Celebrities Who Used An Egg Donor or Surrogate

Updated June 2026

QUICK ANSWER: Dozens of well-known celebrities have built their families through egg donation, gestational surrogacy, or both. Among the most recognized are Kim Kardashian, Elton John, Neil Patrick Harris, Jimmy Fallon, Paris Hilton, and Gabrielle Union. Their openness has helped normalize these options and expand awareness of assisted reproduction as a proven path to parenthood.

For many intended parents, learning that a public figure they admire has used egg donation or surrogacy is the moment the process shifts from abstract to possible. The number of celebrities who have spoken openly about these paths has grown considerably over the past decade, and each story contributes to a broader cultural understanding of what modern family-building actually looks like.

At Elevate Baby, we were founded by intended parents who went through this process ourselves. Co-founder Kyle Dean Massey and his husband Taylor Frey built Elevate because they wanted to create the agency they wished they’d had, one that brings genuine experience to every family it works with. These stories matter to us, and they may matter to you, too.

Egg Donation and Surrogacy: A Quick Definition

Egg donation is the process by which a donor provides eggs that are fertilized to create embryos for use by intended parents. 

Gestational surrogacy is a family-building arrangement in which a surrogate carries a pregnancy on behalf of intended parents; the surrogate has no genetic relationship to the child. 

These two processes are often used together, particularly by same-sex male couples, though each can also be used independently.

Celebrities Who Used Gestational Surrogacy

The following celebrities have publicly confirmed using a gestational surrogate to welcome their children.

Kim Kardashian

Reality television star and entrepreneur Kim Kardashian used a gestational surrogate for her third and fourth children after experiencing placenta accreta, a serious pregnancy complication, during her previous pregnancies. Her daughter, Chicago West, was born in January 2018, and her son, Psalm West, arrived in May 2019. Kardashian has spoken openly about the emotional complexity of carrying a pregnancy through someone else, and her transparency brought mainstream attention to gestational surrogacy at a scale few celebrities had managed before.

Gabrielle Union and Dwyane Wade

After years of fertility struggles and multiple miscarriages, actress Gabrielle Union and NBA star Dwyane Wade welcomed their daughter Kaavia James in November 2018 via gestational surrogate. Union has been particularly candid about her diagnosis of adenomyosis, a condition in which tissue similar to the uterine lining grows outside the uterus, and how it affected her path to parenthood. Her willingness to name the diagnosis publicly has helped raise awareness of a condition that affects roughly 1 in 10 women of reproductive age (Endometriosis Foundation of America, 2024).

Paris Hilton

Media personality and entrepreneur Paris Hilton welcomed her son, Phoenix Barron, in January 2023 via gestational surrogate, followed by her daughter, London, in November 2023. Hilton was open about her choice to use surrogacy and documented aspects of the experience publicly, framing it as a deeply personal decision rather than solely a medical one. Her story has been particularly resonant for intended parents who choose surrogacy outside of a traditional fertility-related diagnosis.

Chrissy Teigen and John Legend

Model and author Chrissy Teigen and musician John Legend welcomed their daughter Esti Maxine in January 2023 via a surrogate, a decision Teigen publicly shared after the devastating loss of their son Jack at 20 weeks in 2020. Teigen’s willingness to speak openly about grief, loss, and the decision to continue building their family through surrogacy brought significant public attention to the emotional dimensions of the process, not only the practical ones.

Jimmy Fallon

Late-night host Jimmy Fallon and his wife, Nancy Juvonen, welcomed their first daughter, Winnie, via surrogate in 2013 and their second, Frances, in 2014, both through surrogacy after a five-year fertility struggle. Fallon has spoken about the emotional weight of that journey and how surrogacy ultimately gave his family what other methods had not. His candid discussion of fertility challenges in a mainstream television context was relatively unusual for 2013 and helped shift public conversation.

Sarah Jessica Parker

Actress Sarah Jessica Parker welcomed twin daughters, Tabitha and Marion, via gestational surrogate in 2009 at age 44. Parker has been relatively private about the details but confirmed the surrogacy publicly. As one of the earliest high-profile examples of a well-known actress using a surrogate, she helped establish the option as one many others could openly consider.

