When Celebrities Choose Surrogacy

By Stephanie Guler - Senior Content & Social Media Developer | April 20th, 2011

Surrogacy is becoming an increasingly popular option for people who want to have a child. There are many reasons why people choose surrogacy. Whether it be a single person, a gay couple, or a traditional couple struggling with infertility, surrogacy has proven to be a successful choice for those who want to have a baby, but physically can’t.

The process of surrogacy involves a surrogate mother who is financially compensated for carrying and giving birth to another couple’s biological child. Surrogacy is quite complex legally, psychologically and physically speaking. There are two types of surrogacy available: gestational surrogacy or traditional surrogacy.

Gestational surrogacy is very popular because people have the chance to contribute to the conception of their child. The eggs or sperm (and often times both) are provided by the parents, and an embryo is created through an in-vitro fertilization (IVF) procedure. The fertilized embryo is then implanted into the surrogate mother, who has no biological relation to the baby whatsoever.

Traditional surrogacy involves the surrogate mother using her own eggs, and therefore has a biological connection to the child. Her eggs are fertilized with the father’s sperm through intrauterine insemination (IUI). This type of surrogacy isn’t as popular due to the potential legal complexities that could occur after the birth.

The number of surrogate births has greatly increased over the past decade, with about 1,000 surrogate babies born in 2009. Many people think this surge in popularity has to do with the list of celebrities who have recently opened up about having children with the help of a surrogate mother.

Ricky Martin: 2008
The openly gay international superstar became a full-time single father to twin boys in the summer of 2008 through gestational surrogacy. His representatives stated, “Ricky is elated to begin this new chapter in his life as a parent.” The children are now 2 years old, and Ricky Martin couldn’t seem happier with his new family.

Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick: 2009
After struggling for years to conceive a second child on their own, the couple also had twins using gestational surrogacy. Babies Marion and Tabitha were born to a surrogate mother in June. In an interview with Elle magazine, Parker tried to describe the unique experience of surrogacy, “Meeting them is hard to describe. Everything is suspended. I can’t even tell you what other sounds were in the room. I loved them immediately, but everything – their size, the shape of their heads, the color of their hair, their noses, their eyes – was new to me.”

Elton John and David Furnish: 2010
As the most famous member of the celeb surrogacy club, Elton John and his partner David Furnish welcomed their son on Christmas Day. The couple chose surrogacy with egg donation, a type of gestational surrogacy. Elton John told US Weekly, “For many years we have talked about fulfilling one of our greatest wishes by becoming parents, and now this wish has been granted to us, we feel so blessed and lucky.” Although this arrangement was particularly complex (John’s child technically has two fathers and two mothers) the couple is over the moon about being parents.

Cristiano Ronaldo: 2010
The most surprising story comes from this world-famous Real Madrid footballer. Ronaldo became a father in 2010, after compensating the surrogate mother for exclusive guardianship of the child. He recently described his experience with single fatherhood to RealMadridTV, “I’m living in a very special moment in my life. I’ve been a dad for nine months and something new surprises me every day; a smile, a gesture, a look…it is spectacular. Having children and enjoying our time with them is the most beautiful thing we can do.”

These four stories are just a few examples of celebrities who are openly sharing their surrogacy success stories. Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban, Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka, Kelsey and Camille Grammar, Dennis Quaid, and Angela Bassett are other stars that have also had babies through surrogacy.

This is proof that whether you are a celebrity or not, many people deal with infertility. With adoption, advanced infertility treatments and surrogacy, there are a lot of amazing alternatives available for couples (or singles) to conceive a child.