By Neia Balao
4:15pm PDT, Oct 25, 2023
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Join us as we take a look at some of the stars who've decided to grow their families through surrogacy…
Olympic gold medal-winning figure skater Tara Lipinski is finally a mom after five years of trying, she revealed to People magazine in a story published on Oct. 25, 2023: The athlete-turned-commentator and her husband, producer-director Todd Kapostasy, announced that they'd recently welcomed a daughter via surrogate and named their baby girl Georgie.
Tara, who suffers from endometriosis, and her spouse turned to surrogacy after learning the Olympian had been losing pregnancies due to a reproductive immunology issue in which her body rejects fertilized embryos. "I went through four pregnancies, four miscarriages, four D&Cs [dilation and curettage]," she told People, explaining that after her last miscarriage, "It was like, 'OK Tara, you've put your body through enough.' That's when I decided to think of other options."
The happy news came weeks after Tara shared on her "Unexpecting" podcast that a child was on the way via surrogate. "It was just so surreal. It couldn't have been happening to us, like, we don't get this news, this doesn't happen to us. I almost didn't believe it," she said on an early October episode of her podcast when she first shared the pregnancy news. "I was just sobbing — but, like, that ugly sobbing of just years of all of this trauma pouring out of my eyes."
Keep reading to see more stars who have decided to expand their families through surrogacy…
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In a Vanity Fair cover story that hit the internet on Aug. 7, 2023, actress Riley Keough confirmed that she and husband Ben Smith-Petersen welcomed a daughter in August 2022 via a gestational surrogate. The "Daisy Jones & The Six" star explained that she made that choice because she's faced health issues due to having Lyme disease. "I can carry children but it felt like the best choice for what I had going on physically with the autoimmune stuff," she said. "I think it's a very cool, selfless and incredible act that these women do to help other people."
Riley confirmed that she named her daughter Tupelo Storm Smith-Petersen, which includes nods to her late grandfather, music star Elvis Presley — who was born in Tupelo, Mississippi — and her brother, Benjamin Storm Keough, who died in 2020. "It's funny because we picked her name before the 'Elvis' movie [came out in 2022]. I was like, 'This is great because it's not really a well-known word or name in relation to my family — it's not like it's Memphis or something," she recalled. "Then when the 'Elvis' movie came out, it was like, Tupelo this and Tupelo that. I was like, 'Oh, no.' But it's fine."
MORE: Celebrity kids then and now: See how they've grown
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In July 2023, former "The Bachelor" and "The Bachelorette" star Clare Crawley announced that she and her husband of five months, Ryan Dawkins, are expecting a baby — their first — via surrogate. Clare later called her surrogate "a champion" in an Instagram Q&A with fans. "She is so [much] more calm and just centered," Clare explained. "This is not her first baby, so she's just like, 'I got this,' which gives me confidence and actually relaxes me, so it makes me feel so comforted knowing that she's good and feels good." She later added, "Our laundry is about to get a whole lot cuter in 2024!!"
At the end of July, Clare took to Instagram again to share a video of herself cutting into a cake she made — it was pink inside — to reveal that they're having a girl. "For the last 10 years I've had the same dream over and over. The dreams were so vivid and real of my baby coming into my life. All the beautiful details down to the gender and name," she captioned the clip, "So this special moment was not a surprise for me!"
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Maria Menounos and Keven Undergaro are mom and dad to a baby girl. On July 19, 2023, they revealed that daughter Athena was born on June 23 to a surrogate. "It was the most special moment of my life," the former E! News host told Us Weekly. "The doctor literally grabbed her and hiked her onto me. I sat with her on my chest, and Keven and I kept looking at each other like, 'Oh, my God.' It was just pure joy." Prior to the birth, Maria had been open about her fertility and health struggles. In February 2023, the longtime entertainment host announced that she and Keven were expecting via a surrogate. However, there was more going on than she let on. That same month — after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer — Maria underwent surgery to remove part of her pancreas, her spleen, a large fibroid and 17 lymph nodes. "God granted me a miracle," she told People magazine. "I'm going to appreciate having [my daughter] in my life so much more than I would have before this journey."
