The Best Celebrity Pregnancy Announcements Of All Time
We all love a good celebrity baby announcement — there's no denying that. After all, what's more exciting than discovering that one of our favorite stars is expecting?
Celebs typically announce their pregnancies with a carefully worded press release or a quick Instagram post. Some even have their pregnancy announcements sponsored by brands — it's true. However, over the years, there have been a few celeb pregnancy announcements that really stand out from the crowd, whether due to their delivery or the message contained within. Just take Rihanna's surprise pregnancy reveal during her 2023 Super Bowl halftime performance, in which the star appeared on stage in a red lycra suit that showed off her baby bump. We love an over-the-top surprise pregnancy reveal. However, Rihanna isn't the only celeb who has chosen a unique way of announcing a pregnancy.
Here's a look at some of the best celebrity pregnancy announcements of all time — from sweet and subtle statements to loud and proud pronouncements.
Hilary Duff's cute Instagram announcement
Hilary Duff is no stranger to pregnancy announcements. The actor and singer has welcomed three children, as of this writing — Luca Cruz, born in 2012, Banks Violent, born in 2018, and Mae James, born in 2021.
In October 2020, when Duff announced her third pregnancy, she did so in the cutest manner imaginable. In an adorable Instagram post, she posted a GIF of her and her husband, Matthew Koma, in which Koma was rubbing her small baby bump. In the caption, Duff wrote, "We are growing!!! Mostly me..." Koma also shared the image on his Instagram page, writing, "lol quarantine was fun. Baby #3 – 2021." What a sweet family!
As Duff later told People in December of that year, her third pregnancy was her easiest. "This pregnancy feels easier because there was a lot of fear with bringing a new baby home when Luca was already 6½," she said. "I'm more tired because of having a toddler, but have less time to focus on the pregnancy because I'm busy with my kids and work. It's a nice distraction because I'm not googling everything and obsessing over everything that's happening with the pregnancy."
Rihanna's bump reveal
There's no denying that Rihanna is kind of the queen of baby announcements. Before her epic Super Bowl reveal in 2023, Rihanna had another unforgettable pregnancy announcement. When the singer was expecting her first child with boyfriend A$AP Rocky, she revealed the news with a surprise paparazzi photoshoot in January 2022.
The singer appeared with her boyfriend in Harlem, New York City, wearing a bright pink puffer jacket by Chanel that was open around her baby bump, along with a giant gold chain and low-rise jeans. In the months prior, Rihanna had been carefully concealing her bump for the past few months with baggy clothes. Talk about a bold pregnancy reveal!
Rihanna later spoke with Vogue about her pregnancy. "As much as it's happening, it's also not happening," she said. "Sometimes I'll walk past my reflection and be like, 'Oh s***!'" She went on to explain that she had initially thought pregnancy would change everything. "At first I expected some magical change, but really I remain who I am," she said.
Robert Downey Jr.'s seven-word announcement
While some celebrities love to go all out for their baby bump reveals, other celebrities prefer to take a more low-key approach. Take Robert Downey Jr., who announced his wife's pregnancy in 2014 with a hilariously blunt tweet: "Yo. Susan. Me. Baby. Girl. November. Scorpio?" We have to say — we love that this baby announcement gets right to the point.
The celeb later spoke to Entertainment Tonight about his wife's second pregnancy and first daughter. "I want to be the fair but firm dad," he said before conceding he'd probably be a pushover. His wife, Susan, added that she was a little worried about having a girl. "I have no idea what to do with a little girl for some reason," she said. "I understood little boys because I grew up with two brothers. ... This is going to be a really fun adventure."
Downey announced his daughter's birth in a similar funny fashion. On November 5, 2014, he wrote in a Facebook post, "After 9 months of intensive development, Team Downey is pleased to announce our 2014 fall/winter project. Principal photography commenced 11-14 and will continue until she says, 'Dad! You are embarrassing me...I'm 30, this has gotta stop.'"
Alanis Morissette's music video reveal
Sometimes, a social media announcement simply isn't enough. Alanis Morissette went above and beyond with her second pregnancy announcement. Instead of a quick tweet or a simple Instagram post, the singer created an entire animated music video along with a brand new song to reveal the news of her coming baby. Apparently, the song and the video were created secretly as a surprise for her husband.
