Ask the women around you if they ever had a miscarriage or if they knew someone who had a miscarriage. You’ll be surprised to find out that miscarriages are extremely common through their responses but something not talked about often. This is because it is also a topic that is considered to be taboo and hardly spoken out. Here are 46 celebrities who had a miscarriage and were brave enough to talk about their painful experience. They opened up so the topic could be normalized and women could seek support whenever they experienced this huge loss.
Michelle Obama
In her book, “Becoming,” the former first lady shared that she has had a miscarriage. She shared how “physically uncomfortable” it was and how it took away her positivity for a while. Michelle Obama also wrote about how women do not open up about miscarriages and how several women go through it all alone. She shared how keeping miscarriages to themselves was one of the worst possible things women do to themselves and how they should learn to open up about them.
Gwyneth Paltrow
Gwyneth Paltrow spoke for the first time regarding her miscarriage to Daily Mail’s You magazine in 2013. The actress got candid in the interview, sharing that she had a terrible miscarriage after her two kids. The miscarriage was so bad that it scared Paltrow to try again for another baby, as it not only took away her third child’s life but also almost killed her. The Iron Man actress also shared that she misses her third child and how her kids want another baby in the house.
Gabrielle Union
Gabrielle Union opened up about her personal journey in her book, “We’re Going to Need More Wine.” The actress shared that she suffered from 8 to 9 miscarriages and tried out every possible way to get pregnant. She shared that for three years, she was always trying to get pregnant, and throughout that time, she was either starting a new IVF cycle, was in the middle of one, or just completing it. The actress finally welcomed her daughter via surrogacy in 2018.
Courteney Cox
Courteney Cox suffered from fertility issues and had multiple miscarriages due to it. The FRIENDS actress talked about her miscarriages to People Magazine in 2004, sharing how it was easy for her to get pregnant but hard to maintain it. She also talked about how she had tried out IVF as well and how grateful she was to finally be able to welcome her first child into the world. Courteney was blessed with a baby girl, Coco Riley, in June 2004.
Kathie Lee Gifford
Kathie Lee Gifford shared the sad news of her miscarriage with the world in 1992 on “Live with Regis and Kathie Lee.” Kathie further shared about the heartbreak she has gone through after losing her baby.
Jamie Otis
On October 15, 2022, Jamie Otis paid tribute to her first son, Johnathan, via a post on Instagram. The Married At First Sight star lost her baby boy due to a miscarriage at 17 weeks and shared the several emotions she was feeling due to her miscarriage on pregnancy and infancy loss awareness day. Jamie also wrote about how much she missed her son and can feel his presence. She also shared in the caption how she is unable to understand why he did not survive the pregnancy and cannot wait to hold him one day.
Jessie J
Jessie J went through a miscarriage all alone in 2021. The Bang Bang singer was single at the time and months later revealed the cause of her miscarriage and everything she experienced due to it on The Diary of a CEO with Steven Bartlett.
Jessie J said, “I knew that the reason it happened was because I wasn’t supposed to do it alone. … I’m supposed to find someone that wants this as much as I do.”
Moreover, the singer also shared that earlier that day, she felt nauseous and as if something in her had changed. She visited the doctor, who performed an imaging test and revealed to the singer that she had suffered a miscarriage. In May 2023, she gave birth to a healthy baby boy.
Nicole Kidman
Nicole Kidman opened up about her struggles with motherhood at Vanity Fair in 2007, revealing how she wanted to become a mother as soon as Tom and she were married. However, when the couple did get pregnant, they went through a miscarriage very early on in the pregnancy, which resulted in them adopting a beautiful little girl, Bella.
Britney Spears
On May 15, 2022, Britney Spears took to Instagram to share a heartbreaking news with her fans. In the post, the singer revealed that she had a miscarriage and lost her miracle baby very early on in the pregnancy. She wrote, “It is with our deepest sadness that we have to announce that we have lost our miracle baby early in the pregnancy. This is a devastating time for any parent.”
Britney also shared the reason behind her then-husband Sam Asghari and her making the pregnancy announcement so soon. Britney said that they were excited to become parents and could not hold themselves back from sharing the news. She requested everyone to respect their privacy in this difficult time as her husband, and she tried to recover. The couple parted ways in August 2023.
