TV Pregnancies: How Stars Worked Around Their Baby Bumps

Credit: Michael Ansell/ABC; Mark Mainz/Getty Images; Tyler Golden/The CW; Nicole Wilder/ABC

TV Pregnancies: How Stars Worked Around Their Baby Bumps

Making it work! Over the years, TV stars including Rachel Bilson, Kerry Washington and more had to strategically hide their baby bumps on television while they were pregnant. In May 2014, Us Weekly broke the news that Bilson was expecting her first child with Hayden Christensen. While filming the fourth and final season of The CW's Hart of Dixie, the actress originally hid her baby bump before the series altered the story so her character Zoe Hart could get pregnant with Wade Kinsella (Wilson Bethel). Bilson's costar Jaime King gushed about getting to see her friend prepare for motherhood. "I was freaking out! I knew she wanted a baby, she wanted it so badly," the model exclusively told Us that same month. "I think because I was the first one pregnant on the series she got to see a lot of what that was like. Her best friend has a kid and she has a lot of friends with children, so I'm just there to support her however I can and honor and respect her processes." King, who played Lemon Breeland in Hart of Dixie, reflected on her own attempts to hide her baby bump on set. "I shot until the day before I gave birth, literally, then went back six weeks later — it was gnarly!" she shared at the time. "But the blessing was by doing what I love to do it kept me distracted and it kept me active and healthy." The Nebraska native added: "We're not doing that with Rachel, I think we're going to have more time before. I feel like it's a really celebratory time. I'm really thrilled and happy that she's going to be on this next journey of her life." After Hart of Dixie got a shortened episode order for season 4, it was announced that the series was canceled. Bilson later addressed fan claims that she was the reason why the long-running show came to an end. "Missing the #zoehart #hartofdixie days, especially this outfit and this lady. Just wanted to clear something up, the cancellation of HOD had nothing to do with me or my pregnancy. I loved my show and loved playing Zoe Hart, thanks to everyone who watched," she wrote via Instagram in 2015. Scroll down for more celebrity moms who hid their baby bumps on set: [podcast_block]

Credit: Courtesy of Gina Rodriguez/Instagram

Gina Rodriguez

During a panel at the Television Critics Association Press Tour in January 2023, Rodriguez opened up about how Not Dead Yet worked around her pregnancy.

"It's my first time experiencing this, and they've been so loving and supportive of me, you know, accidentally getting pregnant right before the show started," she shared at the time. "Me and my husband are obviously very excited about it, but it definitely wasn't planned."

The Jane the Virgin alum, who is married to Joe LoCicero, credited executive producer Dean Holland for making her feel "very comfortable" on set. "So he helped all the directors come up with very creative ways to either cover the belly, whether it was costumes or my cubicle, or a plant or refrigerator," she continued. "I'll never forget, because each day I felt like, 'I'm so big, I can't imagine hiding [this]' and now I look back and I'm like, 'That was nothing.' I was so afraid."

Credit: Michael Ansell/ABC

Kerry Washington

The Scandal actress had to hide behind her character's go-to cream and petal pink-colored coats during her first pregnancy on the ABC series' third season in 2014.

"I was going through this amazing physical transition, this physical journey of having a baby, that my character was not going through," Washington, who shares two kids with husband Nnamdi Asomugha, told The Hollywood Reporter at the time. "It was tough for me to even maintain Olivia's walk because of the changes."

Credit: Michael Desmond/Showtime

Kristen Bell

The Good Place alum filmed several scenes with House of Lies costar Don Cheadle while rocking a baby bump in 2012. She even had to film a sex scene with Adam Brody in the second season at 7-months pregnant.

"Now I can forever look at my daughter and say, 'Oh you were present for that,'" Bell, who shares daughters Lincoln and Delta with Dax Shepard, joked during an interview with Conan O'Brien after welcoming her eldest child.

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Rachel Bilson

In May 2014, Us broke the news that the O.C. alum was pregnant with her first child. Production on season 4 of Hart of Dixie was later shortened to 10 episodes to accommodate her pregnancy.

