Actress Sofia Vergara of Modern Family fame has something huge in common with her character, Gloria – they are both expecting an addition to their family. Vergara and her fiancé, Nick Loeb have recently reported that they are using a surrogate mother to bring a child into this world. It is reported, though not confirmed that a close friend of Vergara’s will be serving as the surrogate and that the child will biologically be Vergara’s and Loeb’s, but will be carried by the surrogate.
Vergara is already the mother to 21 year old Manolo, her son from a previous marriage to her childhood sweetheart, Joe Gonzalez. Vergara has wanted to have another child for a while and it is believed that she has opted for surrogacy as a way to fulfill this desire without having to completely halt her skyrocketing career.
It is reported that Vergara felt uncomfortable with the idea of hiring a stranger to carry her child, so she, instead, decided to ask one of her closest (and healthiest) friends to do the honors. The couple and their surrogate recently had a health scare in which the life of the unborn baby was feared for. The surrogate mother reportedly felt pains and, out of fear of miscarrying, decided that a trip to the emergency room was necessary. However, after several hours, it was found that both the surrogate mother and they baby were fine.
Vergara and Loeb are not the first celebrities to opt for surrogacy. Read on to learn about other celebrities who have had their own surrogacy journey.
Giuliana and Bill Rancic
After struggling to become pregnant, suffering a miscarriage, being diagnosed with breast cancer, and undergoing a double mastectomy, Giuliana Rancic (along with her husband, Bill) decided to pursue surrogacy to make their dreams of parenthood come true. In August of 2012, the happy couple welcomed their son Edward Duke into the world.
Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban
Already the mother to two adopted children (Isabella and Connor) as well as a birth daughter (Rose), Kidman and her second husband decided to pursue surrogacy. In 2010, they welcomed their daughter Faith into the world who (though carried by a surrogate) is biologically theirs.
Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick
After giving birth to their first child, James, Parker decided to pursue surrogacy. The result – twin girls name Loretta and Tabitha who are both biologically theirs.
Neil Patrick Haris and David Burtka
This acting couple chose to use an anonymous egg donor as well as a separate surrogate to bring their fraternal twins, Gideon and Harper, into the world. Although it has not been confirmed, it is reported that one of the children is biologically Harris’s while the other is biologically Burtka’s.
Elizabeth Banks and Max Handelman
Banks and her husband tried to conceive naturally for years to no avail. After IVF treatments failed, they turned to surrogacy. Now they have not one, but two sons. Felix was born in 2011 and his brother, Magnus was born less than 2 year later.
Elton John and David Furnish
After being rejected for adopting a Ukrainian boy (due to legislation against same-sex adoption) John and his partner turned to surrogacy—twice. Using the same surrogate mother, they are now the proud parents of two sons – Zachary and Elijah. Zachary is believed to be biologically Furnish’s.
Angela Bassett and Courtney B. Vance
After 7 years of trying to conceive, this couple turned to surrogacy to make their parenting dreams a reality. They are now the proud parents of their biological twins, Slater and Bronwyn.
Ricky Martin
After working with orphanages, Ricky Martin decided that he wanted to be a father. Though he is open to adoption in the future, he opted to pursue surrogacy and is now the father to twins Matteo and Valentino.
Joan Lunden and Jeff Konigsberg
Former ‘Good Morning America host’ has three birth children from a previous marriage. However, after going through several unsuccessful IVF treatments with her current husband, they decided to pursue surrogacy – twice. Both times they used the same surrogate mother. Both times they had twins – Kate and Max in 2003, followed by Kimberly and Jack in 2005. All four are biologically Konigsberg’s.
Robert De Niro and Grace Hightower De Niro
De Niro and his wife (aged 68 and 56) turned to surrogacy to add to their family. In addition to their 13 year old son, Elliot, and 4 children from De Niro’s previous marriage, they are now proud parents of a daughter. And this is not De Niro’s first experience with surrogacy. Two of his children from his previous marriage were also conceived and carried by a surrogate.