Shawn Johnson
Mother to three healthy kids today, Shawn Johnson’s journey to motherhood was not easy. The Olympic gymnast shared her harrowing experience of suffering from a miscarriage for People magazine in June 2018.
Shawn shared how she felt like the happiest person in the world when she learned about her pregnancy. She felt like the baby was God’s miracle, telling her that she could still be blessed with a baby even after everything she had made her body go through. Shawn decided to keep the happy news from her husband, Andrew East, as he was away for the time being, and she wanted to tell him the news in person. Unfortunately, the very next day, Shawn miscarried and went into a spiral of guilty thoughts. She felt that she could not be a good parent ever as she could not even take care of her baby for one week. She felt guilty for losing her baby eight weeks into the pregnancy and depriving Anrew of his child.
Nancy Kerrigan
Nancy Kerrigan’s journey to becoming a mother of three has been far from easy, as the former Olympian has had six miscarriages. Each miscarriage was hard and broke Nancy as she watched her son’s expectations rise for a sibling and then shatter.
Alicia Vikander
Although Alicia Vikander has a happy and healthy family today, the journey towards it was painful and difficult. The Oscar-winning actress shared that she had a miscarriage before the birth of her first baby with husband Michael Fassbender in an interview with The Times. The actress revealed that she tried to get pregnant for quite some time, especially during the lockdown, before successfully having her first baby.
Alicia also shared how she was a little hesitant to share her journey towards motherhood. Still, she realized how many women experience miscarriages and that it would be right to speak up about them. Furthermore, she also revealed how her miscarriage led her to understand her role better in The Light Between Oceans, released in 2016, as Alicia’s character experiences two miscarriages in it.
Meghan Markle
The Duchess of Sussex opened up in an op-ed article for The New York Times in November 2020 regarding her miscarriage. She shared how she experienced the miscarriage while she had her son, Archie, in her arms.
Meghan wrote, “After changing his diaper, I felt a sharp cramp. I dropped to the floor with him in my arms, humming a lullaby to keep us both calm, the cheerful tune a stark contrast to my sense that something was not right. I knew, as I clutched my firstborn child, that I was losing my second.”
The Duchess further shared how the loss of their second child broke the hearts of both her husband, Prince Harry, and herself. She further shared the importance of looking after your loved ones in such difficult times. In 2021, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex welcomed their daughter Lilibet.
Sharon Stone
Sharon Stone is another celebrity who had a miscarriage. In fact, she did not have one or two miscarriages but nine miscarriages, and she confirmed them herself through a comment on People magazine’s Instagram post featuring Peta Murgatroyd and her miscarriage.
Sharon shared how women often do not talk about their loss or the emotional and physical pain that comes along with it. She further shared how women are made to feel as if they have failed and the pregnancy loss must be kept hidden even though, at the time, women are in need of help, love, and support.
Tori Amos
Tori Amos also suffered from a miscarriage, and the singer channeled her emotions into her music. After the miscarriage, she was angry and sad and wondered why she lost her baby.
Whitney Houston
Whitney Houston went through several heartbreaking miscarriages in her life. During a 1993 interview with Barbara Walters, she opened up about one that happened while she was working on The Bodyguard.
“It was so painful, both emotionally and physically,” Houston explained. “I had to return to the set the very next day, and that was it. But a year later, I was blessed with Bobbi Kristina.”
Lily Allen
Lilly Allen is another celebrity on our list of celebrities who had a miscarriage. The singer has had two miscarriages, and she had a hard time coming to terms with it. According to The Telegraph, Lilly Allen got pregnant in 2007 and had her first miscarriage, which she did not deal with initially. The singer started experiencing a whirlwind of emotions once the baby’s due date was near. She said, “I didn’t even start beginning to deal with it until the baby’s due date. Then it just hit me like a house collapsing. The week before the due date, all I wanted to do was talk about my baby, but I also felt I shouldn’t.”
The Hard Out Here singer once again had a miscarriage in 2010. This time, she was six months into her pregnancy and completely heartbroken. She even wrote a song, Something’s Not Right, in the loving memory of her stillborn son. Today, Allen is a mother of two beautiful daughters, Ethel and Marnie, who she had with her ex-husband Sam Cooper.
