The decision to welcome children into the world is a big one — and one that can look different from family to family.
For these celebrities, their parenthood journey included the help of a surrogate, a role Anderson Cooper described as “an extraordinary blessing.”
“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,” Cooper said.
Chrissy Teigen, who shared that she and her husband John Legend had welcomed their fourth child via surrogate on June 19, 2023, chose a name for their little one to honor the woman who carried him.
“We want to say thank you for this incredible gift you have given us, Alexandra,” Teigen wrote on Instagram. “And we are so happy to tell the world he is here, with a name forever connected to you, Wren Alexander Stephens.”
From Teigen and Legend’s baby No. 4 to Cooper’s two little guys, here’s a look at all the famous families who’ve expanded their family through surrogacy!
Chrissy Teigen & John Legend
Chrissy Teigen/Instagram
Just five months after welcoming baby No. 3, Teigen and Legend announced that the were now a family of six with the addition of their fourth child, Wren Alexander Stephens.
The Cravings cookbook author confirmed the news on Instagram on June 28, sharing that they had welcomed their son via surrogate on June 19, 2023.
“We want to say thank you for this incredible gift you have given us, Alexandra,” she said, referencing their surrogate, who was pregnant alongside Teigen for a time. “And we are so happy to tell the world he is here, with a name forever connected to you, Wren Alexander Stephens.”
“Our hearts, and our home, are officially full. And to our Jack, we know both their angel kisses are from you,” she added, paying tribute to their son Jack, who she lost at 20 weeks gestation in 2020.
Paris Hilton & Carter Reum
Paris Hilton and husband Carter Reum welcomed their first baby together, a son, via surrogate, PEOPLE confirmed on Jan. 24, 2023.
“It’s always been my dream to be a mother and I’m so happy that Carter and I found each other,” the new mom told PEOPLE exclusively. “We are so excited to start our family together and our hearts are exploding with love for our baby boy.”
Sharing the exciting news on Instagram, Hilton posted a close-up photo of the baby gripping her thumb. “You are already loved beyond words 💙,” she wrote.
Anthony Rapp & Ken Ithiphol
Star Trek: Discovery star Anthony Rapp and fiancé Ken Ithiphol welcomed their first baby via surrogate in December 2022, introducing their Instagram followers to newborn son Rai Larson with their first family photo.
“Ken and I are thrilled to share that our family has grown!” Rapp started in the caption.
“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.’)” he wrote. “We love him very much.”
Weeks after the baby’s arrival, Rapp shared a heartfelt tribute to the couple’s surrogate, “truly one of the most incredible and awe-inspiring human beings we have ever met.”
Adrienne Bailon & Israel Houghton
The former co-host of The Real, Adrienne Bailon, and her husband Israel Houghton welcomed a baby boy via surrogate, she revealedin an Instagram post in August 2022.
“Ever James ♾ / For this child we have prayed / Just to hear our baby cry / Skin to skin and face to face / Heart to heart and eye to eye…,” Bailon began her emotional post.
“Our baby boy is here & we are so in love! If you have followed our love story… 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,” she shared.
Rebel Wilson
In announcing the surprise arrival of daughter Royce Lillian in November 2022, Rebel Wilson thanked “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!!”
Khloé Kardashian & Tristan Thompson
Tristan Thompson/Instagram
Though they’re no longer together, the parents to 4-year-old True confirmed in July 2022 they were expecting a second child via surrogate.
“We can confirm True will have a sibling who was conceived in November,” Kardashian’s rep told PEOPLE. “Khloé is incredibly grateful to the extraordinary surrogate for such a beautiful blessing.”
An insider told PEOPLE that “just like they do with True, Khloé will co-parent the baby with Tristan. Tristan is the dad and Khloé wants him involved as much as possible. He is great with True.”
The source also added that Khloé “doesn’t see herself as a single mom.”
“She has a great support system with a lot of help. She feels very lucky,” said the insider.
On Aug. 5, 2022, a rep for the reality star confirmed the couple had welcomed a baby boy.
Andy Cohen
On a December 2018 episode of Bravo’s Watch What Happens Live, the executive producer and host revealed he was expecting his first child via surrogate.
