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Not all women and men want to become parents – some are perfectly happy to live their lives childless, focusing on their careers and their own needs first and foremost. Others however are desperate to become parents only to find out that they actually can’t.
Despite the fame and the big checks that celebrities enjoy, they too are not immune to finding out that they can’t become parents. Many are heartbroken by this revelation and try to defy the laws of nature (or science) anyways. But when the situation truly seems desperate many turn to surrogate mothers, adoptions and IVF pregnancies to ensure that they get the chance to realize their dream of becoming a parent.
Of course, some men and women are so fertile that they end up having countless of children. Indeed, some believe that some celebrities have too many kids. Of course, having too many kids is all well and good if you can take care of them, give them your undivided attention and provide for them. It becomes slightly more problematic when the above criteria can’t be met.
Can’t Have Kids – Kate Walsh
The actress Kate Walsh is best known for her role as Dr. Addison Montgomery in Grey’s Anatomy as well as for her role as Olivia Baker in 13 Reasons Why. She recently admitted that she can’t have children because she went through an early menopause.
Walsh confessed that in her opinion, the belief that women can have it all – both career and a family – is nothing but a myth that puts a lot of pressure on women.
She revealed that her sister also went through an early menopause and in fact was the one who encouraged Walsh to go to the doctor to have a check-up too – “My older sister called and was like 'By the way, you should go and get yourself checked because I’m going through menopause early,'" Walsh recalled. "And I’m like, 'You’re just scaring me.' And then yeah, sure enough, I went and they were like 'You have one egg and there’s a hairline fracture. So enjoy it.'" (NewsMax)
Has Too Many – Kate Gosselin
Kate Gosselin has eight children in total although she too had problems with conceiving and ended up getting fertility treatments. These proved successful and she soon gave birth to twins Cara and Madelyn.
But a few fertility treatments later, Gosselin became pregnant again and soon gave birth to more children – sons Aaden, Collin, and Joel and daughters Alexis, Hannah and Leah.
Gosselin is constantly under fire for the way she treats her children and many believe that she is a terrible mother – not only does she try to keep her children away from her ex-husband Jon, she is also constantly seen yelling at her kids and even spanking them. (DailyMail)
Can’t Have Kids – Hugh Jackman
It’s not just women who find it painful not to be able to have children. The Wolverine actor Hugh Jackman has confessed that his path to becoming a dad was a very difficult one and that because of his wife’s – Deborra Iee Furness’ – age (she is 13 years older than him) they started trying to conceive immediately.
Jackman said – “Because of her age, we started [trying] straightaway when we were together. We struggled, a couple miscarriages, [in vitro fertilization] — it was not easy. It was difficult, obviously particularly on Deb.”
Not wanting to miss out on being parents, Jackman and Furness decided to adopt a boy and a girl – “I remember saying to her, ‘We were always going to adopt — let’s just adopt now.’” (People)
Has Too Many – Nadya “Octomom” Suleman
The American media personality, Nadya Suleman, better known as “Octomom”, has 14 children, all of which were born through IVF treatments. Suleman first gave birth to a son in 2001. His birth was followed by the birth of a daughter in 2002. Three more pregnancies and births followed.
However it was in 2009 that Suleman came to international attention for it was then that she gave birth to octuplets.
Suleman has been deemed extremely selfish to have so many children, although she does not agree with this label herself – "I know I'll be able to afford them when I'm done with my schooling. If I was just sitting down watching TV and not being as determined as I am to succeed and provide a better future for my children, I believe that would be considered, to a certain degree, selfish." (CNN)
Can’t Have Kids – Giuliana Rancic
The TV personality Giuliana Rancic and her husband Bill Rancic have been very open about their struggles to conceive. After trying to conceive naturally the couple turned to IVF. In 2010, Rancic got pregnant but suffered a loss.
Later that same year, Rancic had another IVF treatment which unfortunately failed to result in pregnancy. When the couple were about to give IVF another shot, Rancic discovered that she had to be treated for a disease.
After many more failed attempts to conceive, the couple decided to turn to a gestational carrier (similar to surrogate but different in that the gestational carrier is not related to the baby she carries). In 2012, their son Edward Duke Rancic was born but the couple’s attempts to have further kids via surrogates failed due to more loss. (Glamour)
Has Too Many – Mick Jagger
Michael Jagger, who is currently 74 years old, is a father to eight children, although he didn’t have his eighth child until he was 72 years old, which as you can imagine, shocked the world.
According to an unofficial source, Jagger was not very pleased with how things turned out – “He says he is pleased, but he won’t be playing happy families. It would be fair to say that there’s a bit of an intake of breath about going through all this again at his age.”
