I’ve been working on this since I read that Lady Bird Johnson, widow of President Lyndon B. Johnson, suffered ‘several’ pregnancy losses before she went on to bear two full-term, healthy daughters. According to the White House website, she had four (some sources say three), but still it is a significant, even startling number when you consider that this was a woman with access to the best care money could buy. I knew there had to be more famous women out there who have been through this. That said, I have complied this list. I have left out several names from my original list because I have not been able to find reputable documentation of their loss(es). Please note that rumors/unsubstantiated reports/tabloid stories will not appear here.
Really, though, through my three losses to date, I was surprised at the number of celebs who have admitted to it. It’s heartening to read of so many successful, wealthy, high-profile women who no doubt have endured this grief, often multiple times. (The actress Jennifer O’Neill reportedly has suffered pregnancy loss a mind-boggling nine times.)
Some have been very public with their personal tragedies, such as Tori Amos and Courteney Cox. Others have been slighted. In my research, I’ve read that, for example, Princess Masako’s ‘stress’ associated with her position led to her miscarriage, as was her subsequent depression (tsk tsk). Some losses have been attributed to underlying health problems (Mary Tyler Moore’s investigation of her own miscarriage led to her diabetes diagnosis in her late twenties), while others have come as a possible result of damage from then-illegal abortions (Marilyn Monroe, Yoko Ono) and/or drug use (Marianne Faithfull, Courtney Love). But the fact is, perfectly healthy women have these, and we all know of diabetics, drug users and elective abortion survivors who have gone on to have live births.
That said, I wanted to put this list out there, so those of us who have had our dreams dashed know that we’re not alone. The years after the names signify the year that a single loss has occurred, while ‘multiple’ signifies more than one loss. In cases where specifically a stillbirth has been reported, I have noted that. The line underneath the names describe the celebrity’s claim to fame.
As I’ve said, this list is by no means exhaustive. If you know of any others and have a reasonable source, feel free to let me know and I’ll update it as more knowledge becomes known.
—Eve
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Originally compiled January 22, 2006 on my original blog
Last updated August 16, 2016
Lilly Allen (miscarriage 2008; stillbirth 2010)
British singer and talk show host
Kirstie Alley (miscarriage 1990)
Actress, Jenny Craig spokeswoman; ‘Miscarriage made me fat’
Tori Amos (multiple)
Singer, songwriter, activist
Pamela Anderson (miscarriage 1995)
Actress, pinup
Michele Bachmann (miscarriage)
Politician
Anita Baker (multiple)
Singer
Josephine Baker (1941 stillbirth)
Dancer, icon
Lucille Ball (multiple)
Actress, comedienne
Dawn Barlow (2012 stillbirth of daughter Poppy)
Dancer, wife of Take That singer Gary Barlow
Pat Benatar (ectopic)
Singer
Majel Barrett (multiple)
Star Trek actress
Ellin Berlin (crib death of three-week-old son on Christmas day, 1928)
Novelist, wife of 'White Christmas' composer Irving Berlin
Andrea Bernard (2004 stillbirth)
Actress, wife of Rick(y) Schroeder
Michelle Bernard (multiple)
Conservative television figure
Valerie Bertinelli (miscarriage 1986)
Actress
Cherie Blair (miscarriage 2002)
British First Lady
Mary J. Blige (miscarriage 2004?)
Singer; 'queen of hip-hop soul'
Lucrezia Borgia (two stillbirths and four miscarriages)
Renaissance figure; the Borgias are said to have been the inspiration for The Godfather
Anne Boleyn (stillborn son)
Wife of Henry VIII, mother of Elizabeth I
Joan Branson (death of four-day-old, prematurely born daughter Clare Sarah, 1979)
Wife of entrepreneur Richard Branson (Virgin Group)
Sarah Brightman (three, including one ectopic)
Classical crossover singer and theatre actress
Kelly Brook (stillbirth 2011)
British glamour model and actress
Foxy Brown (miscarriage 2003)
Rapper
Sarah Brown (death of newborn daughter, 2002)
Wife of Gordon Brown, British Prime Minister
Elizabeth Barrett Browning (multiple)
Victorian poet
