Sarah Jessica Parker is a mother to three beautiful children, including twin daughters whom she welcomed via surrogate.
Actress Sarah Jessica Parker began her motherhood journey when she welcomed son James Broderick in 2002. Several years later, the actress had another taste of motherhood, welcoming her twin daughters Tabitha Hodge Broderick and Marion Loretta Broderick in 2009.
The arrival of her twins spotlighted discussions about IVF and other assisted means of conceiving or having kids. Notably, when she birthed her daughters, Sarah Jessica Parker was already 44. Hence, she had little or no chance of conceiving naturally.
The actress has been open about her long struggle with infertility and how medical advancements in the childbearing process eventually came to the rescue. Today, Parker is a proud mom to three beautiful kids and a talented actress.
Let’s explore her motherhood journey and the reasoning behind one of her most life-changing decisions.
Did Sarah Jessica Conceive Her Children Naturally?
Although a mother to three children, Sarah Jessica Parker only carried one of her children, James Broderick, to term. The other two, she conceived using a surrogate mom after a daunting fertility struggle and several failed IVFs. She said at the time:
“We tried and tried and tried and tried to get pregnant. It just was not to be. I would give birth… If I could.”
Despite welcoming her twins via surrogate, the star has forged a deep connection with them through the years, being their mom in every way. Such a turn of events has, in the long run, encouraged more people, even celebs, to turn to artificial insemination and speak up about their infertility struggles.
Everything Sarah Jessica Parker Has Said About Her Decision To Have Children Via Surrogate
For Sarah Jessica Parker, her decision to enlist a surrogate to bear her youngest children did not come easily. The star once admitted if she could have children of her own, having a surrogate carry her kids would have been an odd, complicated decision to make.
On why she chose the surrogate route, Parker once admitted:
“We’ve been trying to expand our family for a number of years, and we actually have explored a variety of ways of doing so. This was one of the things we discussed with seriousness that had real possibilities for us.”
The couple followed their intuition and opted for surrogacy. Sarah Jessica Parker’s husband, Matthew Broderick, found her the ideal surrogate, Michelle Ross.
For privacy reasons, the couple was forced to keep the news a secret. According to Parker, their months of staying silent nearly drove her insane. She divulged:
“We couldn’t talk about the fact that we had children for so long. All the stuff that mattered is secretive and worrisome. You can’t talk about how you feel or the woman who’s carrying your children.”
The “Sex and the City” star and her husband eventually broke the news in April 2009. As predicted, the privacy of their surrogate became jeopardized, leaving the couple fearing for the safety of their unborn kids.
Parker criticized the invasion of Ross’ privacy, including having her phone and computer hacked, receiving threats, and facing physical harassment. Additionally, some of Ross’ friends also faced threats, including a pregnant friend who got chased by the paps mistaking her for Ross.
SJP Helped Her Son Warm Up To The Idea
As the media went wild in the weeks leading to the birth of her children, Sarah Jessica Parker gradually prepared her son for the change ahead.
She informed him about the new arrivals and managed to get the boy excited enough to groom himself ahead, so he could “look handsome when he met his sisters.”
Having grown up with seven siblings, Parker understood what it meant to share one’s parents with others. Hence, she made it a priority to make her older son comfortable with the idea. After all, the goal was to build a strong, united family, another contributing factor to Parker’s decision. She once divulged:
“I didn’t want him to have to shoulder the burden of us later in life by himself.”
When the twins arrived, it turned out all the preparations and long battles were worth it in the end. Today Tabitha and Marion are energetic teenagers, basking in their mom’s success amid several red-carpet appearances.