Jane Seymour
Jane Seymour has also suffered a miscarriage. She shared with Entertainment Tonight that she had a miscarriage at work while she was live announcing the Rose Parade. Moreover, she did not disclose that she had miscarried to anyone at the time.
Wendy Williams
Wendy Williams got candid about her journey to motherhood and all that she had to endure to have her son, Kevin Jr., in a PBS special “American Masters: The Women’s List.”
The talk show host shared that she had multiple miscarriages, saying, “I suffered several miscarriages including two at five months. That’s when you have the clothes already picked out, the nursery is already painted. They ask you do you want a funeral or do you want the cremation.”
Wendy further shared that she is happy with having only one child even though she would have loved to have more, as her only child is no less than a blessing.
Giuliana Rancic
Guiliana Rancic is another celebrity in our list of 46 celebrities who had a miscarriage. The talk show host got candid in her interview with People, revealing that she miscarried a nine-week pregnancy in 2010.
The couple decided to reveal the heartbreaking news to the public to help everyone understand that miscarriages are nothing to be embarrassed of. They are something many women experience and, hence, should not be considered a taboo subject.
Eva Amurri Martino
Eva Amurri Martino shared that she had a miscarriage in her blog Happily Eva After just a few days after it happened. She was nine weeks pregnant at the time and found out that her baby was no more during a routine ultrasound when the baby’s heartbeat could not be detected.
Eva mentioned the reason behind her opening up about the miscarriage in her post by saying, “I am sharing in the hopes that we can be a light for people going through similar circumstances, and to remind myself and others that there is no shame in voicing our heartbreaks and allowing others to comfort us.”
Eva revealed the shocking fact she found out at the doctor’s office. According to Eva’s doctor, miscarriages are extremely common, but women do not openly talk about them often. Eva further continued that maybe women did not like talking about their miscarriage because they were too hurt or maybe because they were ashamed.
Halsey
In 2016, Halsey opened up to Rolling Stone about the several ups and downs she has faced in her life. One of the biggest lows the singer had experienced was a miscarriage on tour. She shared how she felt the miscarriage was entirely her fault, saying, “I beat myself up for it because I think that the reason it happened is just the lifestyle I was living.”
Halsey further shared that she did not drink or do drugs during her pregnancy, and they were not the reason behind her miscarriage. The main reason behind the miscarriage was her burning herself out. She revealed that she worked a lot during the pregnancy and would be in the hospital every now and then because she was “dehydrated” and “anemic.”
Tiffany Haddish
Tiffany Haddish was born with a heart-shaped uterus instead of the normal pear shape. According to her 2023 interview with the Washington Post, due to this congenital abnormality, the Girls Trip actress went through eight miscarriages. She revealed in her interview that her uterus was unable to keep a baby and how she did not want to talk about her fertility struggle initially because she wanted people to see her as Tiffany Haddish herself instead of someone who they pitied.
Christie Brinkley
Christie Brinkley was one of the first celebrities who opened up about their miscarriages. According to her 1998 interview with Good Housekeeping, the model has had three miscarriages. She revealed in her interview how she was okay after her first miscarriage and thought that maybe this pregnancy did not last for good. But, after she had a miscarriage for the second time, Christie felt heartbroken. She could not wrap her mind around the idea that her pregnancy of four months did not survive.
Carrie Underwood
The American Idol winner, Carrie Underwood, got candid in her interview with CBS Sunday Morning in 2018 and revealed some of the biggest lows of her life. The country music singer shared that she had suffered through three miscarriages in the past two years. Carrie revealed that she had planned 2017 to be the year when she would work on new music and also get pregnant with a second baby. However, fate had something else planned for her as she got pregnant in early 2017 but miscarried. She gave it another try and got pregnant in spring 2017, only to have another miscarriage. Then, she got pregnant in early 2018, but unfortunately, she miscarried once again. Fortunately, the fourth time was a charm for the singer as she got pregnant and gave birth to her second baby boy, Jacob, in early 2019.
Tamar Braxton
Tamar Braxton opened up about her miscarriage in an episode of Braxton Family Values. The singer revealed that she was so heartbroken after the pregnancy loss that she did not think she could get out of bed. She finally mustered up the courage to get out of her bed after a few weeks.