Measha Brueggergosman (twins stillborn at five months, 2011)
Classical crossover singer and Canadian television personality
Barbara Bush (miscarriage 1960s)
First Lady
Jane Campion (death of 12-day-old son, 1993)
Director, The Piano
Mariah Carey (miscarriage 2008)
Singer
Vanessa Carlton (ectopic 2013)
Singer
Diahann Carroll (multiple)
Singer
Nell Carter (multiple)
Actress
Priscilla Chan (multiple)
Physician, wife of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg
Margaret Cho (miscarriage 2014 or 2015)
Comedian, actress
Merry Clayton (miscarriage 1968)
Singer; she miscarried after recording her famed background vocals on the Rolling Stones track 'Gimme Shelter,' although it is highly unlikely her singing precipitated it
Courteney Cox (miscarriage 2001)
Actress
Joan Crawford (multiple)
Actress
Doris Day (multiple)
Actress
Sandra Dee (multiple)
Actress
Natasha Stott Despoja (ectopic, 2006)
Australian senator
Diana, Princess of Wales (miscarriage, early 1980s--between William and Harry)
Icon, would-be Queen
Celine Dion (miscarriage 2009)
Singer
Barbara Eden (1961 miscarriage, 1971 stillbirth)
Actress
Linda Evangelista (1999 stillbirth)
Supermodel
Marianne Faithfull (daughter Corrina stillborn at seven months, 1968)
Singer, Rolling Stones acolyte
Connie Francis (multiple)
Singer
Bethenny Frankel (miscarriage 2011 or 2012)
Reality show personality and food entrepreneur
Deborra-Lee Furness (multiple)
Actress, wife of Hugh Jackman
Mayte Garcia-Nelson (infant)
Dancer, ex-wife of Prince
Peaches Geldof (miscarriage 2006)
Model, daughter of rocker/activist Bob Geldof
Kathie Lee Gifford (miscarriage 1992)
Talk show host
Vanessa Marcil Giovinazzo (multiple, 2011)
Actress
Robin Givens (miscarriage 1988)
Actress, ex-wife of Mike Tyson
Renee Elise Goldberry (miscarriage 2005)
Actress, Hamilton
Jane Goody (miscarriage of twins, stillbirth)
British reality show personality, cervical cancer victim
Katharine Graham (miscarriage, stillbirth)
Journalist, Washington Post publisher
Ffion Hague (multiple)
Wife of Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs William Hague (U.K.)
Linda Hamilton (miscarriage 1980s)
Actress
Audrey Hepburn (multiple)
Actress, UN Ambassador, icon
Amal Hijazi (miscarriage 2011)
Lebanese singer
Amanda Holden (miscarriage 2010, stillborn son 2011)
British actress and presenter
Xaviera Hollander (ectopic)
Sex columnist, writer, The Happy Hooker
Maria Elena Holly
Wife of rock 'n' roll pioneer Buddy Holly. When she learned of his February 3, 1959 death in a plane crash from a television report, she went into shock and miscarried.
Whitney Houston (multiple)
Singer, actress
Jill Ireland (multiple)
Actress
Eleanor Jackson (stillborn son)
Wife of Stonewall Jackson, Civil War figure
Katherine Jackson (stillborn son)
Mother of Michael Jackson; stillborn twin's other was Marlon
Lady Bird Johnson (multiple)
First Lady
Frida Kahlo (multiple)
Artist; inspired Henry Ford Hospital (The Flying Bed)
Katharine, Duchess of Kent (miscarriage and stillbirth)
Grace Kelly (multiple)
American actress, princess of Monaco
Lisa Robin Kelly (miscarriage 2003)
Actress, That '70s Show
Joan Bennett Kennedy (miscarriage, stillbirth)
Sister-in-law of President John F. and Jackie Kennedy
Nancy Kerrigan (multiple)
Olympic figure skater
Nicole Kidman (miscarriage 2001)
Actress, model
Gladys Knight (miscarriage 1960)
Singer
Beyonce Knowles (miscarriage noted in 'Glory,' by Jay-Z)
Singer
Andrée Lachapelle (stillborn daughter)
Actress
Shayne Lamas (miscarriage 2014)
Actress, General Hospital, The Bachelor
Lucy Lawless (miscarriage 2001)
Actress
Vivien Leigh (multiple)
Gone with the Wind actress
Annie Lennox (stillbirth 1988)
Singer
Lisa Ling (miscarriage 2010)
Television personality
Sophia Loren (multiple)
Actress
Courtney Love (miscarriage 2001)
Rocker, widow of Kurt Cobain
Susan Lucci (miscarriage)
Soap opera actress, All My Children
Loretta Lynn (multiple – due to Rh factor)
Country music legend
Nicoletta Mantovani (stillbirth of one of her twins)
Assistant-turned-wife of Luciano Pavarotti
Kym Marsh (stillbirth, 2009)
Actress, Coronation Street
Penny Marshall (miscarriage)
Actress, Laverne and Shirley; director
Mary Martin (stillbirth, 1945)
Actress, mother of Larry Hagman; her daughter, Heller Halliday, was attacked by a dog, leading Martin to go into shock.