The couple first began IVF treatments in 2012 and experienced setbacks, including Maria's brain tumor diagnosis in 2017; she later lost her mom to brain cancer in 2021. That same year, she and Keven learned that the first surrogate they'd been working with for two years was no longer a match medically. The couple, who had two embryos left, found another but Maria was wary. "I told [my doctors], 'If it doesn't work, I'm done. This is the last straw. If this doesn't happen, it's definitely not meant to be.' I can't go through this process again," she told People in 2022 — months before learning their baby dreams were coming true.
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Erin Andrews and Jarret Stoll are now Mom and Dad! On July 10, a rep for the sportscaster confirmed to Today.com that the former "Dancing With the Stars" host and her retired NHL star husband had welcomed their first child, a boy, via surrogate. The couple had been on a nine-year IVF journey that Erin — who was diagnosed with cervical cancer in 2016 — in January told Us Weekly was one of "the most challenging things in my life, and I know in my husband's life as well."
Page Six further reported that the couple named their son Mack.
In a 2021 essay on Facebook's Bulletin, Erin opened up about undergoing her seventh round of IVF at the time. "You could go through this whole experience and get absolutely nothing out of it — that's the crazy part. It's a ton of money, it's a ton of time, it's a ton of mental and physical anguish. And more times than not, they're unsuccessful. I think that's why a lot of people choose to be quiet about it," she wrote, adding that she was sharing her story publicly in hopes of making others feel less alone. "Instead of feeling ashamed, we need to give ourselves more love. It freaking sucks, because it can seem like it's such a lonely thing. There are so many of us going through this though, and it's just not talked about."
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Chrissy Teigen stunned her Instagram followers on June 28, 2023, after revealing that she and John Legend had welcomed a fourth child — and their first via surrogate. Their son, Wren Alexander Stephens, was born just five months after Chrissy gave birth to daughter Esti. "For as long as I can remember, I've always wanted four children," the model and cookbook author said in a lengthy Instagram post, revealing she and John began pursuing surrogacy as an option in 2021 — the year after they lost son Jack at 20 weeks gestation in what she called a "life-saving abortion" after initially characterizing it as a miscarriage. They eventually found their "perfect match" in a woman named Alexandra, who Chrissy called the "most incredible, loving, compassionate surrogate we could ever imagine." (The boy's middle name is a nod to Alexandra.)
The first embryo that Alexandra tried to carry didn't survive, but the second try worked. "Just minutes before midnight on June 19th, I got to witness the most beautiful woman, my friend, our surrogate, give birth amidst a bit of chaos, but with strength and pure joy and love," Chrissy said. She later wrote, "Our hearts, and our home, are officially full."
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"Queer Eye" star Tan France and his husband, pediatric nurse and illustrator Rob France, welcomed their first child, son Ismail France in July 2021 through surrogacy. "He came 7 weeks early, so he's been in the NICU for the past 3 weeks. But, today, we finally got to bring him home. We love him so, so much. Like, fully obsessed," Tan wrote on Instagram alongside a photo of his family of three.
In April 2023 — exactly two years after they announced Ismail was on the way — Tan revealed that he and Rob were expecting their second child via surrogate. Their second son, Isaac France, was born over Memorial Day weekend in May. "He completes our little family perfectly. And a huge thank you to our incredible warrior of a surrogate, for giving us the greatest gift one could ever give," Tan wrote on Instagram alongside a photo of their family of four.
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British Olympic gold medal-winning diver Tom Daley and his American husband, Oscar-winning "Milk" screenwriter Dustin Lance Black, have welcomed two boys via surrogate. Robert Ray was born in June 2018 and his little brother, Phoenix Rose, arrived in March 2023.
