Which celebs breastfeed?
A dietician from the La Crosse County Health Department in La Crosse, Wisconsin, is putting together a display of photographs of celebrity women who have breastfed their infants. It’s part of an effort to help women realize not only the health benefits of nursing, but also that many women do it – to include famous women. She emailed to ask me which celebs breastfeed or have breastfed their children. I can only think of a few off the top of my head but I knew some of you may have a better idea.
Please comment below!
1. Carrie-Anne Moss
2. Helen Hunt
3. Elle MacPherson
4. Brooke Shields (though she is now a spokesperson for a formula company)
She sent me her current list- here it is:
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Adrianne Barbeaux |
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Anita Baker |
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Brandy |
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Brooke Burke |
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Catherine Zeta-Jones |
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Celine Dion |
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Christie Brinkley |
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Cindy Crawford |
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Connie Seleca |
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Cybil Shepard |
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Demi Moore |
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Diane Lane |
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Diane Sawyer |
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Eleanor Roosevelet |
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Elizabeth Hurley |
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Elle McPherson |
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Erykah Badu |
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Faith HIll |
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Gloria Estefan |
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Goldie Hawn |
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Harry Connick Jr’s wife |
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Hillary Clinton |
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Jacqueline Smith |
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Jada Pinkett Smith |
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Jane Pauley |
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Jane Seymour |
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Jayne Kennedy |
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Jennie Garth |
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Jerry Hall (Mick Jagger’s wife) |
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Joan Lunden |
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Joan Rivers |
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Jodie Foster |
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Julianne Moore |
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Karenna Gore Schiff |
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Kate Hudson |
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Kate Winslett |
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Katherine Ross |
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Kathie Lee Gifford |
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Kathy Ireland |
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Kathy Rigby |
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Katie Couric |
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Keely Shaye Smith |
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Kelly Rippa |
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Laura Bush |
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Linda Kelsey |
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Lindsay Frost (Betsy on ATWT) |
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Lindsay Wagner |
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Lisa Kudrow |
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Madonna |
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Margaret Thatcher |
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Maria Shriver |
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Mariette Hartley |
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Marilu Henner |
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Markie Post |
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Mary Lou Retton |
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Melanie Griffith |
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Melissa Gilbert |
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Meryl Streep |
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Patricia Richardson |
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Paul Reiser’s wife |
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Princess Di |
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Princess Grace of Monaco |
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Queen Elizabeth II |
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Reese Witherspoon |
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Rita Wilson – Tom Hanks’ wife |
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Roseanne |
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Sandra Day O’Connor |
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Sarah Jessica Parker |
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Sheryl Swoopes |
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Sophia Loren |
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Susan St. James |
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Thandie Newton |
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Tipper gore |
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Tori Amos |
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Tracy Fox |
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Uma Thurman |
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- Posted on Feb 25, 05 at 5:31PM
- Permalink
- 46 Comments
February 25th, 2005 at 5:33 pm
Kelly Ripa, Gwenyth Paltrow
February 25th, 2005 at 5:41 pm
breastfeeding.com has a list, and if you do a search, you can find the list other places. Sarah Jessica Parker, Courtney Cox, Debra Messing, Cindy Crawford, Pam Anderson, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jada Pinkett Smith, Erykah Badu , lindsay Wagner, Kate Hudson are a few. Here:
http://www.wahmsampler.com/celebrities.htm
a good list is here:
http://www.breastfeeding.org/bfacts/famous.html
You can tell the woman to do a search for the following pictures for her display:
Jerry Hall breastfeeding on the cover of vanity fair
Lucy Lawless (xena warrior princess) nursing her child for a world BF week poster
February 25th, 2005 at 6:08 pm
I remember clearly that kelly preston breatfed ella bleu for at least a yr after she was born. cuz it was published in InStyle a couple yrs back!
February 25th, 2005 at 6:31 pm
Pierce Brosnan’s wife Keely did.
February 25th, 2005 at 6:40 pm
Denise Richards nursed Sam for her first three months then quit.
February 25th, 2005 at 7:41 pm
Tori Amos. Gabrielle Reece.
February 25th, 2005 at 8:27 pm
Reese Witherspoon breastfeed both Ava and Deacon.
February 25th, 2005 at 9:34 pm
in your pics of gabriel reece (volleyball star) she was breastfeeding, so i guess we can add her to the list
February 25th, 2005 at 10:51 pm
I’m pretty sure that Julia Roberts breastfeeds her twins.
February 25th, 2005 at 11:00 pm
Harry Connick’s wife is Jill Goodacre Connick, who is an ex Victoria’s Secret model.
February 25th, 2005 at 11:30 pm
Victoria Beckham breastfed Brooklyn. I know because there’s a picture that has been circulating since 1999.
February 25th, 2005 at 11:32 pm
leah remini was recently on ellen and said that she breast feeds…
February 25th, 2005 at 11:54 pm
Well, since there are so many, perhaps they should be further organized by length of time. We know Denise Richards and Catherine Zeta-Jones weaned their babies very early, whereas Erykah Badu said she nursed for two years (AWESOME!)