On Feb. 4, 2019, he shared the happy news of son Benjamin Allen’s arrival. “I’m in love,” he wrote on Instagram alongside a blissful shot.
Three years later, he welcomed his second child, daughter Lucy, also via surrogate, expressing his gratitude on Instagram.
“Thank you to my rock star surrogate (ALL surrogates are rockstars, by the way) and everyone who helped make this miracle happen,” he wronte alongside some sweet snaps. “I’m so happy.”
Anderson Cooper
Anderson Cooper/instagram
Cooper welcomed his son, Wyatt (right) — who is named after the journalist’s father — on April 27, 2020 via surrogate.
Wyatt weighed 7.2 lbs. at birth, “and he is sweet, and soft, and healthy and I am beyond happy,” the proud new dad said in his emotional announcement on CNN following his little boy’s arrival.
Cooper wrote on Instagram alongside a series of sweet photos of his son, “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,” he wrote. “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.”
“It is an extraordinary blessing — what she, and all surrogates give to families who can’t have children,” he said. “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, little brother Sebastian arrived via surrogate as well.
Priyanka Chopra & Nick Jonas
The couple shared their happy surprise — the arrival daughter Malti! — on Jan. 21, 2022.
The pair frequently spoke of their desire to have kids, with Chopra once telling PEOPLE, “When the time is right, it will happen.”
Jamie Chung & Bryan Greenberg
The pair surprised fans with news of their twins’ arrival in October 2021.
Chung had been open in the past about her fertility journey, revealing in 2019 that she made the decision to freeze her eggs, She and Greenberg ultimately kept their baby news a secret, however.
“It was more of a happy accident,” Chung told PEOPLE of the private pregnancy. “I think there’s certain things that we want to keep to ourselves and enjoy and keep somewhat private, but also we don’t want to overthink about what we share.”
Alec & Hilaria Baldwin
In March 2021, the Baldwins surprised fans when they announced the addition of newborn daughter Maria Lucia to their family, just months after Hilaria gave birth to son Eduardo “Edu” Pao Lucas in September 2020. The Internet quickly went abuzz with questions about why the pair opted for surrogacy and why they did so given Hilaria would have already been pregnant with Edu at the time.
However, a source told PEOPLE, “It’s no one’s business about a woman’s right to choose how and when she expands her family.”
Kristen Wiig & Avi Rothman
Jared Siskin/Getty Images
The couple welcomed twins in early 2020 via a surrogate, a source told PEOPLE in June 2020. A rep for Wiig did not comment.
PEOPLE confirmed in August 2019 that Wiig was engaged to Rothman. The two were first spotted on vacation in Kauai, Hawaii, holding hands and kissing in May 2016. At the time, a source told PEOPLE, “They’ve been secretly dating for a few months,” adding that, “They’re really happy together.”
In 2021, Wiig confirmed the pair had since married.
Kandi Burruss & Todd Tucker
The Real Housewives of Atlanta stars enlisted the help of a surrogate to welcome daughter Blaze into the world on Nov. 22, 2019. Although it was initially a “tough decision” for the couple, they now say that they “wouldn’t change a thing.”
“We were just trying to figure out like, okay, should we do this? How can you trust somebody with your most precious possession, your most precious gift … somebody that you barely know?” Burruss said in an episode of Parents magazine’s We Are Family podcast.
“But now that it’s all said and done, I wouldn’t change a thing. It was the best decision that we could have made,” she added.
The mother of three — who also shares son Ace Wells with Tucker, and is mom to daughter Riley — said that her surrogate, Shadina, had carried for another family before, and so she “was really teaching” them “a lot of things” about the process.
“Once I got comfortable, then I started really appreciating the fact that [Shadina] was doing the heavy lifting,” she said.
For anyone else considering in vitro fertilization and/or surrogacy, Burruss advised, “I would definitely say go forward. The research is the main thing. And then you just gotta trust and believe and just go for it.”
Kanye West & Kim Kardashian
Kim Kardashian/Instagram
Kanye West and now-estranged wife Kim Kardashian hired a surrogate to carry their third child, Chicago, and did it again for baby No. 4, PEOPLE confirmed in January 2019.
“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,” the reality star wrote on her website after the January 2018 birth of daughter Chicago.