Hilarie Burton
Hilarie Burton shared that she had a miscarriage in her memoir The Rural Diaries. The actress revealed to People Magazine that the couple had tried for a year and a half before they got pregnant, and hence, finding out that the baby was no more was very difficult. She shared that due to the miscarriage and fertility problems, her marriage with Dean Morgan suffered as it brought on the worst side of her and even made her husband distant. Hilary said that she “took on so much guilt” after the loss. Fortunately, the couple managed to sort out their issues and welcomed a baby girl named George Virginia Morgan in 2018.
Loni Love
Famous talk show host Loni Laura revealed why she decided never to get pregnant ever on The Real. The talk show host shared that she had an unplanned pregnancy in her 20s, which she was excited about. Loni shared that she had a lot of love for the baby, but unfortunately, she suffered from a miscarriage. Since then, Loni has made sure that she never got pregnant, as she does not want to risk losing another baby and breaking her heart.
Barbara Walters
Barbara Walters has had multiple miscarriages, due to which she finally adopted a daughter whose name is Jacqueline Barbara Walters.
Kate Mara
Kate Mara and her husband, Jamie Bell, had a miscarriage before welcoming their babygirl. The House of Cards actress took a pregnancy strip test to find out the happy news that she was pregnant. But, when she visited the doctor, Kate Mara was given the heartbreaking news that her doctor could not locate the embryo.
According to Mara’s doctor, she had something called as a blighted ovum which meant that the actress had already miscarried and a gestational sac without any embryo still had to leave her body. Mara was prescribed medications to help her fully miscarry but they did not work properly and it took three months for Mara to completely empty out her uterus. Since then, Mara has welcomed two healthy kids in her life.
Clay and Jessica Walker
Clay Walker shared the heartbreaking news of his wife, Jessica Walker, suffering a miscarriage in his interview with People in April 2023. The country singer shared that the couple was expecting their sixth baby when, at 20 weeks of pregnancy, his wife had a miscarriage. He further shared how helpless one feels after having a miscarriage, saying, “I just don’t know how moms make it through the rest of their lives with that kind of pain. … As a husband and a father, not being able to do anything about it, not being able to protect my wife’s feelings or the baby, sucks.”
Alanis Morissette
On Dax Shephard’s podcast, Armchair Expert Alanis Morissette was candid about her struggles growing her family. The Canadian singer-songwriter shared that the process of having three kids was not smooth, and she experienced a few miscarriages and even had a molar pregnancy, which is basically an unviable fertilized egg that implants into the uterus. Alanis further said that no matter how many hiccups came in her way while growing her family, she did not lose hope and by the end of the day was always willing to give it another try.
Beyoncé
Before becoming the mother of two adorable kids, Beyoncé had a miscarriage, which she opened up about in her HBO documentary, “Life is But a Dream.” The Lemonade singer revealed in the documentary how excited she was when she found out about the pregnancy and spoke about the maternal instincts that came with it. She shared how the baby’s heartbeat was the best music she had ever heard, and so, when in one of the appointments with the doctor she found out that there was no heartbeat anymore, she felt heartbroken and went to the studio to write the saddest song she had ever written.
Valerie Bertinelli
Valerie Bertinelli is another celebrity in our list of 46 celebrities who had a miscarriage. The One Day at a Time actress went through a heartbreaking miscarriage in 1987.
Jennifer Lawrence
Jennifer Lawrence has had two miscarriages in very different timelines before welcoming her baby boy, Cy, with her husband, Cooke Maroney, in February 2022. The Hunger Games actress shared details of her miscarriages with Vogue in October 2022, saying that her first miscarriage was when she was in her early twenties in Montreal. The award-winning actress shared that although she was planning to have an abortion and end the pregnancy, it was her decision to make.
She further revealed that she got pregnant again while shooting for her movie Don’t Look Up with her husband, Cooke Maroney. The couple had planned to continue with the pregnancy and wanted to be parents, but the actress miscarried once again. This time, she also needed to go through a D&C, a procedure to remove tissue from the uterus to avoid sepsis.
