These Celebs Were Pregnant While Filming Their Hit TV Shows — Now See Their Kids All Grown Up!

These actresses worked throughout their pregnancies. See the kids they were carrying while filming

Being a superstar means your personal life sometimes collides with your day job and for these stars, it all came to a head when they became pregnant while filming their hit shows.

From Lucille Ball back in 1952 to the likes of Melissa Fumero and Mandy Moore more recently, many superstar moms have had to either find clever ways to hide their growing bellies or incorporate their pregnancies into their characters' storylines on TV.

While some actresses like Kerry Washington, Zooey Deschanel and Cobie Smulders were famously pregnant while working, but have since chosen to keep their kids out of the spotlight, these moms have given us peeks at their children, whether through rare red carpet appearances or intimate moments shared via Instagram.

Below, see the kids these famous moms were pregnant with when they filmed their hit TV shows.

01 of 16

Lisa Kudrow, with Son Julian Murray Stern

Lisa Kudrow and husband Michael Stern found out they were expecting during season 4 of Friends in 1997, and Kudrow's baby bump was famously included in the plot line: the writers made it so that her character, Phoebe Buffay, was a surrogate carrying triplets for her brother.

Decades later, her son Julian, now 27, was able to accompany his mom when the Friends cast shot their reunion special in 2021.

"Afterward, he came up to me and he said, 'Can I say that I'm really proud of you?' " the actress revealed during an appearance on Conan. "That was one of the very emotional things that happened to me."

Kudrow and her son have made several red carpet appearances together over the years, including at the season 3 premiere of her show, The Comeback, on March 19.

02 of 16

Courtney Cox, with Daughter Coco Arquette

Six years later, Kudrow's Friends costar Courteney Cox also became pregnant while filming the final season of the show. Unlike Phoebe, part of Monica Geller's character arc was that she couldn't have a baby, so production had to hide her bump in loose clothing, scarves and big jackets.

Cox and her now ex-husband David Arquette welcomed their baby girl Coco in June 2004, but Coco is hardly little anymore: she serves as her mom's makeup guru.

"She shows me how to do makeup really simply,” Cox shared with PEOPLE. 

For instance, she said, “She taught me how to wear blush. I thought blush was over here,” Cox gestured to her cheekbones, “and it's really more on the apples of your cheek.”

The dotting mom her daughter, "the coolest girl I know."

03 of 16

Sarah Jessica Parker, with Son James Wilkie Broderick

Sarah Jessica Parker was expecting her first baby while filming season 5 of Sex and the City. Instead of coming up with clever tricks to conceal Carrie Bradshaw's belly, producers of the show decided to cut the season down to 13 episodes.

Parker and her husband Matthew Broderick welcomed James Wilkie on Oct. 28, 2002, and followed up with twin girls Marion and Tabitha in 2009.

04 of 16

Alyson Hannigan, with Daughters Satyana Marie and Keeva Jane Denisof

Alyson Hannigan was pregnant twice during her tenure as Lily Aldrin on How I Met Your Mother.

Like most shows, the HIMYM crew tried to hide Hannigan's first bump (daughter Satyana!) in 2009 with the usual tricks: strategic blocking, oversized lamps, loose clothes and even a hot dog-eating competition, at which she rubbed her "food baby" after her victory.

In her second pregnancy with Keeva, which came in season 7 in 2012, the writers included Hannigan's growing belly by revealing that Lily was also pregnant.

Hannigan's husband, actor Alexis Denisof, also appeared on the show.

05 of 16

Debra Messing, with Son Roman Walker Zelman

Debra Messing's pregnancy never made it into the plot of Will & Grace, so the actress spent the majority of season 6 in 2004 holding large bouquets of flowers, standing behind couches and wearing large trench coats in an effort to hide her growing belly.

Ultimately, she ended up not appearing in the last four episodes of the season as she and ex-husband Daniel Zelman welcomed their son, Roman Walker, on April 7, 2004.

06 of 16

Ellen Pompeo, with Daughter Stella Luna

The Grey's Anatomy storyline in which Meredith Grey donates part of her liver to her father is one of the more famous plot points in the show's history. However, it was (partially) a supremely creative way to hide Ellen Pompeo's pregnancy with her first child in 2009 — and keep her on the show.

During season 6, Meredith was relegated to bed rest after she had donated the organ to her estranged father. This gave Pompeo and showrunners plenty of wiggle room and some reprieve until Stella arrived on Sept. 15, 2009. Dad is Pompeo's husband, Chris Ivery.

07 of 16

Mandy Moore, with Son August Harrison Goldsmith

This Is Us actress Mandy Moore announced in September 2020 that she was expecting a baby with husband Taylor Goldsmith, which meant that the hit show had to work around her baby bump. So they did.

