They are Numerous celebrities who had infertility problems, from Michelle Obama to Chrissy Teigen to Celine Dion. These celebrities have found it difficult to conceive.
Infertility is the inability to get pregnant and carry a baby through a successful pregnancy. Unknown to a lot of people, infertility is quite common in females.
Research shows that about 10% of females on earth have infertility each year, which could be caused by age, early menopause, endometriosis, etc.
However, infertility is not only in women. It is also a common occurrence in men. So, it should not be taboo to talk about infertility.
A person should not be seen as more minor because of their infertility. Over the years, various ways to conceive have been made available such as IVF, surrogacy, adopting, and freezing eggs.
Besides, no one should judge you for unconventionally having a child.
As discussed, infertility is common, and celebrities are also human. This article will discuss stars who had infertility issues.
1. Chrissy Teigen
Chrissy is a model, TV host, and actress. However, she is popularly known for being the wife of a famous singer, John Legend. She is also one of the celebrities who had infertility.
In 2015, Chrissy explained to Tyra Banks that she and John have trouble conceiving even with IVF treatments. Chrissy explained how frustrating it is always to ask, “When are you starting a family?”.
She said it’s a sweet question, and it comes from a good place, but sometimes you don’t know what the person is passing through.
It could be they want to, but they can’t. However, Chrissy froze her eggs and gave birth to her kids, Luna and Mile.
Additionally, in 2020, Chrissy and John lost their baby she was pregnant with. They named him Jack before she miscarried.
2. Gabrielle Union
Gabrielle is an actress and the wife of NBA player Dwyane Wade. She explained in her tell-all book. We’re Going to Need More Wine, how she and her husband have been trying to get pregnant.
She wrote that she had suffered from eight or nine miscarriages and has been having IVF treatments for three years.
Gabrielle was diagnosed with adenomyosis, a form of endometriosis that increases the risk of miscarriages. Besides, Gabrielle didn’t want to be a mother until get got married to Dwyane. She said a lot of doctors didn’t take her symptoms seriously.
However, when she married Dwyane and became stepmother to his nephew and kids, she craved her child. In 2018, Gabrielle welcomed her daughter, Kaavia James, through surrogacy.
She explained that she overcame her fear of how people would judge her for not bringing her child into the world through her body.
3. Nicole Kidman
Nicole is an actress. She explained to Australia’s 60 minutes in 2011 how disappointing and painful one goes through when trying and failing to have a child.
Nicole was unable to conceive with her ex-husband Tom Cruise, and they adopted two kids, Isabella and Connor.
However, after marrying Keith Urban, she was able to conceive and give birth to their daughter Sunday Rose.
Additionally, they used surrogacy to have their second daughter, Faith.
4. Michelle Obama
Michelle Obama is the wife of former US President Barrack Obama. She is also one celebrity who had infertility. She talked about her fertility problems in her book, Becoming.
Michelle wrote that at the time, she felt like she has failed because miscarriage was not a popular topic.
Michelle explained that women hide their pain, thinking they are broken, not knowing it’s a prevalent occurrence. With IVF treatments, she was able to give birth to her daughters, Malia and Sasha.
5. Celine Dion
Celine Dion is a singer. She underwent a series of IVF treatments with her late husband Rene Angelil due to low sperm count.
Celine gave birth to their first son, Rene Charles, in 2001 after a round of IVF.
However, after six rounds of IVF treatments, she conceived again and miscarried. However, she was able to give birth to their twin, Eddy, and Nelson in 2010.
6. Kate Walsh
Kate Walsh is an actress. She explained that she is unable to give birth because she went through early menopause.
She explained that the doctors told her she had only one egg left when she went for a check on her fertility after discovering she had premature menopause.
In 2019, Kate admitted that if she found the right partner, they would adopt a child.
7. Giuliana Rancic
Giuliana Rancic is popularly known for being an E! presenter and Fashion police. She is also one of the celebrities who suffers infertility Giuliana and her husband Bill Rancic found it hard to conceive.
Guiliana said she didn’t think it was going to be so difficult to get pregnant.
Guiana underwent rounds of unsuccessful IVF treatments. At 36, Guiliana discovered that she had breast cancer. Thus, she underwent a double mastectomy and used surrogacy to have her son, Duke.
Duke was born in August. Therefore, in one year (12 months), she had the worst and best day of her life.
8. Tyra Banks
Tyra Banks is a model and popularly known as America’s Next Top Model. She explained that she and her boyfriend have been trying to have a baby to no avail. Besides,
Banks always wanted to be a mom. She wanted to have kids by 26. She underwent rounds of unsuccessful IVF and later welcomed her son, York, in 2016 through surrogacy.
