Millions of people struggle with infertility, and celebrities are no exception. Each one of these celebrities has had trouble conceiving naturally and looked at surrogacy.
Deciding to go the surrogacy route is not an easy choice and certainly not for everybody. However, having celebs talk about their struggles to have children and proudly sharing their surrogacy stories is quickly helping make surrogacy more visible and widely accepted both for straight and gay parents.
Among the first to openly discuss their surrogacy journeys we can include actress Angela Basset, who became a mother in 2006, actor Dennis Quaid and his wife, who welcomed twins in 2007, and actress Sarah Jessica Parker and her husband, actor Matthew Broderick, who had twins born via surrogate in 2009.
Kanye West and his wife, Kim Kardashian West, had a surrogate mom carry their third child, Chicago, and will be doing it again for baby number four. “We are incredibly thankful to our surrogate who made our dreams come true with the greatest gift one could give,” Kardashian said to People Magazine. Giving birth again isn’t an option for Kardashian West, who suffered from placenta accreta during both of her pregnancies with her first two children.
It’s not only musicians like West or rocker Chris Daughtry, whose wife suffered a partial hysterectomy and couldn’t carry, who turn to surrogacy to build their families. In sports, we have soccer player Cristiano Ronaldo, who had three kids with the help of a surrogate mother, and NBA player Dwyane Wade, who had a daughter through surrogacy together with his wife, actress Gabriel Union, in 2018.
Actress Elisabeth Banks said about the surrogate mom that carried her children, “This experience has exceeded all expectations, taught us a great deal about generosity and gratitude, and established a relationship that will last a lifetime.”
Also, model and reality TV host and producer Tyra Banks had the help of a surrogate to have her son in 2016. When asked about her feelings she said, “I think about all the people who struggle with fertility or carrying a child and continue to pray for them every day.”
Among the famous couples that decide that surrogacy was the best option for them, we can include actress Nicole Kidman and her country star husband, Keith Urban, who have two children together, one through surrogacy. Also, Kelsey Grammer and ex-wife Camille Grammer used a surrogate. Camille penned a blog post in 2012 discussing her surrogacy journey, saying, “I wish I could have had that experience [of carrying my children]. I’m just so grateful I had a wonderful surrogate who carried our two children.”
Other celebrities who used surrogacy to complete their families include actor Robert DeNiro, who had three kids through surrogacy, and director and producer George Lucas, who welcomed his daughter in 2013 through a gestational surrogate (he has three children through adoption too). TV host Jimmy Fallon and his wife have two girls via a surrogate mom, and TV host Giuliana Rancic and her husband welcomed a son in 2012 via a surrogate after struggling with infertility, miscarriages, and breast cancer.
We are thankful to these brave celebrities who not only shared the glamorous part of having a baby but also gave regular people insight into the pain and hardships of infertility, illness, and the difficult journey that is surrogacy and helped normalize surrogacy as a valid process to complete your family.