Giving birth again isn’t an option for Kardashian West, who suffered from placenta accreta during both of her pregnancies with son Saint and daughter North.
Son Psalm completed the family in May 2019.
Gabrielle Union & Dwyane Wayne
Gabrielle Union/Instagram
The actress and her NBA star husband welcomed their first child together, daughter Kaavia James, via surrogate on Nov. 7, 2018. The couple shared family photos in the hospital on Instagram.
Wade is also dad to kids Xavier, Zaya and Zaire from a previous marriage. He also raises nephew Dahveon Morris.
In an interview, Union opened up about surrogacy, saying she felt she was “surrendering to failure” after years of fertility treatments and losses. But once she came to terms with it, she embraced the process, even being careful to select a surrogate who loved to read — a trait she hopes to see in her daughter someday.
Zach Gilford & Kiele Sanchez
After several attempts to start a family, which also included a late-term miscarriage in 2015, the former Friday Night Lights actor and his wife, Kingdom actress Sanchez, welcomed daughter Zeppelin Adele via surrogate in November 2017. “It’s been a long, painful journey for us,” the couple shared with PEOPLE. “Zeppelin is the light of our lives.”
Fredrik Eklund & Derek Kaplan
Million Dollar Listing NewYork real estate broker Eklund and his husband Kaplan were over the moon about twins Milla and Fredrik Jr., whom they welcomed on Nov. 28, 2017, after their surrogate suffered multiple miscarriages previously.
“It’s the biggest thing that could ever happen to us,” Eklund told PEOPLE exclusively after announcing the babies on the way during MLDNY‘s season 6 finale. “It’s a boy and a girl, and it’s just beyond.”
Of learning the exciting news in April while celebrating Eklund’s 40th birthday in Paris, “That was probably the biggest moment of my life,” he added. “I felt like it was meant to be, which is hard for me to say because it’s been so difficult.”
Shaun T & Scott Blokker
Celebrity fitness expert Shaun T and husband Blokker made sure to give huge shout-outs to their surrogate Ashley, who attended the baby shower for their twin sons Sander Vaughn and Silas Rhys and brought her own children to meet the babies three weeks after their premature birth at 32 weeks gestation.
“Ashley, her husband Michael and their children are such selfless people and no words can describe our appreciation for them helping us build our family!” Shaun T captioned a sweet photo gallery of the meet-up moment.
“You are courageous, strong, empowered, driven, powerful, dedicated, and such an amazing human! SO THANK YOU for being everything we needed and more,” he added.
Sarah Jessica Parker & Matthew Broderick
Marion Loretta Elwell (who goes by Loretta) and Tabitha Hodge were born via surrogate to actors Matthew Broderick and Sarah Jessica Parker in June 2009.
“I’ve had a lot of opportunities to do the things that I wanted to do, like sleep,” Parker told Vogue in 2011 of becoming a mom a little later in life.
Neil Patrick Harris & David Burtka
Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka’s twins — Gideon Scott and Harper Grace — arrived via help from an egg donor and a surrogate.
“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,” Harris told PEOPLE in 2011.
“And then we inserted two eggs, one with my sperm, one with David’s sperm and they both took,” he said, with Burtka adding that the couple “don’t know whose is whose.”
Jimmy Fallon & Nancy Juvonen
“We tried before, we told people and it didn’t happen. It’s just really depressing and hard,” Fallon — now dad to Frances Cole and Winnie Rose both born via surrogate — said in 2013 shortly after Winnie’s birth.
“I just want to thank everyone. The nurses and the doctor and the surrogate who had our baby,” he added on The Tonight Show. “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.”
Jordana Brewster & Andrew Form
Both Jordana Brewster’s sons — Rowanand Julian — were born to the actress and now-ex-husband Andrew Form via surrogate.
“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 told Yahoo Parenting in 2015.
“But luckily I keep my circle tight and close, so I never feel judged,” added the Furious 7 star.
Dennis & Kimberly Quaid
“God has definitely blessed us,” Quaid said in a statement after a surrogate gave birth to his twins Thomas Boone and Zoe Grace with ex Kimberly in November 2007.
