11 Actresses Who Were Actually Pregnant On-Screen, and We Had No Idea

When an actress decides to become a mom, it’s not always possible to incorporate it into the plot of the film or series she’s in. When this happens, the growing belly needs to be hidden. But sometimes, the on-screen pregnancy happens at the same time as the real one, or the writers add it to the plot. We’re remembering some examples of actresses who were pregnant on set and also want to show you recent photos of these young “stars.”

1. Candice King in The Vampire Diaries

In the seventh season, vampire Caroline, played by Candice King, became a surrogate mother, and it happened for a reason. The writers wanted to tell this story before but changed their minds. But When King told them she was pregnant, they decided not to hide this fact but actually use their old idea. Despite her actual pregnancy, she needed to wear a special prop on her belly because King was expecting just one child and her character was going to have twins.

This plot twist made way for the spin-offs, The Originals, and Legacies. Later, King asked the producers to hire her daughter, Florence, for the final episode of Legacies.

2. Claire Danes in Homeland

Claire Danes is famous for the role of CIA agent Carrie Mathison in the TV series, Homeland. But few people know that she finished the second season 8 months pregnant. She couldn’t be pregnant in the series, so the belly needed to be edited out digitally. Her son was born in December 2012, and now, he’s 10 years old.

3. Holly Marie Combs in Charmed

Holly Marie Combs, who played Piper, one of the central characters in Charmed, announced her pregnancy during the production of season 6. At first, the producers decided to hide her belly. But then they decided it would be better for her character to have a child. So the actress’s first son, Finley Arthur, was born in 2004, and he’s 18 years old now.

4. Julia Louis-Dreyfus on Seinfeld

During the production of season 3 of this popular sitcom, Julia Louis-Dreyfus got pregnant with her first child. Henry was born in July 1992. But the pregnancy wasn’t a problem for the writers. Her character wore baggy clothes and big accessories to hide the belly. Now, Henry is 30 years old.

5. Ellen Pompeo in Grey’s Anatomy

The producers of the popular series, Grey’s Anatomy, decided to hide Ellen Pompeo’s pregnancy. Her character wasn’t supposed to have a child at the time, so they wanted to postpone this moment. Stella Luna, born in 2009, is 13 years old now.

6. Kerry Washington in Scandal

Kerry Washington’s pregnancy happened right in the middle of the production of the series, in which she played the lead role. This unexpected event forced the producers to cut down the number of episodes to hide her situation, which couldn’t happen logically in the series. Today, her daughter, Isabelle, is 8 years old.

7. Kristen Bell in House of Lies

The star of House of Lies was 6 months pregnant when she started working on the second season. In order to film some episodes, the creators hired a stunt double for the scenes where they needed to see the belly. Her oldest daughter, Lincoln, is 8 years old.

8. Lisa Kudrow on Friends

When Lisa Kudrow played Phoebe Buffay in one of the most famous sitcoms, she got pregnant. It happened right before the start of season 4. The producers decided to include her pregnancy in the story. That’s how Phoebe became a surrogate mother for her brother and his wife that couldn’t get pregnant. Now, her only son is 23 years old.

9. Madonna in Evita

Madonna, who we know as the “Queen of Pop Music,” appeared in a controversial movie as Eva Perón, the wife of an Argentinian dictator Juan Domingo Perón. She got pregnant with her daughter, Lourdes, who is now 25 years old. The cinematographers did everything in their power to hide Madonna’s pregnancy.

10. Cobie Smulders on How I Met Your Mother

Thanks to Cobie Smulders, millions of viewers all around the world fell in love with Robin, a main character on How I Met Your Mother. After her colleague, Alyson Hannigan, told the crew she was pregnant, Smulders realized she was in the same situation. And the producers needed to somehow hide 2 pregnancies.

The creators asked the costume designers to use clothes and objects to hide Cobie’s belly. And she had to sit in most scenes. In May 2009, she had her daughter, Shaelyn.

11. Courteney Cox on Friends

In the final season of Friends, one of the plot lines was about Monica and Chandler trying to adopt a baby. But in real life, during the production of these episodes, Courteney Cox found out about her own pregnancy. It was too late to rewrite the script, so the producers decided to hide her growing belly under baggy clothes and different props. But by the end of the season, it became a big challenge. In 2004, she had her daughter, Coco Arquette, now 18 years old.

We think it’s quite cute that a child can watch an old film or series with their mom in it and try to see the belly they were in. And some of these kids even appeared on-screen themselves.

What other TV shows and movies did you see where the producers tried to hide the fact that an actress was pregnant?