As most parents would say, pregnancy rarely goes as planned. From the funny food cravings and new aisles to discover in the store to the natural stress that enters into one's day-to-day life, pregnancy comes with a laundry list of challenges. One aspect a pregnant individual should not have to worry about is whether they will continue on in their place of work. Thanks to The Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978, a pregnant individual cannot be treated unfavorably in regard to their employment; this includes but is not limited to their hiring, firing, or pay. For a typical pregnant person in the workforce, this law makes absolute sense. However, when an actor is under a contract to look a certain way in front of a camera or audience, the lines begin to blur.
Hollywood is notorious for nitpicking and finding the perfect actors to fit certain roles in television shows. Because the employee ends up on-screen portraying a character that was created by the mighty pen, their looks are pertinent in the decision-making process. It is simple to ask an actor to gain or lose weight, change their hair color and style, put on different clothes, and adopt different mannerisms. It is not so easy to ask a pregnant person to not look so pregnant when the script did not call for such an event. When nature happens, and an actor becomes pregnant, it sends the writers into a whirlwind of what to do. They can choose to write the pregnancy into the script or hide it altogether. What they cannot do is give the character a smaller role to play or fire them. Check out what writers did with ten well known actresses during their times of pregnancy.
10 Lucille Ball — Scripted (I Love Lucy)
While Lucille Ball was not the first actress to ever get pregnant, she was one of the first to proudly have her pregnancy incorporated into her character's storyline. Having Ball's pregnancy deliberately written into I Love Lucy was a risky move in the early-1950s because it let on that America's on-screen sweetheart couple, who slept in separate beds at the time, had sex. Writers had to be very strategic with how they created dialogue for Ball's pregnancy. They could use the term "expecting" likely because it referred to Ricky Ricardo (Desi Arnaz) as well as Lucy, but to say "pregnant" was not appropriate for television. Lucky for the cast and crew, audiences loved the concept of Ricky and Lucy having to prepare for their newborn. Ball's on-screen pregnancy paralleled her real pregnancy so much that she was scheduled for a C-section the same day "Lucy Goes to the Hospital" aired. Ball got the ball rolling (no pun intended) with family dynamics in the television industry.
9 Alyson Hannigan — Hidden (How I Met Your Mother)
During the shooting of season 4 of How I Met Your Mother, both Hannigan (Lily) and Cobie Smulders (Robin) had to hide their pregnancies on-screen. Luckily for the women, their characters tend to do a lot of sitting at the bar, at work, and on the couch in the infamous apartment. It became almost comical for the two to carry large items and strategically sit in front of items that would block the camera from their growing bellies. Hannigan's baby bump did make its appearance during the scene where she wins a hotdog eating contest. After Lily scarfs down 29 hotdogs, she pops up with her hands above her head in victory only to realize her shirt has significantly stretched over her waistband. Hannigan got pregnant later on in the series, but her character was on the track to having a child, so all the hiding techniques were not used.
8 Lisa Kudrow — Scripted (Friends)
One of the more famous on-screen pregnancies was that of Phoebe Buffay in the 90s sitcom, Friends. Phoebe at the time did not have a solid love interest in the show, so the writers had to get creative with her pregnancy. Luckily for them, Phoebe is meant to be a bit of a chaotic character who is down for just about anything, so when her half-brother, Frank Jr., asked her to be a surrogate for him and his wife, it did not seem too strange for Phoebe to immediately accept.
Lisa Kudrow was pregnant with her only son at the time, but Phoebe was written to have triplets. The second half of Season 4 began to center around Phoebe's pregnancy so much that she was singled out as the only member of the group who could not attend Ross' wedding in London. Kudrow actually had to stay behind on the set while the others hopped on a plane. The writers were strategic to make Phoebe a surrogate because audiences would not expect to see the babies much after she gave birth.
7 Courteney Cox — Hidden (Friends)
Unlike her co-star Kudrow, Courteney Cox had to hide her pregnancy on the set of Friends. Towards the end of season 9, it was announced that Monica and Chandler could not have children due to fertility issues on both parts. When Cox got pregnant during the shooting of season 10, the writers chose to not include her pregnancy. This became a challenge for the directors and camera crew. They would strategically place objects between the camera and Cox's stomach as well as dress her in looser clothing.
Luckily for the writers, the series was coming to a close, so there would be no questions about how to get Monica off of the set for a period of time. Cox opened up about how the fertility issues Monica had were similar to her own. She went through several miscarriages before birthing a beautiful baby girl. Call it an odd phenomenon, but audiences were ecstatic that both Monica and Cox got their happy little families.