MORE: Celebs who welcomed babies in 2023
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In February 2019, "Watch What Happens Live" host Andy Cohen became a first-time father when he welcomed son Benjamin Allen Cohen came into the world. "He is named after my grandfather Ben Allen. I'm in love. And speechless," Andy wrote on Instagram alongside a photo of himself holding his newborn. "And eternally grateful to an incredible surrogate. And I'm a dad. Wow." In April 2022, Andy became a father for the second time. "Meet my daughter, Lucy Eve Cohen! She's 8 pounds 13 oz and was born at 5:13 pm [on April 29] in New York City!!! Her big brother can't wait to meet her! Thank you to my rock star surrogate (ALL surrogates are rockstars, by the way) and everyone who helped make this miracle happen. I'm so happy," he captioned a photo with his baby girl on Instagram.
In June 2023, Andy made headlines when he revealed that Lucy was one of the first gestational surrogate babies born in New York. Though traditional surrogacy had been legal in the state since 1992, it wasn't until 2020 that gestational surrogacy — in which the person who carries the baby does not use their own egg for fertilization — was legal in New York. Andy shared that he was among those who traveled to the state capital, Albany, to lobby to get a law passed to legalize the practice because "I wanted to have [a] baby in New York, or I wanted my surrogate to have the baby in New York," he explained on the "Not Skinny But Not Fat" podcast, adding that "[former] Governor [Andrew] Cuomo, he really made it happen."
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In January 2023, heiress, DJ and former reality TV star Paris Hilton and husband Carter Reum announced they'd recently welcomed a son via surrogate. "It's always been my dream to be a mother and I'm so happy that Carter and I found each other. We are so excited to start our family together and our hearts are exploding with love for our baby boy," Paris told People magazine. The following month, the new mom announced her son's name — Phoenix Barron Hilton Reum — on an episode of her "This Is Paris" podcast.
She later revealed why she chose surrogacy, explaining that the choice was a result of the sexual abuse she's said she was subjected to when she spent nearly a year at a Utah boarding school, Provo Canyon, at 16. While "sleep-deprived and heavily medicated," Paris tweeted in 2022, "I was forced to lie on a padded table, spread my legs and submit to cervical exams. I cried while they held me down and said, 'No!' They just said, 'Shut up. Be quiet. Stop struggling or you'll go to [solitary confinement].'"
Paris explained to Glamour UK in February 2023 that she was "just so scared" of the medical exams related to pregnancy. "I think, again, leading back to Provo of even being in a doctor's office, just all of that. The shots, the IVs that they put in," she said. "When I was in 'The Simple Life,' I had to be in a room when a woman was giving birth, and that traumatized me as well," she added. "But I want a family so bad, it's just the physical part of doing it. I'm just so scared … childbirth and death are the two things that scare me more than anything in the world."
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"Happy Endings" actress Casey Wilson, a "Saturday Night Live" alum, and husband David Caspe welcomed their third child — and first baby via surrogate — in January 2023. "This is the dawning of the Age Of Aquarius! Our angel Frances 'Frankie' Rose Caspe is here! Delivered by another angel, our surrogate and friend, Stacy whom we love and are immeasurably grateful for. Surrogacy is women supporting women in its highest form and it has been a profound experience. Uplifting and inspiring," Casey captioned a series of photos debuting baby Frankie alongside big brothers Max Red and Henry Bear. "Frankie Rose is more than I could have ever imagined. She completes the sacred circle of mother and daughter I have longed for. I'm on the other side this time — wishing Grandma Kathy could see her and hoping (knowing) she can. Her arrival is healing and joyful. We move forth! Hand in hand. With women ushering us in and onward."
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In January 2022, Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas took to Instagram to announce in matching posts that they'd become parents. "We are overjoyed to confirm that we have welcomed a baby via surrogate," the actress and the Jonas Brothers musician shared. It was later revealed that they'd welcomed a daughter, Malti Marie Chopra Jonas, on Jan. 15 in San Diego. Priyanka opened up about surrogacy and their daughter in the February 2023 issue of British Vogue, explaining that Malti was born a full trimester early and spent three months in the neonatal intensive care unit in two different hospitals. "I was in the [operating room] when she came out. She was so small, smaller than my hand. I saw what the intensive care nurses do. They do God's work. Nick and I were both standing there as they intubated her. I don't know how they even found what they needed [in her tiny body] to intubate her," she recalled. "We spent every single day with her on my chest, on my husband's chest. I didn't know if she would make it or not." Though Priyanka has chosen to keep the circumstances that led her and Nick to choose surrogacy private, she did share with the magazine that she "had medical complications," calling it "a necessary step," adding, "I'm so grateful I was in a position where I could do this. Our surrogate was so generous, kind, lovely and funny, and she took care of this precious gift for us for six months."
