13 Celebrities Who Struggled to Become Moms, but Didn’t Stop Until They Made It

There are many women who dream of becoming mothers, and, somehow, it’s always a given that life will grant them their wish whenever they decide it’s time to have children. However, this ideal scenario does not apply to everyone and, in fact, there are some celebrities who have also had to fight hard to be able to enjoy the happiness of holding a baby in their arms. Whether it was through insemination, adoption, surrogacy, or even naturally, several celebrities have fought hard to become mothers. And if you’re thinking that it was because they were too old to have children, you’d be wrong.

At Bright Side, we have made a compilation of 13 celebrities who gave their all until they fulfilled their dream of holding their own baby in their arms.

1. Beyoncé

Known worldwide for her countless hits and her great ability to sing and dance, there was a private side to Beyoncé that she revealed a few years ago. Back then, only a few of her closest friends and relatives knew that she had been trying to conceive without success. Before she had her daughter Blue Ivy, the singer and businesswoman confessed that she had suffered a number of miscarriages. She expressed feelings of frustration and the desire to become a mother. She also said that in order to become a mother, she had to go through a process according to which she had to be more considerate with her own mind and her body first. Then, she felt she was ready to bring her daughter and her twins into the world.

2. Kim Kardashian

Kim Kardashian’s case was a bit of a particular one. Her problems arrived only after she had a normal pregnancy — when her daughter North was born, in 2013. When trying to give a little brother to her newborn baby, Kim and her partner, Kanye West, began to face some complications. The singer claimed that she had complained so much about her first pregnancy and that she had never imagined that she would have to pray to be able to do it again. The first pregnancy left Kim Kardashian with a retained placenta (placenta accreta), which required multiple surgeries and left a hole in her uterus. After much effort, she was able to conceive little Saint, but turned to surrogacy to have her last 2 children, Chicago and Psalm.

3. Alejandra Espinoza

The Mexican-American beauty queen, model, and TV presenter was extremely candid about the battles she had to fight in order to become a mother. Alejandra Espinoza told Univision that she suffers from a condition called thrombophilia, which prevented her pregnancies from reaching a safe term. After several treatments and 3 miscarriages, she was finally able to welcome her son Matteo in 2015.

4. Mariah Carey

In Mariah Carey’s case, things were slightly different. It’s a known fact that the singer waited until after the age of 40 to try to conceive a baby for the first time. Since age was then a factor that played against her, the singer underwent several fertility treatments, which did not work immediately. Later on, she had to face a miscarriage, several unsuccessful attempts, and even health problems. The singer also confessed that during pregnancy, she suffered from gestational diabetes, pre-eclampsia, and had to receive progesterone for weeks to reduce her chances of a miscarriage. She finally welcomed her twins in 2011.

5. Nicole Kidman

When it comes to alternative methods of becoming a parent, Nicole Kidman might be familiar with more than a few. During her early career period, when she was married to Tom Cruise, the couple opted to adopt 2 children. Kidman later confessed that she had suffered 2 miscarriages at the time. After her divorce from Cruise, Kidman became a biological mother for the first time with her new partner. But bringing her second baby into the world was an ordeal. The actress described her experience as a roller coaster ride full of disappointments, pain, and grief, which is why her second daughter came into the world via surrogacy.

6. Brooke Shields

Brooke Shields’ life hasn’t really been a walk in the park, and not even motherhood gave her a break, but fortunately, this story has a happy ending. The renowned model and actress fought very hard to become pregnant with her first daughter. It was only after 7 attempts at in vitro fertilization and a spontaneous miscarriage, that she was finally able to become pregnant with her first child. In the end, Shields and her significant other were able to become the proud parents of 2 baby girls, one in 2003 and a second in 2006. It should be noted that her second baby arrived naturally at the age of 41.

7. Céline Dion

Céline Dion’s struggle was hard from the very first moment she decided to become a mother. The singer and songwriter and her husband, the late Rene Angelil, finally welcomed their first child in 2001 after several attempts at in vitro fertilization. However, conceiving a second child was much more difficult. After 6 failed attempts at artificial insemination and a miscarriage, the couple was rewarded with not one, but 2 babies. Céline Dion’s twins were born in 2010 and you can just see how happy she is with them.

8. Giuliana Rancic

If anyone in the world has been open about their fertility problems, it’s been TV presenter Giuliana Rancic. The American celebrity decided to become a mother and underwent a series of fertility studies, but the result that came back was far from any expected or happy news: she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Not only that but because of the disease, the popular TV host lost the possibility of becoming a mother biologically. Nevertheless, she refused to give up. Rancic hired a surrogate to have her first child. She didn’t stop there, she wanted a second child but then the surrogate carrying her baby, unfortunately, suffered an unexpected miscarriage and Rancic has not tried again since.

9. Halle Berry

Halle Berry was convinced that becoming a mother was just part of her destiny. But fulfilling her dream proved to be harder than she expected. The actress and entrepreneur confessed that she kept getting negative pregnancy tests and finally, after about 35 tests, she got a positive result and her first daughter was born in 2008. Surprisingly, she became pregnant again at the age of 47, when she was expecting menopause. Her second child was born in 2013. In the end, she might have been right all along: she was destined to become a mother and she’s doing great.

10. Gwyneth Paltrow

In Gwyneth Paltrow’s case, she carried to term the pregnancies of her first 2 children with her then-husband, Coldplay’s front man and pianist, Chris Martin. However, when they decided to have their third child, things changed. According to the actress’ confession, she suffered a miscarriage that, in addition to being emotionally devastating for her, almost cost her her life due to medical complications. After this experience, the actress and entrepreneur still wanted to have more children, but she was a bit afraid of trying. Besides, she felt that her moment had already passed. Eventually, Paltrow and Martin divorced and she doesn’t seem to have any plans of becoming a mother again any time soon.

11. Chrissy Teigen

Chrissy Teigen has managed to break the taboo of infertility in Hollywood by sharing her own experience. Her confession required a lot of courage, but it was important. She said that at the beginning of her marriage, she had to accept that she and her husband, John Legend, were having a lot of difficulty conceiving a baby. And all that despite having visited several specialists and undergoing various treatments. Otherwise, they would have been parents for the first time 5 or 6 years ago. The couple finally managed to have their first daughter in 2015, through in vitro fertilization and, after several failed attempts, their second baby was born too. The couple announced that they were expecting their third child in 2020, but, unfortunately, Chrissy suffered a miscarriage.

12. Sarah Jessica Parker

Sarah Jessica Parker became a mother in 2002, when she had her son James. However, later on, the actress and her husband wanted to give their son a little brother, but they kept facing many problems when trying to become pregnant. These difficulties did not cease for many years. At some point, it even seemed like the actress simply would not get pregnant again. But in the end, and after taking into account that the chances of a successful in vitro fertilization were decreasing given her age at the time (she was already over 40 years old), Sarah Jessica Parker opted for a surrogate to welcome her twins in 2009 and now she’s a happy mother once (or twice) again.

13. Halsey

Halsey’s case is even more peculiar because the singer is barely 26 years old, but she has already gone through a hard struggle to get pregnant. The singer and performer recently revealed that she is in the midst of her pregnancy, without minimizing the fact that she had already suffered a miscarriage just before a concert and, even so, went on stage to perform in order to not let her fans down. The star has also said that she is fighting a battle with endometriosis and has had to undergo several “terrifying” surgeries. Her baby is expected to be born in mid-2021. We wish her the best of luck!

Do you know of anyone who has also fulfilled their dream of becoming a mother after a very hard struggle? What was it like in your case?