Moore not only filmed season 5 of the show while with child, but the crew had to take extra precautions as the COVID-19 pandemic was still at its height.

Moore and Goldsmith welcomed their first son, August "Gus" Harrison, on Feb. 20, 2021. The two also share another baby boy named Oscar "Ozzie" Bennett, who joined them in October 2022.

08 of 16

Lucille Ball, with Desi Arnaz Jr.

When Lucille Ball got pregnant with her son Desi Arnaz Jr. during season 2 of I Love Lucy in 1952, she couldn't even say the word "pregnant" on-screen. Instead, the actress simply said she was "expecting."

She and husband Desi Arnaz welcomed the bundle of joy on Jan. 19, 1953, two years after daughter Lucie's arrival. And much like his talented parents, Desi Jr. ventured into show business before retiring.

09 of 16

Gillian Anderson, with Daughter Piper Maru Klotz

Back in 2017, Gillian Anderson attended the season 2 premiere of The Crown with her daughter Piper Maru Klotz, whom she shares with ex-husband Clyde Klotz.

Decades prior, Piper served as quite the inspiration for an out-of-this-world storyline on X-Files, in which her mom starred for 11 seasons. In order to hide her 1994 pregnancy, writers on the show wrote that Anderson's character, Dana Scully, had been abducted by aliens!

10 of 16

Jane Krakowski, with Son Bennett Robert Godley

When Jane Krakowski got pregnant with her son Bennett Robert Godley while filming 30 Rock in 2010, there was no doubt that showrunners would have to adjust, given that her character was notoriously too self-centered to ever be a good mother.

Krakowski, who was pregnant during season 5, welcomed her baby boy with then-fiancé Robert Godley in April 2011.

11 of 16

Phylicia Rashad, with Daughter Condola Rashad

Though her fictional husband was an OB/GYN, when Phylicia Rashad got pregnant with her second child in season 3 of The Cosby Show in 1986, creators opted not to write the bump into the show, so as to not add a baby to the ensemble cast.

Rashad and her now ex-husband Ahmad Rashad welcomed Condola on Dec. 11, 1986.

12 of 16

Marcia Cross, with Twin Daughters Eden and Savannah Mahoney

Marcia Cross was pregnant with not one, but two babies during season 3 of Desperate Housewives in 2006! She and husband Tom Mahoney welcomed their twin girls, Eden and Savannah, in February 2007.

13 of 16

Melissa Fumero, with Sons Axel and Enzo Fumero

Melissa Fumero was pregnant twice while playing Amy Santiago on Brooklyn Nine-Nine. However, only her second pregnancy was written into the hit NBC show; the first was hidden with waist-up shots and the usual sneaky props.

Fumero told PEOPLE in 2016 that filming while pregnant is no easy feat, saying, "[Enzo] was born, like, five days after we wrapped. I don't recommend it."

The actress and husband David Fumero share sons Enzo, born in March 2016, and Axel, born in early 2020.

14 of 16

Holly Marie Combs, with Son Finley Arthur Donoho

Though Holly Marie Combs' pregnancy was later written into the show, producers of Charmed initially wanted to hide her growing baby bump in 2004. However, they decided to go with the flow, and Combs' character got pregnant with her second baby in the series.

In real life, Combs welcomed her first child, son Finley Arthur, in 2004 with then-husband David Donoho.

15 of 16

A.J. Cook, with Sons Mekhai and Phoenix Andersen

The creators of Criminal Minds incorporated both of A.J. Cook's pregnancies into the show. The actress — who played the beloved Jennifer Jareau on the crime drama — got pregnant with her first baby during season 4 of the show in 2008. And while she tried to hide her bump initially, once she told the creators, they swiftly wrote in a love interest and her bump was featured in the series.

She became pregnant again during season 10 of the show in 2015 and the writers incorporated that pregnancy into J.J.'s storyline as well.

In an extra-fun twist Cook's sons, Mekhai Allen, 15, and Phoenix Sky, 8, — whom she shares with husband, Nathan Andersen — later played her sons on the series!

16 of 16

Justine Lupe with Daughter Ellis

Justine Lupe was well into the second trimester of her pregnancy before the cast and crew of Nobody Wants This found out she was even pregnant. The actress later revealed it was one wardrobe malfunction that let the cat out of the bag.

In an Instagram post thanking Erin Foster, Kristen Bell and her other colleagues who made those early months comfortable for her, Lupe also gave a shoutout to the, "cast and crew who supported me from the moment my Gucci skirt ripped open in both the front and backsides on set at 2am when they had no idea I was pregnant and thought I was just rapidly falling apart…"

She gave birth to her daughter Ellis in August 2024.

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