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In December 2022, Broadway actor and "Star Trek: Discovery" actor Anthony Rapp and fiancé Ken Ithiphol, a certified professional coach, became first-time parents when their surrogate gave birth to their first child. "Ken and I are thrilled to share that our family has grown!" the "Adventures in Babysitting" and "School Ties" actor wrote on Instagram alongside a photo of his family of three. "Our son, Rai Larson Ithiphol, was brought into the world on Friday, December 2, 2022, by an incredibly generous surrogate, to whom we are eternally grateful. (Rai is pronounced like 'rye' or 'chai.') We love him very much." At the end of the year, the couple — who've been together since 2016 — posted photos with their surrogate along with a message of gratitude, writing, "Ken and I couldn't close out 2022 without sharing one of the biggest highlights of our year. We had the absolute honor and pleasure of getting to know, and share many meaningful and joyful moments with, our gestational surrogate, Nikki. She is truly one of the most incredible and awe-inspiring human beings we have ever met, and she and her family have profoundly transformed our lives. Ken and I feel so lucky and are forever thankful."
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Nearly six months after Hilaria Baldwin gave birth to her fifth child with Alec Baldwin, son Eduardo Pao Lucas, in September 2020, the couple revealed the arrival of their sixth child together, Maria Lucia, in March 2021. Reports at the time confirmed they used a surrogate to add to their family after the couple declined to address it. In November 2022, Hilaria — who's since given birth to another child, her and Alec's seventh, Ilaria Catalina Irena — opened up about their decision to use a surrogate to expand their family a few years earlier. "People assume that I'm less of a mom, that she's less of my daughter," Hilaria said on her "Witches Anonymous" podcast, insisting, "she is just as attached to me as all my other ones." Hilaria talked about being "shamed" for choosing "the surrogacy route" after she had two miscarriages in 2019, explaining that "one of the reasons I didn't share [our surrogacy decision] with people is they were not very nice about it. It made me so sad — the feeling of judgment. And on such innocence." According to Hilaria, "They're questioning whether I should've done that, which therefore is questioning whether [my daughter] should exist."
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Rebel Wilson announced on Nov. 7, 2022, that she welcomed a daughter — Royce Lillian — via surrogate. The actress shared the news on Instagram along with a photo of her newborn. "I am forever grateful to everyone who has been involved, (you know who you are), this has been years in the making…but particularly wanted to thank my gorgeous surrogate who carried her and birthed her with such grace and care. Thank you for helping me start my own family, it's an amazing gift. The BEST gift!! I am ready to give little Roycie all the love imaginable. I am learning quickly…much respect to all the Mums out there! Proud to be in your club," Rebel captioned the image.
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"Modern Family" alum and Tony-winning Broadway star Jesse Tyler Ferguson and husband Justin Mikita became first-time fathers in 2020 when they welcomed son Beckett with the help of a surrogate. Their second son, Sullivan Louis Ferguson-Mikita, was born in November 2022, Jesse announced on Instagram on Nov. 15, thanking their doctor as well as "our incredible surrogate and all of the nurses and doctors," he wrote on Instagram alongside photos of their newborn. "We are overjoyed to be a family of four."