February 26th, 2005 at 12:03 am
Michael Jordan’s mom nursed him for 3 YEARS, and she thinks that’s why he is/was so good at basketball! I thought that was cute.
February 26th, 2005 at 1:23 am
Great to see so many celebs giving their precious ones the best start to life!
Keely Shaye Smith is very vocal about her pro-breastfeeding stance.
February 26th, 2005 at 1:51 am
Holly Marie Combs is breastfeeding her baby boy, Finley, and former “Angel” star Charisma Carpenter breastfed her son on the set of her movie See Jane Date.
February 26th, 2005 at 3:54 am
Teri Hatcher has been very outspoken lately about how she spent 2 years breastfeeding her daughter.
I believe Mary Louise Parker also breastfed. Oh, and Debra Messing, too!
February 26th, 2005 at 7:46 am
Here are some celebrities who have had homebirths:
* Cindy Crawford
* Pamela Anderson
* Demi Moore
* Laura Dern
* Woody Harrelson’s wife
* Val Kilmer’s wife
* Kelly Preston
* Patricia Arquette
so I have to believe that they all breastfed as well. I’ve seen more extensive lists, but this was easiest to find this morning
February 26th, 2005 at 8:23 am
LUCY LAWLESS!
If you google her name and breastfeeding it comes up with an awesome pic of her nursing her son
February 26th, 2005 at 8:36 am
I recall seeing an article about Shania Twain which stated she was an extended breastfeeder and nursed her son for at least 15 months.
February 26th, 2005 at 11:15 am
Definitely Courtney Cox. Not sure iuf she is still doing it, but she did in the beginning.
Kudos to all the ladies on these lists-regardless of how long you can last. We all know that even a few weeks of nursing makes a difference. And we all know how difficult it can be, especially when you are juggling a career or another child or two!
February 26th, 2005 at 11:37 am
This list is great! It’s so nice to see so many Moms giving their babes the best start in life.
I do have to question Leah Remini, though. I saw her VH1 special about her baby’s birth and minutes after birth she was shown giving the baby a bottle of artificial milk. Also, the follow-up shots of her when the baby was a few days/weeks old also show her bottlefeeding. I don’t think she ever breastfed.
Anyone know for sure that she did?
February 26th, 2005 at 3:16 pm
It is nice that they breastfeed, but let’s try not to be too judgmental of those who don’t. Some women just don’t produce enough milk to breastfeed. There is so much emphasis on breastfeeding being so important (which I know it is), but for those who already feel guilty for not being able to do it for one reason or another, let’s try not to be too hard on them. Being a good mother is NOT dependent on whether or not you breastfeed.
February 26th, 2005 at 4:16 pm
Wow that is great! I live in Wisconsin and that is really great to see that they are making a list like that. I am breastfeeding my 10 month old daughter still and it’s so wonderful and rewarding. However it wasn’t always that easy and I can understand why some woman give up especially if they don’t have a lot of support.
February 26th, 2005 at 9:10 pm
anonymous, I didn’t see anyone being judgemental. And actually, not producing enough milk is one of the top myths surrounding breastfeeding. Virtually ALL women can produce enough milk to help their baby thrive given they have accurate information and support.
And no one mentioned that being a good mother is determined by whether one breastfeeds or not but there is plenty of information out there that it is far superior to artificial baby milk. Making the choice to breastfeed, educating oneself about it, and making sure to have support if something troublesome arises is a really smart thing to do, however
.
February 26th, 2005 at 10:05 pm
Finola Hughes did! She did it for over a year I heard.
February 26th, 2005 at 10:11 pm
Anne-thanks for saying that! I can’t stand that lame excuse for giving up breastfeeding!
I am so happy to see these celebs who have done it and for extended periods of time.
February 26th, 2005 at 11:59 pm
Johnny Depp’s longtime girlfriend Vanessa Paradis breastfed both of their two children. There is a picture of her on a fan site breastfeeding their daughter Lily Rose when she was a newborn. I also read an interview with Vanessa when their son Jack was around six months old, in the interview she talked about how much she enjoyed breastfeeding.
February 27th, 2005 at 12:33 am
Don’t forget Carrie-Anne Moss who is still nursing Owen (if that’s really his name). I’m going to go out on a limb and assume any homebirthing mom nurses for a while – I mean, we go without pain meds to keep our babies from being drugged – we’re not going to give them fake milk with suspicious additives!
February 27th, 2005 at 4:12 am
Speaking of lame excuses for stopping breastfeeding. Isn’t it true that Denise Richards stopped breastfeeding her baby because she “felt like (she) was still pregnant” and couldn’t drink or have fun. Uhg. Then she got knocked up again of course. Anyway, hopefully she’ll be a little less selfish this time around.
February 27th, 2005 at 1:35 pm
Denise Richards said in a USA TODAY article that she couldn’t have a cocktail as much as she wanted and felt like she had no freedom because of breastfeeding. Welcome to parenthood Denise! I have lost complete respect for her since. Not because she is not breastfeeding because of her reasons.
February 27th, 2005 at 4:01 pm
Yep, great reason. I can’t drink alcohol as much as I want, so I am going to give my child artificial milk… Yep, no respect for her here.