Pink
The phenomenal singer Pink announced her pregnancy in 2010 while on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. The Just Give Me A Reason singer shared that she did not announce her pregnancy earlier as she was scared because of a miscarriage she suffered from in the past.
Jeannie Mai
Jeannie Mai suffered a miscarriage just sometime before her marriage with rapper Jeezy in 2021. She initially thought that she miscarried because she always thought that she would not have any kids and had somehow managed to jinx her pregnancy because of it.
The former co-host of The Real felt guilty for the loss, but she soon became pregnant once again and gave birth to a beautiful baby girl in 2022. The couple eventually parted ways in 2023, with Jeezy filing for divorce in September 2023.
James and Kimberly Van Der Beek
According to CNN, in November 2019, Dawson’s Creek star James Van Der Beek shared some heartbreaking news on Dancing With the Stars. He shared that his wife, Kimberly, had tragically suffered a miscarriage at 17 weeks.
“It’s every expectant parent’s worst nightmare. We lost the baby,” he said. “It brings you closer together. It breaks you open, but it also opens up your heart and deepens your appreciation.” That night, he danced in honor of his wife and their loss.
After another pregnancy loss, the Van Der Beeks joyfully welcomed their sixth child in October 2021.
Ali Wong
Ali Wong is a famous comedian who uses her life experiences as a part of her comedy routine. In 2016, she spoke to The Guardian about her pregnancy with twins, which ended as a miscarriage as it helped her deal with it. Ali said that she preferred talking about her experience and hearing other women share their stories as well, as it helped her feel less guilty. She said that she knew the statistics of miscarriages, but that did not really help her out. What really helped her was to put faces to those statistics and realize that miscarriages cannot be controlled.
Mary Tyler Moore
Mary Tyler Moore opened up about her miscarriage In her 2019 book Growing Up Again: Life, Loves, and Oh Yeah, Diabetes. In her book, Mary shared how excited her ex-husband, Grant Tinker, and she were when they found out they were expecting a baby. They talked about the baby, with others referring to it as a “production of another sort.” However, within six weeks, the couple found out that Mary had miscarried.
Lisa Ling
Lisa Ling was honest about her first pregnancy, which ended up with a miscarriage on The View in 2010. She shared how she felt “like a failure” for being unable to carry out the pregnancy to full term and had not felt that low in a long time. She further shared what she felt like when the doctor shared with her that there was no heartbeat anymore and how it shattered her heart.
Brooke Shields
Brooke Shields had one of the most traumatizing miscarriages, and she shared the story in her memoir, Down Came the Rain. The actress revealed that she discovered she had a miscarriage just before she was about to go on stage with Kermit the Frog.
Ashley Williams
To empower women and show her support towards women who have had a miscarriage, Ashley Williams shared the story of her miscarriage for the Human Development Project. The actress wanted to reach out to women going through a similar painful experience and show them they are not alone.
In her essay, she shared that she suffered a miscarriage while she was with her son, Gus, at Whole Foods shopping. The How I Met Your Mother actress felt something on her left leg out of the blue, and when she checked, it was blood, implying that her pregnancy had just come to an end. Her son was two years old at the time and asked his mom what was on her hands. She replied by saying that an emergency had occurred.
After her miscarriage, Ashley found out how common miscarriages were as her several friends had suffered through the same. She then looked into the subject and discovered that according to the American Pregnancy Association, 10 to 25 percent of confirmed pregnancies do not reach full term and end up in miscarriages. This new information stunned the actress, considering how rarely anyone talks about it.
Sophia Loren
In her 2014 memoir, Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow, the legendary Sophia Loren shared her painful experience of going through two miscarriages. Reflecting on the moment, she remembered her doctor’s harsh and unempathetic reaction, saying, “His hurtful words crushed all my hopes, leaving me feeling helpless, empty, and incredibly inadequate.”
Céline Dion
Céline Dion has suffered not one or two miscarriages but around five miscarriages before welcoming her twins, Nelson and Eddy, in 2010. The “My Heart Will Go On” singer announced her second pregnancy after her Las Vegas residency in 2007 but soon had a miscarriage. The singer then tried to get pregnant multiple times through IVF but failed. Finally, after five tries at getting pregnant, Céline got pregnant with triplets (one of the triplets passed away during the pregnancy) in 2010.