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On the season 1 opener of Hulu's "The Kardashians" on Sept. 22, Khloe Kardashian revealed heartbreaking new information surrounding the surrogacy that led to the birth of her second child, a son, with ex Tristan Thompson. Their baby boy, whose name she's yet to share publicly, was born on July 28 just a few weeks after Khloe announced that a child was on the way despite her December 2021 split from Tristan. She explained that the embryo transfer to their surrogate was completed just before Thanksgiving in November 2021. Days later, she learned that the NBA player, with whom she'd reconciled following years of on-off dating amid his many cheating scandals, had not only been unfaithful (again) but kept from her that he was expecting a baby with one of his mistresses, former trainer Maralee Nichols, who gave birth to a boy, Theo, on Dec. 1. "Ever since December, it's been this dark cloud looming over me. Every single day, I've been feeling depressed and sad, and now that my son is here, I get to move on, and I get to enjoy. It's almost like I get to close that chapter and be done with this trauma and put it behind me," Khloe said on her show. "Now I finally get to start the healing process. Now I get to start enjoying my life with two kids in it and figuring this out," she added (she and Tristan welcomed daughter True in 2018). "This is gonna be day one, and this is gonna be the start of something positive, and happy and beautiful."
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Former "The Real" co-host, 3LW singer and "Cheetah Girls" star Adrienne Bailon is a first-time mom thanks to surrogacy, she announced on Aug. 16, 2022, revealing that she and husband Israel Houghton, a gospel singer who has four kids from a previous relationship, welcomed son Ever James. "For this child we have prayed," the Daytime Emmy winner shared in a lengthy Instagram post debuting a photo of their son, adding, "you know that our journey to baby has been very challenging — But God is true to His word and His promises. We have quietly prayed while sitting on this most magnificent secret for the last 9 months. He is worth every tear, every disappointment, every delayed prayer, every IVF cycle, every miscarriage. Everything. All we feel is joy and overwhelming love & gratitude. Grateful to God, to our angel surrogate and to all of our friends and family who have stood with us for over 5 years on this journey. He's here and we have never been happier to lose sleep!"
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Actress Jamie Chung and her husband, actor Bryan Greenberg, welcomed twin boys in October 2021. In June 2022, she explained why they chose surrogacy. "I was terrified of becoming pregnant. I was terrified of putting my life on hold for two-plus years. In my industry, it feels like you're easily forgotten if you don't work within the next month of your last job. Things are so quickly paced in what we do," the "Dexter: New Blood" star told Today Parents. "So it's a compromise that we made together as a couple." She also shared why they waited to reveal how they became parents, noting the stigma that can surround surrogacy. "I think there's a little bit of shame. It's still not a very common thing and we weren't ready for judgment," she explained. "We really just did it to protect ourselves. We announced things when we were ready to." She added, "People probably think, 'Oh, she's so vain. She didn't want to get pregnant,' and it's much more complicated than that. For me, personally, and I will leave it at this, it's like, I worked my a** off my entire life to get where I am. I don't want to lose opportunities. I don't want to be resentful."
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In a Vanity Fair cover story that hit the internet in March 2022, music star Grimes revealed that she and on-off love Elon Musk quietly welcomed their second child together via surrogate in December 2021. The singer and the SpaceX and Tesla mogul named their daughter Exa Dark Sideræl and have nicknamed her Y. Grimes gave birth to their first child, son X Æ A-12, in 2020; Elon also has five sons with first wife Justine Wilson.
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CNN anchor Anderson Cooper has welcomed two sons through surrogacy. In April 2020, son Wyatt arrived. "As a gay kid, I never thought it would be possible to have a child, and I'm grateful for all those who have paved the way, and for the doctors and nurses and everyone involved in my son's birth," the TV journalist wrote on Instagram alongside photos of his adorable son. "Most of all, I am grateful to a remarkable surrogate who carried Wyatt, and watched over him lovingly, and tenderly, and gave birth to him," he continued. "It is an extraordinary blessing — what she, and all surrogates give to families who can't have children. My surrogate has a beautiful family of her own, a wonderfully supportive husband, and kids, and I am incredibly thankful for all the support they have given Wyatt and me. My family is blessed to have this family in our lives." In February 2022, Anderson announced that he and "best friend and former partner" Benjamin Maisani had welcomed a second child, son Sebastian Luke Maisani-Cooper. "Wyatt calls me 'daddy' and Benjamin 'papa.' We're a family. Benjamin is also in the process of adopting Wyatt, whose last name will be changed to Maisani-Cooper as well," he told viewers on his show.