Eva Amurri Martino (2015)
Actress, daughter of Susan Sarandon
Owada Masako (miscarriage 1999)
Crown Princess of Japan
Mary Matalin (multiple)
Political advisor
Bette Midler (miscarriage 1987)
Singer, actress
Heather Mills McCartney (two ectopic and six other miscarriages; *unfortunately doubtful because it seems that everything that comes out of her mouth is a lie); in divorce papers, however, one miscarriage was verified
Activist, ex-model, ex-wife of Paul McCartney
Liza Minnelli (multiple)
Singer, actress
Joni Mitchell (miscarriage 1990)
Singer
Rosa Monckton (stillborn daughter, 1994)
Charity fundraiser, best friend of Princess Diana. This is especially notable because Diana allowed her to bury her daughter Natalia in her private Kensington Palace garden. With Diana's death, however, Rosa was forever unable to visit Natalia's unmarked grave.
Marilyn Monroe (multiple)
Actress, icon
Lucy Maud Montgomery (stillbirth of son Hugh)
Author, Anne of Green Gables
Demi Moore (miscarriage 1987)
Actress
Mary Tyler Moore (miscarriage in the mid-1960s, led to her diabetes diagnosis)
Actress
Ada Nicodemou (son Harrison stillborn, 2014)
Australian soap opera actress, Home and Away
Sinead O'Connor (multiple)
Irish singer
Jennifer O'Neill (multiple)
Actress
Athina Onassis-Roussel (miscarriage 2013)
Heiress, step-granddaughter of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis (miscarriage, stillbirth, neonatal death)
First Lady, editor, icon
Yoko Ono (multiple)
Artist, muse
Lisa Osbourne (second-trimester loss of a boy, 2013)
Blogger, wife of Jack Osbourne, daughter-in-law of Black Sabbath frontman Ozzy Osbourne
Anita Pallenberg (infant son Tara, 1976)
Erstwhile partner of Rolling Stone Keith Richards
Gwyneth Paltrow (miscarriage)
Actress, entrepreneur, wife of Coldplay frontman Chris Martin
Molly Picon (stillborn daughter, 1920)
Musical theater actress
Pink (a.k.a. P!nk) (miscarriage)
Singer
Sylvia Plath (miscarriage 1961)
Bell Jar writer, poet; inspired 'Tulips'
Jane Pratt (stillborn twins, 2005)
Magazine editor, Jane
Gladys Presley (stillborn son 1935)
Elvis' mother; it was his twin
Katie 'Jordan' Price (multiple)
British glamour model and reality TV personality
Gilda Radner (multiple)
Comedienne
Tana Ramsay (five-month in utero loss of son, 2016)
Cookbook author, wife of celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay
Giuliana Rancic (miscarriage 2010)
Television personality
Amanda Redman (multiple ectopic)
Actress
Aliza Reger (stillborn daughter)
Entrepreneur and CEO
Debbie Reynolds (two seven-month stillbirths)
Actress, dancer, icon, mother of actress Carrie Fisher
Sophie Rhys-Jones, Countess of Wessex (ectopic)
Wife of Prince Edward of England
Molly Ringwald ('late-term' miscarriage)
'Brat Pack' actress
Joan Rivers (multiple)
Comedienne
Ann Romney (miscarriage early 1980s)
Wife of politician Mitt Romney
Katey Sagal (stillbirth and miscarriage)
Actress
Hillary Scott (miscarriage noted in song 'Thy Will')
Country singer, Lady Antebellum
Jane Seymour (multiple)
Actress
Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (stillborn girl)
Author of Frankenstein
Brooke Shields (multiple)
Supermodel, actress, adversary of Tom Cruise
Elizabeth Siddal (stillborn daughter)
Wife of Dante Gabriel Rossetti, muse
Justine Simmons (daughter, right after birth)
Wife of Reverend Run (Run-DMC)
Katie Stajan (post-delivery loss of son Emerson, 2014)
Wife of Calgary Flames center Matt Stajan
Danielle Steel (multiple)
Romance novelist
Sharon Stone (multiple)
Actress
Jennifer Syme (stillbirth 1999)
Actress, late girlfriend of Keanu Reeves
Elizabeth Taylor (miscarriage brought on by physical abuse by first husband Nicky Hilton)
Actress, icon
Emily Tennyson (stillborn son)
Wife of poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson
Emma Thompson (miscarriage 1997)
Actress
Bess Truman (multiple)
First Lady
Lana Turner (multiple)
Actress
Bonnie Tyler (miscarriage 1990 or 1991)
Singer
Tracey Ullman (multiple)
Comedienne
Meredith Viera (multiple)
Television personality
Barbara Walters (multiple)
Television journalist
Vanna White (miscarriage 1992)
Game show host
Laura Ingalls Wilder (infant boy, 1889)
Little House author
JoBeth Williams (multiple)
Actress
Wendy Williams (one miscarriage, two stillbirths)
TV and radio personality
Oprah Winfrey (stillbirth in teen years)
Entrepreneur, TV personality
Trinny Woodall (multiple)
BBC TV personality
Pia Zadora (miscarriage 1996)
Singer, actress