The music video for "Souleye + Ever + me + love = sweetness" features an animated version of Moristte's love story with her husband Mario "Souleye" Treadway. The video showed them meeting in a yoga class, falling in love, going on vacation, getting married, and, eventually, becoming pregnant and having a child. At the end of the video, Morisette was shown to be pregnant again. "The story of my nuclear family in moving pictures, brings us up to this sweet moment," read the caption of the video.
Ellie Kemper's Tonight Show announcement
In 2016, Ellie Kemper, known for playing the titular role in "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt," made a surprise pregnancy announcement on live television. During an appearance on "The Tonight Show," the actor told Jimmy Fallon, "I have big news — I'm pregnant!" The crowd cheered while Fallon leaned over and yelled, "Hi, baby! Hi!" at Kemper's stomach. It's hard to imagine a more exciting celeb baby announcement than this.
Fallon proceeded to give Kemper a special edition of Ben & Jerry's ice cream called "The Tonight Dough." "I love Ben & Jerry's," Kemper said, reaching for the ice cream. "Tonight Dough is — I'm not just saying this because it's your show — Tonight Dough is my favorite flavor. I've been having a pint every other night." Fallon went on to joke that if she ate the ice cream while pregnant, her baby would "turn out to be a genius."
Kemper then went on to explain that she had been pregnant while filming "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt." However, she managed to keep her pregnancy a secret until the very end of the season, when her character was meant to be on a rollercoaster. "I felt like a pregnant lady on a roller coaster is not ideal." And so she had to tell her boss, comedian Tina Fey, who ended up knowing about the pregnancy before Kemper's own mother!
Beyoncé's bump reveal during the 2011 VMAs
One of our favorite types of celebrity pregnancy announcements is the surprise bump reveal — you know, when the celebrity simply appears in public with a baby bump before making any announcement. This is exactly what Beyoncé did in 2011 to announce her first pregnancy.
During the VMAs, the star appeared on stage in a pair of black pants with a buttoned-up purple blazer over the top. After performing "Love On Top," the singer unbuttoned her blazer to reveal her baby bump to the cheering crowd as a proud Jay-Z looked on. Needless to say, Beyoncé's bump completely stole the show that evening.
After the big announcement, Beyoncé spoke to Harper's Bazaar about why she decided to reveal her bump in such a unique way. "I put a lot of thought into how I wanted to unveil it. It was important to me that I was able to do it myself," she said. "I was extremely nervous, adding, "I decided to say nothing and proudly show my baby bump. I felt it was more powerful to see the love and enthusiasm as opposed to saying anything." We have to say — it's hard to imagine a more iconic wordless baby bump reveal than this!
Kelly Rowland's magazine cover announcement
Why take a selfie of your baby bump when you can take a full-blown professional photoshoot instead? In 2020, that's what singer Kelly Rowland did to unveil the news that she was expecting for the second time. For her cover photoshoot for Women's Health, the singer showed off her baby bump.
As Rowland said in the accompanying interview, she and her husband, Tim Weatherspoon, decided to try for a baby during the pandemic. "We had been talking about it loosely, and then COVID happened, and we were just like, 'Let's see what happens,'" she said. She went on to explain that she had decided to keep her news secret because of the societal turmoil at the time. But in the end, she decided it was important to celebrate being an expectant mother. "Being able to have a child...I'm knocking at 40's door in February. Taking care of myself means a lot to me," she said.
Cardi B's show-stealing baby bump at the BET Awards
Cardi B goes all out with everything she does — so it came as no surprise when the rapper pulled out all of the stops to reveal her baby bump in 2021. Cardi B decided to reveal the news of her second child in June 2021 with a perfectly timed Instagram post that coincided with her red carpet appearance at the BET Awards. The post featured a stunning shot of Cardi B with her bump enveloped in a white plaster cast. The caption simply read "#2!"
Meanwhile, on the red carpet, Cardi B wore a show-stopping black bodysuit covered in jewels with a sheet cut-out that showed off her baby bump. She even performed in the outfit. Later, the rapper opened up on the "Stationhead" radio program about her second pregnancy. When she started to notice the symptoms, she told her husband, "I think I'm pregnant, bro!" After taking a pregnancy test, she said, "We just started laughing like, 'Lord, we have so much to do."
Gigi Hadid's pregnancy confirmation on The Tonight Show
In 2020, Gigi Hadid decided to announce the news of her pregnancy with then-boyfriend Zayn Malik during a Zoom appearance on Jimmy Fallon's "Tonight Show." The news had already been broken by Us Weekly by an unnamed source, who said, "Gigi is pregnant and she and Zayn are so in love. She's always wanted to start a family with Zayn." Although Hadid was disappointed by the leak, she used her appearance on the show to officially announce her pregnancy.