Bilson welcomed Briar with now ex-husband Christensen later that year.

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Hayden Panettiere

Before filming started on season 3 of Nashville, Panettiere confirmed that she was expecting her first child with Wladimir Klitschko.

"We are going to address the idea of pregnancy. That's as much as I'll say about that," executive producer Dee Johnson told TV Guide in 2014, referring to Panettiere's character Juliette Barnes. "She's faced with new obstacles, let's put it that way."

The Scream actress gave birth to daughter Kaya in December 2014. Panettiere and Klitschko later pulled the plug on their romance.

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Sarah Jessica Parker

Carrie Bradshaw kept it fashionable in a designer maternity wardrobe when Parker was pregnant in real life during Sex and the City's fifth season in 2002. Production was also shortened from 13 to eight episodes.

Parker shares kids James, Marion and Tabitha with husband Matthew Broderick.

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Claire Danes

Carrie Mathison had to hide more than just her identity in Homeland's second season in 2012. The actress was expecting her first child with husband Hugh Dancy at the time.

"They haven't written it in, but they'll be able to manipulate it in post and do some CGI trickery and make Carrie not so pregnant," she told Kelly Ripa in an interview.

The couple welcomed son Cyrus in 2012 and son Rowan in 2018.

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Debra Messing

Messing got pregnant during Will & Grace's sixth season in 2003. Though the show tried to hide her baby bump with towels and bags, the New York native skipped the final four episodes at 8-months pregnant.

She welcomed son Roman with Daniel Zelman in 2004. The duo called it quits in 2016 after nearly two decades of marriage.

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Ellen Pompeo

Grey's Anatomy did not film the actress anywhere from the neck down when she was pregnant in its sixth season in 2009. A storyline was later written in of her character Dr. Meredith Grey donating part of her liver to her estranged father in order for Pompeo to start maternity leave.

Off screen, the Law & Order alum shares three kids with husband Chris Ivery.

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Lisa Kudrow

Kudrow's pregnancy was written into the fourth and fifth seasons of Friends in the late '90s. Her character gave birth to triplets as a surrogate mother for her brother Frank and his wife Alice.

The Emmy winner, for her part, shares son Julian with husband Michel Stern.

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Jaime King

The model was noticeably pregnant during season 3 of the CW series Hart of Dixie in 2013 and left a few episodes early for maternity leave as her character went to stay with her grandmother.

"I shot until the day before I gave birth, literally, then went back six weeks later…it was gnarly!" she told Us at the time. "I felt safer being on set because I knew if anything were to happen, my crew and cast would take care of me."

King shares sons Leo and James with estranged husband Kyle Newman.

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Julie Bowen

Bowen was pregnant with twins while filming Modern Family's pilot in 2009. The multi-Emmy Award winning ABC series tried its best to hide her pregnancy before the Maryland native gave birth to twins that same year.

The Horrible Bosses star and ex-husband Scott Phillips share sons Oliver, John and Gustav.

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Courteney Cox

Cox's Friends character Monica Geller was unable to conceive a child and opted for adoption. In real life, however, Cox taped the series finale in 2004 while she was four months pregnant with then-husband David Arquette.

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Julia Louis-Dreyfus

The Veep star's character Elaine wore oversized shirts and held props in front of her stomach when the actress was pregnant in Seinfeld's third season in 1991. Louis-Dreyfus repeated the technique when she got pregnant in season 8.

(The New York native shares two kids with Brad Hall.)

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Alyssa Milano

For the Charmed alum, concealing her growing baby bump proved to be difficult while filming sexy scenes in season 2 of Mistresses.

"Hiding the pregnancy is kind of always like a Saturday Night Live skit," the former child star, who shares two kids with husband David Bugliari, told Entertainment Tonight in 2014. "My purses just keep getting bigger and bigger and bigger."

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Phylicia Rashad

Rashad's character Claire Huxtable was pregnant during season 3 of The Cosby Show. She hid her growing baby bump with oversized '80s outfits and hid behind elevated tables and large props.