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Actress Brittany Daniel and husband Adam Toini, a broker associate, welcomed their first child, daughter Hope, via surrogate in October 2021. In January 2022, the "White Chicks" and "The Game" star revealed new details about her journey to motherhood: Her twin sister, Cynthia Daniel — who along with Brittany came to fame playing twins on TV's "Sweet Valley High" in the '90s — donated her eggs to her sibling after Brittany experienced fertility issues following a battle with stage IV non-Hodgkin's lymphoma that began in 2011. "I saw it as such a simple gift I could give to her," Cynthia told People magazine. "I know Brittany would do it in a split second for me. And we've always shared everything, so why not this?" Brittany explained that though she beat cancer, after undergoing intense chemotherapy, doctors told her she had a diminished egg reserve and that getting pregnant naturally would likely not happen. She brought up the idea of egg donation to Cynthia, who discussed it with her husband — "Yellowstone" actor Cole Hauser, with whom Cynthia shares three children — and "didn't hesitate" to say yes, Brittany — who underwent three failed IVF attempts before turning to surrogacy — told the magazine. "Words cannot express how grateful I am to her." When Cynthia met baby Hope, "I wasn't sure how I was going to feel at first, what emotions would come up," she explained. "But I just felt like the aunt. And that is really special."
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After years of fertility struggles and two heartbreaking miscarriages, "Glee" actress Becca Tobin and husband Zach Martin turned to surrogacy and welcomed a baby boy in February, she announced on Instagram on Feb. 22. "Welcome to the world, Ford. Rutherford 'Ford' Thomas Martin is here and life is already so much sweeter," the "LadyGang" podcast co-host captioned a photo of Zach carrying their son out of the hospital. "It took him five years to get here, but it's been worth every minute. Thank you to our amazing surrogate for bringing him here safely surrounded by so much love."
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Former *NSYNC singer Lance Bass and husband Michael Turchin welcomed twins — daughter Violet Betty and son Alexander James — via surrogate in Tacoma, Washington, on Oct. 13, 2021. More than three months earlier, the couple — who got together in 2011 and married in 2014 — spoke about their long journey to fatherhood in an interview with People magazine. "Because of what we've been through the last four years, we were very cautious to get excited," Lance explained, referencing a surrogate's miscarriage as well as multiple IVF issues. "And it kind of sucks because when you find out you're pregnant, you want to celebrate with your family. You start planning their future in your head already, but we were so scared because we didn't want to go through the pain again of losing them. We told our friends and family about the ninth week, when we finally felt comfortable." Lance and Michael — who's a twin himself — wanted two children. "When we did the egg retrieval, he fertilized half, I fertilized half," Michael told the magazine.
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"Aquaman" actress Amber Heard on July 1, 2021, announced that she'd welcomed her first child, daughter Oonagh Paige, on April 8. Multiple outlets confirmed that the baby was born via surrogate. Friends told Page Six that Amber turned to surrogacy after learning she wouldn't be able to carry a child herself. "She's so grateful to the wonderful woman who helped bring Oonagh into her life," a source told the New York Post's gossip column. "There are so many women who feel they can't talk about their fertility and are worried and embarrassed; Amber wants them to feel supported and realize that there are a multitude of ways to have a baby even if you have fertility issues." Amber shared a photo of Oonagh on Instagram when she confirmed her happy news, telling fans in an accompanying caption, "Four years ago, I decided I wanted to have a child. I wanted to do it on my own terms." She called Oonagh "the beginning of the rest of my life."
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In June 2009, Sarah Jessica Parker and husband Matthew Broderick welcomed daughters Marion Loretta Elwell and Tabitha Hodge via surrogate more than six years after SJP gave birth to their eldest child, son James Wilkie. The couple spent years trying to expand their family but were repeatedly met with heartbreak. They turned to surrogacy, the "Sex and the City" actress told "Access Hollywood," after she found she was unable to "have successful pregnancies since my son's birth."
