Having children isn’t always simple and many people take different paths to becoming parents.
Actor and director Elizabeth Banks is one of those people, and has opened up about her experiences with surrogacy. She has two children with husband Max Handelman – Felix, 8, and Magnus, 7.
Banks was unable to carry children, and tells Porter Magazine: "I definitely think I’m still judged for what I’ve done and that people don’t understand my choices, but I don’t feel I owe anybody any explanation. And, if my story helps people feel less alone on their journey, then I’m grateful for that."
Being able to bear children has historically been linked to a woman’s worth, and even though this is rarely the case today there is still a fair amount of shame around having kids in non-traditional ways.
Here are just some of the celebrities who have spoken about their experiences with surrogacy, helping to break the taboo around it.
1. Lucy Liu
One of the hardest things about being in the public eye and having a baby in a non-traditional way is the potential negativity you can get on social media. This is what actor Lucy Liu discovered when she had a baby son called Rockwell via gestational surrogate in 2015.
She told CBS News: "I didn’t really think about it at all, I just went ahead and did it… I didn’t realise there was criticism until after I sent out the information that I had my baby through a gestational carrier and my friends said, ‘Don’t listen to what some people are saying.’ I didn’t realise people were saying anything negative!"
Of her decision, Liu told People in 2016: "It just seemed like the right option for me because I was working and I didn’t know when I was going to be able to stop. I decided that was probably the best solution for me, and it turned out to be great."
Ricky Martin
Along with Elton John and Neil Patrick Harris, Ricky Martin is another gay celeb who went down the surrogacy route to have children. He became father of twin boys in 2008, and he has since had another son and daughter with husband Jwan Yosef, again via surrogate.
Back in 2008, he told People: "Adoption was one option, but it’s complicated and can take a long time. Surrogacy was an intriguing and faster option. I thought, ‘I’m going to jump into this with no fear’."
Kim Kardashian West
Kim Kardashian West has been open about how all four of her children came into the world – after all, she is a reality TV star, so sharing personal details is her MO. Kardashian West gave birth to her first two children naturally, but suffered from placenta accreta during both deliveries – a serious condition where the placenta grows too deeply into the uterine wall and doesn’t detach easily during childbirth, risking heavy blood loss.
Kardashian West and husband Kanye decided on a different route for their third and fourth kids. She told Elle "I refer to her as a surrogate, but it’s completely my and Kanye’s DNA, so technically that’s called a gestational carrier. A surrogate is when they use the husband’s sperm and the surrogate’s egg."
She also told the magazine: "I hated being pregnant, but as much as I hated it, I still wished I could have done it on my own. The control is hard at the beginning. Once you let that go, it’s the best experience. I would recommend surrogacy for anybody."
Sarah Jessica Parker
Similarly, actor Sarah Jessica Parker and husband Matthew Broderick had their first child James naturally, and then twin girls in 2009 via surrogate.
Parker told Stella Magazine she "tried and tried and tried" to get pregnant "but it just wasn’t meant to be in the conventional way".
Tyra Banks
Supermodel Tyra Banks has been open about her struggles to get pregnant, telling People about her "emotional" failed attempts at IVF.
She and then-boyfriend Erik Asla had son York via surrogate in 2016.