6 Chandra Wilson — Scripted (Grey's Anatomy)
Shonda Rhimes, creator of Grey's Anatomy, has creatively dealt with a lot of real and fake pregnancies within her scripts. From storylines dealing with abortion to rewriting a real pregnancy into a character's life, Rhimes feels it is important to portray all scenarios that take place in everyday life. In Season 2, Dr. Miranda Bailey (Chandra Wilson) announced to Dr. Richard Webber that she is pregnant. By choosing to include Wilson's real pregnancy into the storyline, Rhimes was able to create an interesting scenario where Bailey's interns are left to deal with a portion of the internship without their permanent resident.
Aside from the comedy and chaos that ensues from this, a softer quality is brought to Wilson's character when she is forced to give birth without the support of her husband in the room. George, one of Bailey's interns, steps up to help with the birth. This iconic scene is a turning point for Bailey where she is vulnerable and brave all at the same time.
5 Julie Bowen — Hidden (Modern Family)
Most actors seem to already have their lead roles when they get pregnant, but Julie Bowen auditioned for Modern Family while she was visibly showing. She clearly landed the role despite her worrying. During the filming of the pilot episode, audiences will notice that Claire Dunphy is shot from the waist up, behind a counter, or has an object blocking her abdomen. Bowen at the time of filming was eight and a half months pregnant with twins.
One can imagine how creative the crew had to be with hiding Bowen's bump to ensure audiences would not expect a baby if the pilot episode spanned into a successful series. Bowen is a perfect example of talent overcoming physical expectations. Though her pregnancy was no secret during casting calls, she was still able to land a lead role.
4 Sherri Saum — Scripted (The Fosters)
The nightmare of losing a pregnancy is very real, but when it is portrayed on screen, it can easily result in negative reviews from the target audience. When Saum revealed her pregnancy while filming The Fosters, executive director Joanna Johnson was excited to elevate the character of Lena by including Saum's real pregnancy. The premise of the story is a lesbian couple, Lena and Stef, foster several children around the same age. Stef has a son from her previous marriage, and Lena wants that motherly connection to her own child.
While attention shifts towards Lena during her pregnancy on-screen, the realities of working with babies does not fit the themes of the show. Johnson, in the most respectful way possible, asked Saum if she would be willing to have Lena lose the baby. This is obviously a loaded question for an expecting mother, but Saum agreed to the storyline. While Lena lost her baby, Saum went on to have beautiful and healthy twins.
3 Ellen Pompeo — Hidden (Grey's Anatomy)
Though Meredith Grey went through two full-term pregnancies in the beloved Grey's Anatomy, Ellen Pompeo's real pregnancy during the filming of season 6 was kept hidden. Luckily for the actress, her character practically lives in scrubs, operating gowns, and a white coat. Hiding her belly through regular clothing was easy enough to do, and it did not draw attention to her pregnancy. However, when Pompeo needed to step away from the show for maternity leave, it was easily written in that Meredith was put on bed rest after donating part of her liver to her father. With the entirety of the Grey's Anatomy cast, the writers have their work cut out for them with women becoming pregnant and how to differentiate storylines.
2 Molly Ringwald — Scripted (The Secret Liffe of the American Teenager)
The irony of Rindwald's second pregnancy is that it takes place while filming The Secret Life of the American Teenager where her on-screen daughter is dealing with her own pregnancy. At the age of 40, Ringwald was expecting twins. Rather than simply try to hide the growing bump behind props, the writers figured that a mother and daughter combo pregnancy would heighten the drama within the already controversial show.
It proved to be a good idea as the show continued to follow the storylines of both characters for five seasons. Ringwald recalled in an interview that she had to speed up her set time and shoot episodes worth of screen time in a single day so that she could go on maternity leave. The realities of pregnancy can come with challenges, but Ringwald luckily had writers and directors that were supportive of what she needed both on and off the set.
1 Mandy Moore — Hidden (This Is Us)
The beauty of editing came into play when hiding Mandy Moore's baby bump in This is Us. In an interview, Milo Ventimiglia, Moore's on-screen husband, said he was nervous about having to perfectly time opening doors to block the camera's view from Moore's stomach. Instead of the typical blankets, bags, over-sized clothing, and camera angles used to hide real pregnancies, the editing team simply shrank her stomach after filming was done. Moore knew that her character, Rebecca, could not have another pregnant storyline because of the different time periods the actors and actresses were in. Imagine having to explain why a 50-something is pregnant while she deals with the troubles of her three grown children.