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In November 2018, Gabrielle Union and Dwyane Wade welcomed daughter Kaavia James Union Wade via surrogate. While talking to Women's Health, the actress opened up about how she was diagnosed with adenomyosis, a condition that causes endometrial tissue to grow along the uterine wall. "There's nothing more that I wanted than to cook my own baby," she told the magazine, adding that "the idea of [surrogacy] felt like surrendering to failure." But Gabrielle — who suffered "eight or nine" miscarriages during her fertility journey with her husband — eventually embraced the process. "Some people care about the race, religion, or food habits of their surrogate," she explained. "I was like, 'I want a reader.'" Dwyane also has three children from two other relationships and adopted his nephew in 2011.
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After initially trying adoption — they were unable to adopt a little boy named Lev they met in a Ukrainian orphanage because they're gay — Elton John and David Furnish made the decision to have children via surrogate. "We decided to go the surrogacy route and have children of our own," Elton explained in The New York Times Style Magazine. "The dominoes fell very quickly." They had son Zachary Jackson Levon Furnish-John in 2010 and son Elijah Joseph Daniel Furnish-John in 2013. "It was only through fate, really," Elton added. "This little boy [Lev], if we hadn't have met him, we'd never have had children. You'll look back on your life and you see a lot of things come into your life through fate. You can't plan the future — the future plans itself." (Elton and his husband weren't able to adopt Lev but they eventually got him and his half-brother out of the orphanage and into a home with Lev's grandmother.)
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NBC News co-chief White House correspondent Kristen Welker and her husband, marketing exec John Hughes, welcomed their first child — daughter Margot Lane Welker Hughes — via surrogacy in June 2021. "I was 40 years old when I married John in March 2017. And we immediately started to try to have a baby," Kristen explained during an April 2021 "Today" show appearance. "It didn't work immediately. So we thought, 'Let's just go to a doctor as a precaution.'" After a fertility specialist recommended they try IVF, she learned that the lining of her uterus was too thin to carry a child. "I felt as though I had let you down because I couldn't carry you myself," Kristen, who's also a "Weekend Today" co-anchor," wrote her daughter in a letter. "It's OK to ask for help; in fact, it can be empowering," she added. "Families are made in all different ways, come in all different shapes and sizes, and all families should be celebrated. … While I didn't carry you in my body, I have always carried you in my heart and I will be your mommy."
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In 2020, Kristen Wiig revealed she and love Avi Rothman quietly had twins via surrogate after unsuccessfully trying IVF for three years. "I am very lucky about having these two babies and my husband, and they make it all better. It's changed my life," the "Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar" actress said on "The Howard Stern Show."
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Nicole Kidman gave birth to her first child with husband Keith Urban, daughter Sunday Rose, in 2008. Their second daughter, Faith Margaret, was born via surrogate in 2010. Nicole also adopted two children, who are now adults, with first husband Tom Cruise. "I've experienced motherhood in so many different ways," the Oscar winner told CNN of her inherit desire to be a mother. "I've experienced adoption, birthing a child and I've experienced surrogacy. I'm like when it comes to it, I just wanna be a mama."
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For Lucy Liu, surrogacy was the right way for her to start a family. "It just seemed like the right option for me because I was working and I didn't know when I was going to be able to stop," she told People magazine. "I decided that was probably the best solution for me, and it turned out to be great." In 2015, the "Elementary" actress became a proud single mama to son Rockwell Lloyd.
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Prior to welcoming daughter Zeppelin Adele through surrogacy in November 2017, "Friday Night Lights" actor Zach Gilford and his wife, "Kingdom" actress Kiele Sanchez, endured fertility struggles — which included a heartbreaking late-term miscarriage in 2015. "It's been a long, painful journey for us," they told People magazine. "Zeppelin is the light of our lives."
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Elizabeth Banks and husband Max Handelman, whom she married in 2003, welcomed both their sons via gestational surrogate: Felix in 2011 and Magnus in 2012. "This experience has exceeded all expectations, taught us a great deal about generosity and gratitude, and established a relationship that will last a lifetime," the actress wrote on her website of her surrogacy experience with her younger son. The actress-director later opened up to Porter Edit about why they chose surrogacy — she endured fertility issues for years — and some of its challenges. "I definitely think I'm still judged for what I've done and that people don't understand my choices, but I don't feel I owe anybody any explanation," she said. The bright side, she added, is that "If my story helps people feel less alone on their journey, then I'm grateful for that."