Of course, as fits his age, Jagger also has grandchildren – five of them to be exact. In 2014 he also became a great-grandfather. (DailyMail)
Can’t Have Kids – Angela Bassett
The actress Angela Bassett and her husband Courtney B. Vance also struggled to become parents. Indeed, they just couldn’t conceive a child for years, no matter how hard they tried – “I was devastated when it didn’t happen [again and again]. I had to remain hopeful and resilient and, ‘Okay, let’s do it again.’”
But when a friend told Bassett that she was pregnant through a surrogate, Bassett realized that this may be the only way that she and her husband may be able to have a child too.
So Angela went down the same route. A surrogate eventually gave birth to twins, whom Bassett and her husband named Bronwyn Gold and Slater Josiah. (CelebrityBabies)
Has Too Many – Eddie Murphy
The comedian and actor Eddie Murphy is another celebrity who has too many kids – he has nine kids in total, with five different women.
Murphy’s first child was conceived by his girlfriend Paulette McNeely and his second child, again a son, by his girlfriend Tamara Hood. Five more children were born after Murphy started dating, and then married, Nicole Mitchell. Their relationship lasted 13 years.
Murphy’s most controversial child however must be Angel Iris Murphy Brown, conceived by Melanie Brown of Spice Girls fame. Murphy refused to believe that the daughter was his even though later DNA tests proved otherwise – “I don't know whose child that is until it comes out and has a blood test. You shouldn't jump to conclusions, sir."
Murphy’s most recent child was conceived by the model Paige Butcher who gave birth to their daughter Izzy in 2016. (CTV)
Can’t Have Kids – Gabrielle Union
In a recent book published by the actress Gabrielle Union, titled We’re Going to Need More Wine, she confessed that she too can’t have children and that in fact she has gone through eight or nine losses in an attempt to start a family.
Union writes – “I have had eight or nine miscarriages. For three years, my body has been a prisoner of trying to get pregnant — I’ve either been about to go into an IVF cycle, in the middle of an IVF cycle, or coming out of an IVF cycle.”
Funnily enough, Union never actually wanted to have children in the first place, at least not until she became a stepmom to her husband’s – Dwyane Wade’s - three children. (People)
Has Too Many – Mia Farrow
The actress Mia Farrow has 14 children but before you gasp – imagine giving birth to 14 children – let us add that 10 of them are adopted. It is interesting to note that Farrow never envisioned having so many children.
In a Vanity Fair interview, Farrow said – “I never thought I would have so many children. That was never a plan. I did want a child or two—they came as twins. I didn’t think about more children for a couple of years.”
But then she and her then-husband Andre Previn decided to adopt a Vietnamese baby, and it didn’t stop there, even if it led to failed marriages and partnerships. Farrow did however always consider her children’s opinions before adopting.
Nowadays Farrow is probably best known for the Hollywood scandal that shook the world – Farrow’s adoptive daughter, Soon-Yi, had a relationship with Farrow’s then partner Woody Allen.
Can’t Have Kids – Maria Menounos
The American-Greek actress Maria Menounos and her husband Keven Undergaro have decided to start a family despite Menounos’ recent operation. In the end, Menounos said that it was a good lesson – “The greatest thing that has happened out of all of this is you see God’s hands all around.”
Unfortunately, like so many other women in the film industry, Menounos can’t get pregnant naturally and thus the couple has turned to IVF treatments. It is also worth mentioning that a few years ago Menounos felt like she was too busy to have children – “Sometimes I feel like I’m drowning with everything that’s going on in my life and there aren’t even kids in my equation yet. On my reality show last year, I was talking about freezing my eggs. I started the process, but I wasn’t successful, and it’s still not happening. So let’s call it what it is not a good situation.” (People)
Has Too Many – Robert De Niro
The iconic actor Robert De Niro has six children although as befits this list, some such as Aaron Kendrick and Julian Henry de Niro, whom he had with his girlfriend Toukie Smith, have been born with the help of IVF’s and surrogates.
Ever wondered why De Niro is not as famous or successful as he once was? Indeed, some say that the once iconic actor has by now slipped into obscurity because he is continuously picking terrible films over and over again which further serve only to diminish his fame.
Some say the reason for that is the fact that De Niro has too many children. An anonymous studio executive/producer has explained the phenomenon – “I have a one-word answer: alimony. When you have alimony to pay, you do projects you wouldn’t think you’d do.” (NYPost)
Can’t Have Kids – Elizabeth Banks
The Hunger Games actress Elizabeth Banks also used surrogates when she wanted to start a family with her husband Max Handelman. The couple currently have two children – Felix and Magnus Mitchell – both who were born through surrogacy.
