Nowadays, dozens of celebrities have normalised using alternative methods of having babies. From IVF to adoption, the road to starting a family isn’t always an easy one.
But one way to parenthood that’s become more and more common among A-listers is surrogacy, where a woman agrees to carry another person’s baby.
Here are a handful of stars who’ve looked to selfless surrogates themselves.
Sally Obermeder
In 2011, while Sally was pregnant with her first child, she discovered a lump the size of a tennis ball in her breast and was subsequently diagnosed with stage-three breast cancer. While she was given the all clear after 16 rounds of chemotherapy, the illness resulted in Sally being told another natural pregnancy could cost her life.
“I acknowledge that I’m extremely lucky to have one child… But the yearning and desire to be a mum again is so strong and it has not passed,” The Daily Edition host previously said.
“It’s an odd scenario, but it’s a beautifully odd scenario.”
(Image: Instagram)Due to strict surrogacy laws in New South Wales, Sally and her husband Marcus decided to try their luck in the United States, which is where they met their shining light Rachel.
A mum-of-three, Rachel carried Sally’s second daughter Elyssa, who was born in December 2016. The two families now share a special bond unlike any other.
Tyra Banks
In February 2016, the model announced she and her partner Erik Asla had welcomed a son, York, with the help of a surrogate.
“We are so excited for our new baby boy bundle of joy. The journey to now has not been an easy process, as I’ve shared before. But there was a beautiful bright light at the end of the tunnel for me and his father, Erik,” she explained.
In an Instagram post announcing his safe arrival, Tyra thanked the woman selfless enough to help give them the miracle baby they had always hoped for.
“He’s got my fingers and big eyes and his daddy Erik’s mouth and chin. As we thank the angel of a woman that carried our miracle baby boy for us, we pray for everyone who struggles to reach this joyous milestone.”
Nicole Kidman
Nic’s fertility struggles, which included a harrowing ectopic pregnancy during her first marriage to Tom Cruise, have been well documented over the years.
Although she conceived Sunday Rose naturally with Keith Urban, the couple’s second daughter together, Faith Margaret, was welcomed through a surrogate.
“She was the most wonderful woman to do this for us. And we were in a place of desperately wanting another child and this opportunity arose for us.
“I couldn’t get pregnant and we wanted another baby. I get emotional just talking about it because I’m so grateful to her,” the Big Little Lies star explained during an interview with 60 Minutes.
The globe-trotting family are inseparable.
(Image: Getty)Sarah Jessica Parker
The Sex and the City alum and her husband Matthew Broderick fell naturally pregnant with son James Wilkie, but the couple struggled to conceive the second time around.
“We tried and tried and tried and tried to get pregnant. It just was not to be, I would give birth if I could,” the actress previously lamented of their hardships.
Their twin daughters Marion and Tabitha were born in 2009.
Their twin daughters Marion and Tabitha were born via a surrogate in 2009.
(Image: Getty)Neil Patrick Harris
“Two eggs, two embryos, one of mine, one of his,” Neil Patrick Harris once mused of his gorgeous six year old twins Harper and Gideon, who he shares with husband David Burkta.
“We inserted one of my sperm and one of David’s sperm into two eggs with the hope that they would both take, just because we both wanted to be dads biologically,” Neil said of the babies’ conception to Barbara Walters, adding: “Both took, miraculously.”
While the dads don’t know which twin is biologically theirs, Neil insists he and David have no interest in finding out. “We are their parents and I love them implicitly,” he says.
Giuliana Rancic
The Hollywood host and husband Bill’s long road to parenthood was well-documented on their hit reality TV show, Giuliana and Bill.
After several failed attempts at IVF – not to mention the 41-year-old’s battle with breast cancer – the couple turned to a gestational carrier.
They welcomed little Edward Duke Rancic in 2012 and they’ve never looked back.
Speaking of their surrogate, Delphine, Bill said: “She never had any trouble getting pregnant and she just wanted to help, to make a difference for parents who couldn’t do this on their own.”
The journey was more than worth it for an over-the-moon Giuliana!
(Image: Instagram)Elton John
After welcoming first son Zachary on Christmas Day in 2010, the Elton and husband David Furnish decided to welcome a second child, Elijah, with the help of both an egg donor and the same surrogate who they love “like a sister”.
“Throughout our lives we have both loved and been loved, but the love of a parent for his or her child is different to anything else, as all parents will know. You find new depths of love, and experience pure joy,” David explains of his sons, now five and three.
“The birth of our second son completes our family in a most precious and perfect way.”
The couple and their tiny dancers.
(Image: Getty)Kim Kardashian
After Kim Kardashian and Kanye West welcomed two kids naturally, the couple decided to go down the surrogacy route for their third and fourth kids.
Daughter Chicago and son Psalm, their two youngest, were born via surrogate in January 2018 and May 2019, respectively.
Kim suffered from placenta accreta during her first two pregnancies, which led to her and Kanye opting to hire a gestational carrier to expand their family.
In an episode of Keeping Up With The Kardashians from June 2021, Kim told her sister Khloé how “scary” her first surrogacy experience was.
“I did a FaceTime first and then I invited them over for dinner with their two kids, Kanye and her husband. I wanted to meet them all face-to-face. I wanted to feel and see if this energy was going to work for us. She was amazing, and her husband was so great,” she said.
Kim later called surrogacy “the best experience” and said she loves all her kids the same.
“You know what giving birth feel like. I always say if you can do it, it’s such an amazing experience, but you’ll see that the love you’ll have for your kids is exactly the same. There’s no difference except there was someone else that was the carrier,” she said.
Kim and Kanye share North, Saint, Chicago and Psalm.
(Image: Instagram)Khloé Kardashian
On July 14, 2022 it was announced that Khloé and her on-again, off-again boyfriend Tristan Thompson were expecting their second child – this time via a surrogate.
“We can confirm True will have a sibling who was conceived in November. Khloé is incredibly grateful to the extraordinary surrogate for such a beautiful blessing,” a rep told Page Six.
“We’d like to ask for kindness and privacy so that Khloe can focus on her family.”
Khloé and Tristan already share daughter True.
(Image: Instagram)The pair, who already share four-year-old daughter True, will welcome the baby via surrogate according to multiple reports, with TMZ claiming the baby may have already arrived.
“Multiple sources with direct knowledge” told the outlet the birth is imminent, with one suggesting the bub may have already arrived in the last day or so.
The news comes as a huge shock to fans, who though Khloé and Tristan’s relationship was finally over after multiple cheating scandals.
