7 @@ const Markdown: React.FC<{
   [key: string]: any
   children: string
   options?: MarkdownToJSX.Options
-}> = ({ children, options, ...props }) => {
+}> = ({ children = '', options, ...props }) => {
   if (process.env.NODE_ENV !== 'production' && typeof children !== 'string') {
     console.error(
       'markdown-to-jsx: <Markdown> component only accepts a single string as a child, received:',