Nicole Kidman

Oscar-winning actress Nicole Kidman and her then-husband, Keith Urban, welcomed their daughter Faith Margaret via gestational surrogate in December 2010. Kidman had previously experienced pregnancy complications and chose surrogacy to expand their family. Faith was born in Nashville while Kidman was filming “Rabbit Hole.” Kidman has described the birth as joyful and has spoken warmly about the experience.

Anderson Cooper

CNN anchor Anderson Cooper has used surrogacy twice as a single father. His son, Wyatt, was born in April 2020, and his son, Sebastian, arrived in February 2022. Cooper has spoken movingly about the significance of becoming a parent, particularly as someone who lost his own father early in life, and about his experience working with a surrogate. His openness about single parenthood through surrogacy has added an important and underrepresented voice to public conversations about family building.

Rebel Wilson

Australian actress and producer Rebel Wilson welcomed her daughter, Royce Lillian, via gestational surrogate in November 2022. Wilson had spoken publicly about her fertility journey and the decision to use a surrogate, and later married her partner, Ramona Agruma. Her story is one of the more recent high-profile examples of a public figure choosing surrogacy as part of a broader, deliberate family-building plan.

Tyra Banks

Supermodel and television host Tyra Banks welcomed her son, York, in January 2016 via gestational surrogate after being open about her struggles with IVF. Banks discussed the emotional weight of fertility treatments publicly and expressed relief at finding a path that worked. At the time, her openness about IVF failure and the decision to pursue surrogacy was notable in the modeling and entertainment industries.

Lucy Liu

Actress Lucy Liu became a mother via gestational surrogate in August 2015, welcoming her son, Rockwell Lloyd. Liu has been private but affirming about her choice, describing the experience as one of the most meaningful of her life.

Celebrities Who Used Both Egg Donation and Surrogacy

For same-sex male couples and others who need both an egg donor and a gestational surrogate, these two processes work in combination: a donor provides eggs, which are fertilized to create embryos, and a surrogate carries the resulting pregnancy.

Elton John and David Furnish

Sir Elton John and his husband, David Furnish, used egg donation and surrogacy to welcome both of their sons: Zachary Jackson Levon, born in December 2010, and Elijah Joseph Daniel, born in January 2013. Both pregnancies were carried by the same surrogate, a decision John has described as meaningful for the sense of continuity it created for their family. Their surrogacy journey was conducted in California, which offers some of the most comprehensive legal protections for intended parents in the United States.

Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka

Actor Neil Patrick Harris and his husband, David Burtka, welcomed fraternal twins, Gideon Scott and Harper Grace, in October 2010, using a single egg donor and separate gestational surrogates for each twin. Harris has been candid about the process, including the mechanics of working with an egg donor and multiple surrogates simultaneously, and has spoken about how the experience shaped his perspective on family, commitment, and the meaning of biological and non-biological connection.

Celebrities Who Used Egg Donation

Mariah Carey

Grammy Award-winning singer Mariah Carey welcomed fraternal twins, Moroccan and Monroe, in April 2011, using donor eggs as part of her IVF process at age 41. Carey has described her journey as involving extensive hormonal preparation, lifestyle adjustments, and multiple treatment cycles before achieving a successful pregnancy, an experience that reflects how egg donation can be part of a complex, multi-step fertility process rather than a single procedure.

What These Stories Mean for Intended Parents

Every celebrity on this list made a choice to be open about their path to parenthood. That openness has a measurable impact. We hear it from clients regularly: learning that a specific person they admire used a surrogate or egg donor made the option feel concrete, like something they could actually picture for their own family.

Egg donation and gestational surrogacy are legal, medically established, and increasingly common paths to parenthood. According to the CDC’s Assisted Reproductive Technology report, the number of IVF cycles using donor eggs has increased year over year in the United States, and surrogacy has followed a parallel trajectory. California, Nevada, and a growing number of states have established clear legal frameworks specifically designed to support intended parents through the process.

If you’re just beginning to explore these options, or further along and looking for the right partner, the most important step is a conversation with people who have been there.

Learn More About Elite Egg Donation or Surrogacy at Elevate

Whether you’re just beginning to explore egg donation and surrogacy or you’re ready to start the process, Elevate Baby’s team is here to help. We’re built by intended parents for intended parents, and every family we work with gets the kind of support we wished we’d had.

Elevate has proven to be one of the top egg donor agencies in the nation. By simplifying the intricate process of assisted reproduction, Elevate allows clients to focus on building their families. Call us today at (323) 933-8918 for more information or fill out our contact form.

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