Matt Bomer & Simon Halls
Bomer’s three sons with publicist husband Halls were all welcomed with the help of a surrogate.
“I just want to be hopefully somebody who helps shape these souls without changing how they came into the world,” Bomer told PEOPLE in 2014 of twins Henry and Walker and big bro Kit.
Kelsey & Camille Grammer
Frasier alumnus Grammer is dad to seven children total, with two of them — son Jude Gordon and daughter Mason Olivia — born via surrogate.
“I wish I could have had that experience. I’m just so grateful I had a wonderful surrogate who carried our two children,” Grammer’s ex-wife Camille wrote in a 2012 blog.
“I have two amazing angels in my life that I love so much,” she added. “They are such a gift and a blessing from God.”
Nate Berkus & Jeremiah Brent
Christopher Dibble Photography
Design gurus Berkus and Jeremiah Brent enlisted the help of a surrogate to bring daughter Poppyinto their lives.
“Surrogacy can be about science, it can be about money or it can be about intention,” Berkus told PEOPLE in 2015 shortly after their daughter’s birth.
He added, “We were really lucky to have everybody that was involved in allowing us to have our daughter be excited for us.”
In 2018 they welcomed a second child, son Oskar, via surrogate.
Michael Jackson
Late King of Pop Jackson’s youngest child Prince Michael II (nicknamed “Blanket”) was born to an unidentified surrogate in February 2002.
“The kids live like Michael is constantly looking down upon them,” a family friend told PEOPLE of Blanket (who changed his name to Bigi in 2015) and his older siblings: Paris Michael and Michael Joseph Jr. “Prince.”
Tyra Banks
Beauty entrepreneur and former supermodel Banks welcomed son York in January 2016 via gestational surrogate, telling PEOPLE exclusively at the time that “the journey to now has not been an easy process.”
“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 added.
Elton John & David Furnish
“We decided to go the surrogacy route and have children of our own. The dominoes fell very quickly,” John said in an October 2016 interview of himself and his husband Furnish after the couple initially tried to adopt.
“It was only through fate, really,” John added of becoming a dad through son Zachary Jackson Levon and Elijah Joseph Daniel (both boys were born to the same surrogate).
Amy Smart & Carter Oosterhouse
Actress Smart and her husband Oosterhouse became first-time parents to daughter Flora in December 2016.
“After years of fertility struggles I give thanks today to our kind, loving surrogate for carrying her,” Smart captioned a January Instagram photo of herself with her baby girl.
Angela Bassett & Courtney B. Vacne
Twins Slater Josiah and Bronwyn Golden came into the world in January 2006, born via surrogate to actor spouses Bassett and Vance.
“I was devastated when it didn’t happen [again and again],” Bassett said on Oprah in 2007 of the couple’s years of failed fertility treatments, including in vitro fertilization.
“The more we learned about [surrogacy], the more we began to think that perhaps this was an answer for us,” she added.
Chris & Deanna Daughtry
Rocker Daughtry and wife Deanna became parents to twins Adalynn Rose and Noah James in November 2010. Deanna had undergone a partial hysterectomy, so the couple used in vitro fertilization to conceive the twins before transferring the embryos to a surrogate carrier.
“Our family is overwhelmed with joy by these two precious gifts from God,” Daughtry said on his website following the twins’ births.
Elizabeth Banks & Max Handelman
Magnus Mitchell and Felixwere both born via surrogate after Banks and husband Handelman took “a big leap” of faith.
“This experience has exceeded all expectations, taught us a great deal about generosity and gratitude, and established a relationship that will last a lifetime,” Banks said of the surrogacy process following Magnus’ birth.
Ricky Martin & Jwan Yosef
Paul Morigi/Getty
Martin is dad to twin boys Matteo and Valentino, born to a surrogate in August 2008.
“Adoption was one option, but it’s complicated and can take a long time,” the singer, married to Yosef since 2017, told PEOPLE that December.
“Surrogacy was an intriguing and faster option,” he explained. “I thought, ‘I’m going to jump into this with no fear.’ I put my name on the list for one baby and then found out I got two!”
In 2018, daughter Lucia joined the family via surrogate, followed by son Renn in 2020.
