Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas are a completely glamorous Hollywood power couple who announced in 2022 that they have happily taken on new roles: mom and dad. The couple, who married in 2018, shared the news that they welcomed their first child via surrogacy in January 2022. Not only does this add their names to the ever-growing list of celebrity parents, but they also joined the ranks of the thousands of families that are grown via surrogacy every year.
Surrogacy can be a beautiful way to grow a family — for couples both famous and not. While surrogacy can be costly and is still not legal in all 50 states, it is becoming a more common option and one that is being spoken about more openly than ever before.
That is partially because it can be a path to parenthood that may be appealing for same-sex couples (like Anderson Cooper and Benjamin Maisani), people with fertility challenges (like Gabrielle Union), single parents (like Amber Heard), or those for whom pregnancy just isn't in the cards for whatever reason (like Kim Kardashian, who had medical issues that made pregnancy an unsafe option).
While National Surrogacy Awareness week isn't until August, we've decided to celebrate surrogacy now by sharing a little bit of the story for 15 celebrities who've welcomed a baby via a surrogate.
Gabrielle Union & Dwyane Wade
Gabrielle Union wrote movingly about her experiences with infertility and surrogacy in her latest book, You Got Anything Stronger? (a celeb memoir must-read). She and husband Dwyane Wade welcomed their daughter Kaavia James via surrogacy in 2018 and have been joyfully documenting their life together on Instagram ever since.
Anderson Cooper
CNN's Anderson Cooper has welcomed two children via surrogacy. His son Wyatt was born in 2020 and baby brother Sebastian arrived in February 2022. Anderson shared, "As a gay kid, I never thought it would be possible to have a child and I'm grateful for those who paved the way," including his surrogate and her family.
Alec & Hilaria Baldwin
Alec Baldwin and wife Hilaria surprised fans with the announcement that their daughter María Lucía had joined the family in March 2021 — especially given that Hilaria had given birth to their son Eduardo only six months previously, which indicates that both Hilaria and her surrogate's pregnancies overlapped for at least a few months. Alec and Hilaria have six children together (Alec also has an adult daughter, Ireland, with ex-wife Kim Basinger).
Kristen Wiig & Avi Rothman
Former Saturday Night Live star and all-around funny lady Kristen Wiig and her husband, Avi Rothman, welcomed twins via surrogate in early 2020. Kristen revealed that she pursued IVF for more than three years before turning to surrogacy, a time she describes as being filled with "stress and heartache."
Kim Kardashian & Kanye West
Kim Kardashian and estranged husband Kanye West turned to surrogacy for their third child (Chicago) and fourth child (Psalm) after the reality star and business mogul suffered significant complications with both of her prior pregnancies. Kim described surrogacy as "the greatest gift."
Sarah Jessica Parker & Matthew Broderick
Actors and NYC icons Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick are parents to three children, including twins Marion and Tabitha. The girls were born via surrogate in June 2009 after Sarah revealed that she had struggled with infertility following the birth of her son, James Wilkie.
Neil Patrick Harris & David Burtka
Neil Patrick Harris and husband David Burtka are another famous LGBT couple who used surrogacy as their route to fatherhood. They are dads to twins Harper Grace and Gideon Scott, who were born in 2011. They've also shared that each dad is the biological father of one of the twins, but they don't know which one!
Jimmy Fallon & Nancy Juvonen
Jimmy Fallon jokes around about a lot of things. But he was sincere and heartfelt when he shared on The Tonight Show after the 2020 birth of his daughter, Winnie, "I just want to thank everyone — the nurses and the doctor and the surrogate who had our baby."
Tyra Banks & Erik Asla
Model mama Tyra Banks welcomed her 6-year-old son, York, via gestational surrogate in 2016 after more than a year of trying to get pregnant, including several rounds of failed IVF and other fertility treatments. She shares co-parenting duties with her ex-boyfriend and tends to keep York out of the public eye.
Elton John & David Furnish
Elton John came to fatherhood later in life, given that he was 63 years old when his first child, born via surrogate, arrived in 2010. He and husband David Furnish now have two sons (the second was born in 2013), both of whom were carried by the same surrogate.
Angela Bassett & Courtney B. Vance
Angela Bassett and Courtney B. Vance are another celebrity couple who not only welcomed a child via surrogacy following years of fertility treatments, but welcomed twins. Born in 2006, their kids — a son named Slater and a daughter named Bronwyn — are now teenagers.
Ellen Pompeo & Chris Ivery
Grey's Anatomy star Ellen Pompeo and husband Chris Ivery have three children, two of whom arrived via a surrogate. Ellen paid tribute to her surrogate on Jimmy Kimmel Live, saying: "This is an incredible thing to do with your life, to give the gift of carrying someone's child. I am forever grateful and feel very blessed and grateful to her."
George Lucas
George Lucas, creator of Star Wars, is father to four kids, ranging in age from 9 to 41. His path to fatherhood is interesting, given that his first child was adopted with his first wife, his second and third children were adopted by him alone as a single father, and his last child with his second wife was born via a surrogate.
Katey Sagal & Kurt Sutter
Married With Children star Katey Sagal already had two grown children when she and her fourth husband decided to pursue parenthood together. Katey was blunt about their reasoning for choosing a surrogate, citing the fact that she was already in her 50s. Their daughter, Esme, was born in 2007.
Nicole Kidman & Keith Urban
Nicole Kidman is mother of four children and has experienced almost every way of welcoming a child. She has a son and daughter that she adopted with ex-husband Tom Cruise and two daughters with current husband Keith Urban. She carried and gave birth to Sunday in 2008, while Faith Margaret arrived via gestational surrogate in 2010.
