Some celebrities are more private about their personal lives than others — especially when it comes to scandal. There have been many A-listers throughout the years who tried to conceal secret relationships — and even secret children — from their fans, the media, and even their closest friends and family. But in Hollywood, most secrets tend to come out eventually, and that's how we know that these 15 celebrities tried to hide their secret children — some with better success than others.
Not every celeb on this list was hiding their child out of shame. Some just didn't think it was anyone's business that they were raising a kid, and it's not really! They don't owe anyone any details about their private lives. But some others on this list were secret-keeping because they were having shady affairs, and things unraveled when the media finally found out. Talk about messy!
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Schwarzenegger cheated on his then-wife Maria Shriver with their housekeeper, and he ended up fathering a child, named Joseph Baena. He obviously tried to keep that a secret from Maria, but she suspected the truth and eventually confronted him about it during a couples therapy session. That's when Arnold admitted the truth, and soon the public learned as well.
Loretta Young
Actress Loretta Young went to great lengths to hide that her daughter Judy Lewis was a result of an affair with Gone With the Wind actor Clark Gable. She reportedly hid her daughter's signature Clark Gable ears under hats until she could have them surgically altered when the little girl was 7. Judy didn't learn about her true parents until her 30s.
Bill Cosby
Bill Cosby tried to hide a secret daughter he fathered in the '70s by sending her mother, Autumn Jackson, frequent cash payments to the total tune of about $100,000. His hush-hush situation ended up getting leaked when Bill went to court after Autumn tried to extort an additional $40 million from him.
Steve Jobs
Steve Jobs fathered his daughter Lisa Brennan-Jobs with his high school sweetheart, but he was not that involved in her life. In fact, the late Apple founder often refused to admit being her father at all — and he had to be sued for child support. "Clearly I was not compelling enough for my father, this incredible man, to unequivocally own," Lisa later said.
Clint Eastwood
The actor hid his daughter Kimber Eastwood's existence for two decades after fathering her in 1964. At the time, Clint Eastwood was married to Margaret Johnson when he cheated on her with stuntwoman Roxanne Tunis. Their resulting daughter stayed a secret until 1989, when The National Enquirer got ahold of the news.
Tom Jones
According to Express, singer Tom Jones fathered a son with model Katherine Berkery in the 1980s, but he denied paternity until a DNA test was ordered by the court and gave him his answer. Only then did Tom begin paying child support, but he never established a parental relationship with his son, who is now 33 years old.
Rev. Jesse Jackson
The Rev. Jesse Jackson got away with keeping his affair and resulting daughter a secret for nearly two years before tabloids picked up the story. In 2001, he admitted his actions and apologized for his secret-keeping. "This is no time for evasions, denials, or alibis," he said. "I fully accept responsibility and I am truly sorry for my actions."
Bow Wow
In 2011, Bow Wow came clean about the fact that he'd fathered a daughter earlier that year. "I waited so long to tell y'all the truth because I was nervous on how y'all would look at me," he wrote on his website. "Y'all know everyone makes a big deal out of everything I do. I wanted to be 1st n let y'all know the real. Yes! I change diapers. Ain't as bad as I thought hahaha."
John Edwards
The former vice presidential hopeful was embroiled in scandal when it was discovered that he'd cheated on his wife, Elizabeth Edwards, who had cancer at the time. The affair resulted in a daughter, but John Edwards initially denied being the father. It wasn't until two years later that he finally admitted that the child was his.
Flo Rida
According to the Daily Mail, Flo Rida refused to admit that his child with Alexis Adams was his until a paternity test was ordered. He reportedly now pays child support to Alexis, but she claims that he refuses to see his son, whose name is Zohar Paxton, or have anything to do with him outside of his court-ordered financial responsibilities.
Steve Bing
The late film producer had two children he tried to keep secret — a son with
actress Elizabeth Hurley and a daughter with tennis player Lisa Bonder. In both cases, Steve Bing refused to admit paternity until a DNA test proved the kids were his. He reportedly left both children out of his will when he died in 2020.
Eric Clapton
The world learned about both of Eric Clapton's secret children at roughly the same time. In 1991, his love child Conor died when he fell from a window at the age of 4. Eric attended the funeral, where his other secret child — his daughter Ruth — took her father's hand in support. That's when people learned that the 6-year-old was also his.
Eddie Murphy
Eddie Murphy initially denied to the media that his daughter Angel, whom he shares with Spice Girls singer Mel B, was his. "I don't know whose child that is until it comes out and has a blood test. You shouldn't jump to conclusions," he told the press when Mel B got pregnant. Mel said she was really hurt by the statement.
Drake
Drake was accused of hiding his 3-year-old son Adonis' existence, but he sang in the song "Emotionless" that he just didn't feel it was the public's right to know. The lyrics go: "I wasn't hiding my kid from the world / I was hiding the world from my kid / Breakin' news in my life I don't run to the blogs / The only ones I wanna tell are the ones I can call."
Alexis Bledel
Alexis Bledel didn't try to hide her baby's existence out of any kind of secret affair shame. She and her husband, Vincent Kartheiser, just want to keep their private life private. The duo married in secret in 2014 and managed to keep Alexis' 2015 pregnancy a secret, too. It wasn't until 2016 that news of her being a mom broke — thanks to her Gilmore Girls costar Scott Patterson accidentally spilling the beans to Glamour.