Ellen Pompeo & Chris Ivery
Pompeo — mom to son Eli Christopher and daughters Sienna May and Stella Luna with husband Ivery — used a surrogate for Sienna (she has not commented about Eli).
“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,” Pompeo joked in 2014 after announcing her younger daughter’s arrival. “I’m good at that!”
George Lucas & Mellody Hobson
Star Wars mastermind Lucas and wife Hobson welcomed their daughter Everest in August 2013 via gestational surrogate.
Lucas has three adult children through adoption: Jett, Katie and Amanda.
Bill & Giuliana Rancic
After struggling with infertility, miscarriage and breast cancer, the Rancics welcomed their son Edward Duke in August 2012.
“I love that she was honest,” Giuliana told PEOPLE in 2012 about her surrogate.
“It made me realize that the important stuff is what I should be listening for, and that’s when I knew she was the one.”
GloZell Green & Kevin Simon
Green and husband Simon are parents to daughter O’Zell Gloriana De, whom surrogate Shawna Johnson gave birth to in August 2016.
“To say, ‘What Shawna is doing for us is the greatest gift,’ is an understatement,” Green told PEOPLE at the time. “She truly is an angel in our lives and we will be forever grateful to her for her generosity toward us.”
Sadly in early 2017, the YouTube personality shared that Johnson was going to miscarry the couple’s second child.
Joey Gonzalez & Jonathan Rollo
Barry’s Bootcamp CEO Gonzalez and husband Rollo became fathers in December 2015, when daughter Francesca Isabella was born to their surrogate Dayna.
“I love Jon and Joey. When I think about giving birth and placing her in their arms, that’s what it’s all about for me — their joy, their emotions,” Dayna told PEOPLE earlier that year. “That’s what’s going to get me to the end.”
In April 2017, Dayna delivered the couple’s second child, son Jake Stone.
Katey Sagal & Kurt Sutter
Former Married…with Children star Sagal calls daughter Esmé Louise a “beautiful miracle.”
“We went through the whole in vitro fertilization process and our embryos were not really strong, but we thought, ‘Let’s give it a shot and if it’s meant to be, it’s meant to be,’ ” the actress — who is also mom to adult kids Jackson and Sarah — told PEOPLE of having a child later in life with her fourth husband.
Nicole Kidman & Keith Urban
Country star Urban and his Oscar-winning actress wife Kidman have two daughters together: Sunday Rose, whom Kidman delivered, and Faith Margaret, who was born to a surrogate.
“I would have liked probably two or three more children,” Kidman once said (she is also mom to Isabella and Connorwhom she adopted with ex-husband Tom Cruise).
“I love, love children. I love raising children … they make me feel good and I love being around and I love the ups and downs, and I love watching them grow and the things they say and teach,” she added.
Tom Ford & Richard Buckley
“If I have a child, you won’t notice that I had a child. Maybe you’ll see it when it’s 18, but I will keep it out of the spotlight,” designer Ford told Time Out Hong Kong in 2011 — the year before he and husband Buckley (who died in 2021) welcomed their son Alexander John reportedly via surrogate.
Lucy Liu
“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,” Elementary actress Liu told PEOPLE in 2016 of why she chose a surrogate to carry son Rockwell Lloyd.
“I decided that was probably the best solution for me, and it turned out to be great,” explained the single mom.
Robert De Niro
Hollywood vet De Niro is a dad of six, with half of his children — daughter Helen Grace and twin sons Julian Henry and Aaron Kendrick — born to surrogates.
Ryan Murphy & David Miller
Television screenwriter, producer and director Murphy and his husband Miller are parents to three sons, Ford, Logan and Griffin, all born via surrogate.
“It’s amazing to be two dads and we have a wonderful surrogate,” Murphy told E! News in 2014. “It’s so uplifting and I’ve enjoyed sharing our story with young gay families.”
Shayne Lamas & Nik Richie
The Bachelor season 12 winner Lamas gave birth to her and husband Richie’s daughter Press Dahl, but used in vitro fertilization and a very special surrogate for their son Lyon: her stepmother.
“I was shocked that my dad was on board with this, to be 100 percent honest,” Lamas told Closer Weekly in 2015 (the former reality star had suffered a scary miscarriage the previous year). “But I’ll always be grateful.”
