It’s always exciting when celebrities let their fans in on the news that they are expecting a baby. Announcing a pregnancy is such a milestone moment, and while we love a good sonogram photo on social media, or seeing siblings dressed in “Big Brother/Big Sister” shirts, some expecting couples have really gone the extra mile to fully embrace the moment. This year we’ve already seen a couple of celebrity pregnancy announcements that were nothing short of epic — Rihanna used the Super Bowl halftime show to debut her bump for god’s sake — so here we’ll look back at a few of the best.
Baby announcements can inject a bright spot onto the timelines of pop culture followers, allowing us to bask in the joy and love of the parents-to-be. Most people only get a few opportunities in their lives to let the world know of an impending bundle of joy, so we appreciate the extra effort that these celebrities put into their big reveals.
Rihanna Debuts Baby Bump During Super Bowl Halftime Show
There is simply no bigger stage than the Super Bowl, and Rihanna took full advantage of her moment as the headliner of the Super Bowl LVII halftime show. Just nine months after welcoming her first child with A$AP Rocky, the “Umbrella” singer kicked off her performance by debuting the bump that was Baby No. 2. The Internet went wild, as Rihanna belted “Bitch Better Have My Money” from a platform suspended high above the football field. I don’t know how many more ways there are to say “iconic.”
Kourtney Kardashian’s Blink 182 Concert Reveal
Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker were open with fans about their desire to start a family, and their struggle with infertility, including unsuccessful IVF attempts, was documented on The Kardashians. The Poosh founder didn’t need to go the extra mile to make her pregnancy announcement a huge celebratory deal — but she did anyway.
During one of Barker’s concerts with Blink 182, Kardashian held up a sign that read, “Travis I’m Pregnant,” stopping the show long enough for the drummer to go into the audience to kiss his wife. The sign was a throwback to the band’s 1999 music video for “All the Small Things,” which was the perfect way to let the world in on their good news.
Keke Palmer Surprises Saturday Night Live Viewers
Anything can happen on live TV, and those who tuned in to Saturday Night Live on December 22, 2022, were treated to a surprise pregnancy reveal during Keke Palmer’s monologue. The Nope star appeared in a buttoned-up, floor-length coat and said she wanted to take the opportunity to address certain rumors. In her words:
I’m especially glad to be here though, because there’s some rumors going around. People have been in my comments saying, ‘Keke’s having a baby,’ ‘Keke’s pregnant,’ and I want to set the record straight. I am!
The actress whipped open her jacket to reveal her bump, gushing over the fact that, “I’m gonna be a mom!” Two months after her big SNL moment, Keke Palmer gave birth to Leodis Andrellton Jackson, her first child with Darius Jackson, her partner of two years.
Prince Harry And Meghan Markle Honor Princess Diana With Valentine’s Day Reveal
Valentine’s Day is a day for love, so the occasion was definitely appropriate for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle to announce that they were expecting their second child back in 2021. However, going public on that day had special meaning for the Duke of Sussex. On February 14, 1984 — 37 years to the day of Harry and Meghan’s announcement — Princess Diana and now-King Charles III revealed that they were expecting their own second child (who, of course, was Harry).
It wasn’t just the pregnancy announcement that honored Harry’s late mother. When Harry and Meghan’s daughter was born that June, they named her Lilibet Diana Mountbatten-Windsor.
Tan France Does It For The Dads
Who says moms should get to have all the fun? Queer Eye’s Tan France announced that he and husband Rob were expecting their first child via surrogate in a genius Instagram photo. The fashion guru cradled his “bump,” a.k.a. sonogram photo, as he said this was something the couple had been wanting for many years:
The way he so modestly covers his bare chest is everything! Their son was born in July 2021, and two years later, in May of 2023, Tan and Rob France announced that they had welcomed a second baby boy, who “completes our little family perfectly,” Tan said.
Kel Mitchell Celebrates His Wife’s Bun In The Oven
Look, if you’re known for playing an employee at a fast food burger restaurant, you simply cannot pass up the opportunity for a good “bun in the oven” joke. Kel Mitchell of Good Burger fame and his wife, Asia Lee, fully understood the assignment when they announced that they were expecting their first baby (Mitchell’s third) back in 2017:
Those of us who grew up in the ‘90s can fully appreciate the references to Kel Mitchell’s famous All That sketch with Kenan Thompson. Good Burger 2 is expected to hit Paramount+ later this year, but it didn’t take that long for Mitchell and Lee to make their own sequel, welcoming their second baby together in 2020.
Alanis Morissette Creates A Music Video To Announce Baby No. 2
In many of these classic pregnancy announcements, the celebrities lean into what they are known for, or they use their creative talents in the best way. The artist certainly came out in Alanis Morissette with how she revealed she was expecting her second child with Mario "Souleye" Treadway. Using a song she'd recorded ahead of their son's birth in 2010, the "Ironic" singer surprised her husband with a music video that ended with their family of three looking at sonogram photos:
What a creative way to announce such happy news!
It's so heart-warming to see the joy that goes into couples' pregnancy announcements, be it on live TV, social media, or elsewhere. It's such a treat for their fans, too, to be allowed into such a big moment for these celebrities and their families. The above reveals are some of the most epic announcements in recent years, and I can't wait to see what the future holds.