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In January 2016, supermodel Tyra Banks and then-love Erik Asla, a photographer, welcomed son York through surrogacy after their IVF journey came to an end. "As I gaze into the beautiful eyes of my son, I think about all the people who struggle with fertility or carrying a child and continue to pray for them every day," she told People magazine.
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After struggling to start a family for five years, Jimmy Fallon and producer wife Nancy Juvonen, whom he married in 2007, turned to surrogacy. They've since welcomed two daughters: Winnie Rose in 2013 and Frances Cole in 2014. "I just want to thank everyone. The nurses and the doctor and the surrogate who had our baby," he said on "The Tonight Show" after their youngest was born. "It's true, we had a surrogate. I can't say anything more because I don't know what the rules are. But I just want to say that there are angels in Dallas, Texas, so thank you so much."
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Former A-list couple Kim Kardashian and Kanye West welcomed their third and fourth children, Chicago and Psalm, via surrogate after Kim suffered pregnancy complications including placenta accreta when she had her first two kids, North and Saint. "We are incredibly grateful to our surrogate who made our dreams come true with the greatest gift one could give and to our wonderful doctors and nurses for their special care," wrote Kim on her website following Chi's birth in 2018. Psalm was born in 2019.
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Ellen Pompeo carried daughter Stella, who was born in 2009, herself, but she and husband Chris Ivery turned to a surrogate to welcomed daughter Sienna May in 2014 and son Eli in 2016. "It's important to protect the privacy of the surrogate, but don't forget, I am the same girl who had the mayor of New York City marry me and it didn't get out for five days," the "Grey's Anatomy" star quipped after revealing the birth of her second child. While chatting with late night host Jimmy Kimmel, Ellen also gushed about her surrogate. "This is an incredible thing to do with your life, to give the gift of carrying someone's child." She went on, "I am forever grateful and feel very blessed and grateful to her."
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In December 2019, actress Cameron Diaz and rocker Benji Madden — who married in 2015 — welcomed daughter Raddix Chloe Wildflower via surrogate. "Even with all of the amazing experiences I've had in traveling and accomplishments of working hard and putting things into the world I'm proud of … I know, this is really the most gratifying time in my life, to be in this place, to get here," Cameron said in 2020 on supermodel Naomi Campbell's "No FIlter" YouTube series. "Having a family when you're young … it's like anything when you're young: You do it. But when you're my age and you decide to do it, it's a real choice. You really have to work hard for it."
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In 2010, Neil Patrick Harris and husband David Burtka welcomed twins Harper Grace and Gideon Scott with the help of a surrogate and an egg donor. "We found an egg donor anonymously through a hilarious process of looking at people's profiles and then an amazing surrogate who had helped a same-sex couple before," the "How I Met Your Mother" actor told People magazine. "And then we inserted two eggs, one with my sperm, one with David's sperm, and they both took."
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Jordana Brewster welcomed both her children with ex-husband Andrew Form, sons Rowan and Julian, via surrogate. The "Fast & Furious" franchise actress told Yahoo Parenting of her surrogacy journey, "Sometimes I feel a little left out when other moms talk about what their birth experience was like, and I feel the loss of not having carried or having been able to carry." She continued, "But luckily I keep my circle tight and close, so I never feel judged."
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In December 2016, Amy Smart and husband Carter Oosterhouse welcomed daughter Flora through surrogacy. "One month ago today, Dec. 26th our amazing beautiful daughter came into this world," the actress captioned a heartwarming snap with her newborn in January 2017. "Feeling so grateful to have her in my arms… after years of fertility struggles I give thanks today to our kind, loving surrogate for carrying her."
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In 2015, design moguls Nate Berkus and Jeremiah Brent welcomed their first child, daughter Poppy, through surrogacy. Their second child, son Oskar, was born to a surrogate in 2018. "Surrogacy can be about science, it can be about money or it can be about intention," Nate told People magazine after Poppy's birth. "We're really lucky to have everybody that was involved in allowing us to have our daughter be excited for us."