"Obviously, we wish we could announce it on our own terms, but we're very excited and happy and grateful for everyone's well wishes and support," she said. Hadid went on to say that being pregnant during the pandemic was "a nice silver lining" as it meant she and Malik were able to enjoy every step of the pregnancy.
After her daughter, Khai Hadid Malik, was born on September 19, 2020, Hadid took to Instagram to share some previously unseen photos of her bump. In one Instagram Story, she revealed, "Decorating and spending time in [Khai's] nursery really helped me feel prepared when I would get too in my head."
Anne Hathaway's Instagram announcement
In 2019, Anne Hathaway took to Instagram to announce her second pregnancy. While celebs love an extravagant announcement, Hathaway opted for an understated post — and one that revealed an important message. The image was a simple black-and-white selfie that showed off a growing bump. The caption read, "It's not for a movie...#2. All kidding aside, for everyone going through infertility and conception hell, please know it was not a straight line to either of my pregnancies. Sending you extra love."
Hathaway later told the Wall Street Journal that her pregnancy journey had been difficult. "There's this tendency to portray getting pregnant, having kids, in one light, as if it's all positive," she said. "But I know from my own experience ... it's so much more complicated than that. When you find out that your pain is shared by others, you just think, 'I just feel that's helpful information to have, so I'm not isolated in my pain.'"
Hathaway's second child, Jack, was born at the end of 2019.
Keke Palmer's Saturday Night Live reveal
Live television is always a great place to announce your pregnancy. In 2022, Keke Palmer went for an unforgettable pregnancy announcement while hosting "Saturday Night Live." Toward the end of her opening monologue, she addressed the rumors that had been swirling about a potential pregnancy. "People have been in my comments saying Keke's having a baby, Keke's pregnant, and I want to set the record straight," she said, before opening her blazer to reveal her baby bump. "I am," she said with a grin, showing off her baby bump. "I gotta say, though, it is bad when people on the internet spread rumors about you y'all, but it's even worse when they're correct! I mean, like, I was trying so hard to keep it on the down low."
In 2023, Palmer went into more detail about her pregnancy reveal on "The Tonight Show." "Every time I look back at that clip, I'm like, 'Why did I sound like a villain?'" As the actor went on to explain, she had always wanted to host "SNL" and they happened to offer her the hosting role when she was pregnant. "I was like, 'I guess I gotta say it.'"
Rose Leslie's Make Magazine photoshoot
In 2020, Rose Leslie, best known for playing Ygritte in "Game of Thrones," decided to announce her pregnancy with husband Kit Harrington with a tasteful photoshoot for Make Magazine. The black and white photo featured a smiling Leslie in a maxi Stella McCartney gown showing off her bump. While the actor didn't say too much about her pregnancy in the interview, she did reveal that she and Harrington had moved to an old house in the English countryside in preparation for the baby. "What a glorious thing to be able to run to the countryside and recoup," she said. "It's a great privilege to be surrounded by greenery, birdsong and hedgerows, and our delightful neighbours. It's so peaceful."
Ursula Lake, fashion director of the magazine, wrote on Instagram following the photoshoot, "A very special all woman team photographic shoot capturing Rose at this wonderful time as she prepares for motherhood for the first time!" Leslie also later told the New York Post, "I am thrilled to be expecting, and I can't wait to meet the new member of our family!"
In 2021, Page Six confirmed that Leslie and Harrington had welcomed a son.
Rihanna's Super Bowl halftime show reveal
As mentioned at the outset, Rihanna's second pregnancy announcement is hard to top. During the 2023 Super Bowl halftime show, Rihanna surprised fans by wearing a form-fitting red jumpsuit and running her hand over her stomach as the show began. As the Daily Mail reported, the singer's outfit was designed by Loewe. As the Super Bowl came just nine months after the birth of her first child in early 2022, some fans were initially unsure if Rihanna was pregnant. After the explosive show, however, the singer's rep confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter that Rihanna was indeed pregnant with her second child.
And as it turns out, Rihanna had actually hinted about her pregnancy before the show. During an interview with Nate Burleson on CBS, the singer was asked if there would be any surprise guests. Her reply? "I'm thinking about bringing someone. I'm not sure." We're willing to bet she was hinting at her pregnancy reveal!