Banks said – “It was a womb issue for me. Embryos wouldn't implant.” She then revealed that using a surrogate mother was a big deal and that the surrogate mother is part of their family – “It's a big leap, inviting this person into your life to do this amazing, important thing for you. But our surrogate is so extraordinary, and she's still in our lives. She's like an auntie.” (US Magazine)
Has Too Many – Mike Tyson
Mike Tyson has eight children in total, and his latest child was born only seven years ago right after the tragic passing of his four year old daughter Exodus. She passed after getting her neck stuck in a cord that was hanging recklessly from a treadmill.
Tyson has previously said that he is not the best father. Indeed, his exact words were – “I wasn’t the greatest father. They go, ‘Dad, that’s not how you spell my name!’ I’m like, these are college-educated kids, and I’m dumb." Still, with eight kids we’re sure that Tyson gets more than enough practice. (TV One)
Can’t Have Kids – Loni Love
The comedian Loni Love also can’t have children, although for rather different reasons than most women – she has vowed to not have any children after going through a particularly painful loss which has hurt her so much she was never able to move on.
The comedian confessed how when she thought she was pregnant she took about fourteen pregnancy tests before making a visit to the doctor just to be sure. The doctor confirmed her pregnancy but her euphoria – which didn’t surge through her all at one – wasn’t to last – “I was still really, really nervous. But then, eventually, you know that nature takes over. And, sure enough, as soon as I was okay with it, about eight weeks, I miscarried.”
Love added that she never wants to feel the pain again, hence her decision to never have children. (DailyMail)
Has Too Many – Steven Spielberg
Steven Spielberg is a father to seven children – Sasha, Max, Theo, Sawyer Avery, Mikaela George and Destry Allen – and while there’s no denying that seven children is a lot of responsibility and perhaps too many children for any one person to handle, Spielberg has done a great job in raising them.
While at the beginning of Spielberg’s life his career came first, that all changed when his first son, Max, was born. Spielberg said – “paradigm changed, and everything from that moment on had to do with my kids’ well-being, and my career suddenly became second.” (Boston Parents Paper)
Can’t Have Kids – Amy Smart
The actress Amy Smart has a daughter, named Flora, with her husband and TV carpenter Carter Oosterhouse. However, while the couple is happy now the actress has recently confessed that all is not rosy, or at least, wasn’t rosy in hers and Oosterhouse’s house.
Smart confessed that she struggled with conceiving a baby for years and thus eventually decided to turn to surrogacy. She divulged this information to her fans on her Instagram page, saying – “One month ago today, Dec. 26th our amazing beautiful daughter came into this world. Feeling so grateful to have her in my arms… after years of fertility struggles I give thanks today to our kind, loving surrogate for carrying her.” (People)
Has Too Many – Clint Eastwood
The iconic actor Clint Eastwood is also a father to a large number of children. His seven children – Scott, Francesca, Kyle, Kathryn, Kimber Lynn, Alison and Morgan - were birthed by different women.
However, despite having so many children Eastwood was apparently not a bad dad, even if he was a little old fashioned and aggressive.
For example, recently Eastwood’s son Scott revealed how his father was incredibly angry with him when he left his sister at a party on her own – “[Aged 16] I’d taken my younger sister, who was, like, 14, to a party. I left the party, maybe to go get beer with the guys. I left her and I didn’t think about it at the time. Later, Dad found out... He popped me in the face and said, ‘You don’t ever leave your sister at a party. EVER.’ And it was very old-school, very old-school of him." (GQ)
Can’t Have Kids – Tyra Banks
Tyra Banks is an incredibly successful woman who not only has a successful career of being a supermodel behind her but who is also a CEO of her own company as well as the host of a very successful show America’s Top Model.
However, it seems that women can't always have it all. For as much as Banks wants to, she can’t have children due to fertility problems and has undergone numerous IVF procedures hoping that they will help her to start a family - "I've had some not happy moments with that, very traumatic moments. It's difficult as you get older. It's not something that can just happen."
However, in 2016 Banks had a son – York Banks Asla – with the photographer and her then boyfriend Erik Asla who was born through surrogacy. (ET Online)
Has Too Many – Madonna
The Queen of Pop also has too many children, at least according to her haters. Madonna has six kids – Lourdes Leon, Rocco Ritchie, David Banda Mwale Ciccone Ritchie, Mercy James, Estere Ciconne and Stelle Ciconne – and as is the case with many famous Hollywood figures, some are adopted.
However, apparently Madonna is not a very good mother and fails to provide her children with the stability that they need. Madona seems to be especially neglectful when touring, at least according to an anonymous source who has revealed that Madonna abandoned her son Rocco during a 2015 tour– “Rocco spent most of the second half of 2015 on tour with his mother and got upset about not spending enough time with her. Even by her ruthless standards, Madonna has been particularly driven on the tour, and when Rocco did see her, he felt like she was trying to micromanage his life.” (Page Six)
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