9. Courteney Cox
Courteney Cox is an actress and popularly known for her role in the series Friends. She explained that she and her ex-husband, David Arquette had difficulty keeping an embryo in her womb.
Eventually, She explained that she quickly gets pregnant but had miscarriages. However, in 2004, they gave birth to their daughter, Coco, through IVF treatments.
10. Nancy Juvonen-Jimmy Fallon
Nancy is known for being the wife of Tonight Show’s host Jimmy Fallon.
In 2020, during The Tonight Show: At Home Edition, the couple revealed that they struggled with infertility, undergoing a five-year journey with IVF treatment.
Nancy said that at a point, it felt like a job because the journey was very emotional. However, they later decided to give birth to their daughters through surrogacy.
11. Hugh Jackman
Hugh Jackman is an actor. and also one of the celebrities who suffer infertility. He is known for playing many iconic roles, such as Wolverine and The Greatest Show Man.
Hugh and his wife, Deborra-Lee Furness, encountered a lot of challenges with fertility.
Hugh explained that due to Deb’s age, they tried getting pregnant immediately after they got married but failed. Deb underwent rounds of unsuccessful IVF treatments and miscarriages.
However, the couple decided to adopt their son, Oscar, in 2000 and adopted Ava in 2005.
12. Sarah Jessica Parker
Sarah is an actress known for a role in Sex and the City. She gave birth to her oldest son, James, in 2002.
However, she was not able to conceive after him despite various IVF treatments.
She said that they tried various means to get pregnant, but it just wasn’t happening.
In 2009, she and her husband Matthew Broderick welcomed their twin daughters through surrogacy.
13. Emma Thompson
Emma is an actress, she is known for her role in Love. She and her husband, Greg Wise, found it difficult to conceive.
Though, through IVF treatments, she was able to conceive her daughter Gaia in 1999.
However, when they try conceiving again, they could not. Emma said that she went into deep clinical depression for not giving her daughter a sibling.
Besides, in 2003, Emma and her husband adopted a former child soldier from Rwanda, Cindy.
14. Jaime King
Jaime King is an actress and model. She explained to People magazine in 2015 that she was hiding her infertility struggles and a lot of people consider talking about it as taboo.
Before conceiving her son, James, she had to go through five miscarriages.
Five rounds of IVF treatments and twenty-six rounds of intrauterine insemination.
Jaime said that it took ten different doctors to be diagnosed with endometriosis and polycystic ovary syndrome.
15. Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey is a singer. She and her then-partner, Nick Cannon, experienced fertility problems.
After suffering a miscarriage in 2008, the singer decided to used acupuncture and IVF treatments to get pregnant.
Furthermore, she stated that the most challenging part of her journey was undergoing progesterone every month, and when she became pregnant, she had to stay with progesterone for ten weeks.
Progesterone reduces the chance of miscarriage by 50%.
However, she welcomed her twin, Moroccan and Monroe, in 2011 through these treatments.
16. Brooke Shields
Brooke Shields is a model. She stated that it took seven rounds of IVF treatments and multiple daily injections of ovulation stimulants for her and her husband, Chris Henchy, to conceive.
Furthermore, she said that humor enabled her and her husband to endure the process.
Moreover, she conceived and gave birth to their daughter, Rowan, in 2003 through these treatments.
In 2006, she gave birth again without these treatments.
17. Khloe Kardashian
Khloe is a Kardashian, and Kardashians are known globally for numerous things, from reality TV to cosmetics.
She said she had difficulties conceiving with her ex-husband, Lamar Odom.
During the marriage, she noticed that her hormones were off and went to a doctor for help.
She had to take hormones shots to stabilize her hormones. Doctors have to administer these shots consistently.
However, Khloe gave birth to her daughter True in 2018 with her on-off boyfriend, Tristan Thompson.
18. Elizabeth Banks
Elizabeth is an actress. She is known for her role in Pitch Perfect and Charlie’s Angels. Banks said she is unable to carry an embryo due to infertility issues.
She and her husband opted for a surrogate for their kids, Felix and Magnus, in 2011 and 2012, respectively.
However, she said she is still being judged for her decision to use a surrogate and believes she owes no explanation.
This article has made it clear that infertility does not mean the person is broken. It happens to a lot of men and women. And even celebrities have infertility issues.
Moreover, talking about infertility and other options for having a child should not be seen as taboo.
Additionally, you want to be careful when asking a person, “Don’t you want a child? When are you starting a family?”, it could be the person is trying and can’t.
Also, most people experiencing infertility would instead tell you, “No. I don’t want a child,” rather than explain what they are going through.
Furthermore, all ways of having a child (IVF treatments, surrogacy, or adoption) are beautiful, and no one should be seen as inferior.