And not enough milk is a complete myth. Even if you do have supply issues, there is stuff you can do to increase your supply, so that is not a valid reason to not/quit bf’ing.
February 27th, 2005 at 6:31 pm
I have a question for the “experts” on breastfeeding. What if your child refuses to latch? When my daughter was born, we spent the first 2 weeks of her life at our lactation consultant’s office, where she looked me square in the eye and said, “this does happen, but it’s rare…your baby is not going to latch.” At 2 weeks post-partum, I was still pumping, but barely getting enough to feed my child and eventually didn’t produce anymore, therefore having to go with formula. But I was he**-bent on having her nurse, which she was quick to tell me otherwise that she wasn’t having anything to do with it by not latching.
Just curious what your take is on that. Was that me being lazy? I don’t think spending the first 2 weeks of your baby’s life in a medical office trying to get her to nurse is lazy. No way. Again, as I’ve said before, it just goes to show we don’t know everything these ladies are going through with nursing their babies. Yes, Denise Richards was quick to give it up for personal reasons in my opinion. But it’s not my job to judge her for it. I still really like her.
February 27th, 2005 at 7:39 pm
I thought of a couple more
Celine Dion said on Oprah that she breastfed for 11 months
Sarah MacLachlan breastfed for 14 months
And Denise Richards said in People “I wanted to have a cocktail, I wanted to go out, you cant do all that with a kid on your boob” < ~~ rolling my eyes at her.
Leah Remini too is a weird one, since we saw her formula feed on VH1 and in multiple magazine pictures, and she was so vague about it on the howard stern show, but if she was BF for a while, I dont think she did for long.
Reese also weaned her babies early, and I was surprised to see that Vanessa Paradis breastfed, considering I saw a pic of her with a bottle and its not very tres chic to breastfeed in France.
Terri Irwin, the crocodile hunters wife, also breastfed. And model Heidi Klum is breastfeeding. Also Jennifer Connelly did.
February 27th, 2005 at 7:40 pm
one more! Thandie Newton, who played Carters girlfriend Kim on ER, had a homebirth and breastfed for over a year.
February 27th, 2005 at 8:45 pm
Not that I’m a fan, but Denise Richards and baby Sam are guest-starring tomorrow night (Monday, 2/28) on Two and a Half Men on CBS (starring Charlie Sheen). From the preview, it looks like she pretends to be breastfeeding on the show – how hypocritical is that?!
February 28th, 2005 at 1:24 am
Just wanted to add that Cybill Shepherd also breastfed twins–one of the few women I had heard of at the time who even considered that feat!
As far as babies that don’t latch…yeah, it happens sometimes. It has to be rare, though, because those babies never would’ve survived pre-formula. But pumping at 2 weeks post-partum–if you’re pumping effectively–should still produce “enough” to feed your baby. The milk supply grows with the baby. A “full” supply of milk is not achieved, though, until 6-8 weeks after birth.
Even with a short supply of milk, there are ways to supplement your baby’s feedings with formula–even while they are attached to the breast. There are so many options available for successful breastfeeding–but there are definitely women who don’t take care of themselves and shouldn’t be breastfeeding. If Denise Richards wants to have her cocktails, at least she had the sense to wean Sam before hitting the bottle again. (And how ironic that once she weaned, she got pregnant again. Chalk one up for mother nature’s birth control).
February 28th, 2005 at 10:26 am
Refusal to latch happens, but there are mouth exercises that mother can do with the baby, and other ways to teach the baby to latch. Thee are different kinds of LC, and you have to find one that knows what she is talking about. The “LC” in my peds. office told me that at 11 months I could just give my baby cow’s milk because there was no reason for her to bf anymore. Uh, yeah, okay.
February 28th, 2005 at 10:49 am
Let’s please limit the conversation to WHO breastfeeds, not WHY you should. There are entire messageboards dedicated to that topic.
February 28th, 2005 at 11:53 am
Thanks Danielle.
I hope you did not see my comments as out of line. I was just sharing my personal situation, because I was a little frustrated for the very reason you stated we shouldn’t talk about it in that context. Thanks.
February 28th, 2005 at 1:17 pm
Thank you to all of you for your help in identifying more celebrity moms who have breastfed! You’re much appreciated.
– The dietician in La Crosse
February 28th, 2005 at 8:22 pm
Just one more comment on Bfing. If any of you need support please join the breastfeeding@yahoo.com I am nursing a 12 month old and it has helped me with any problems I have had!
February 28th, 2005 at 9:56 pm
Didn’t Mary Louise Parker breastfeed? She thanked her baby son for making her so voluptuous at last year’s Oscars and he was at least a few weeks old so she wouldn’t have been that thin in the stomach and large in the chest if she wasn’t lactating.
February 28th, 2005 at 10:20 pm
I found the following:
Ana Gasteyer (from SNL)
Marlee Matlin
Josie Bissett
Vendela
February 28th, 2005 at 10:55 pm
I actually had a friend who could not pump enough and her son never sucked inproperly. We both were going to a breastfeeding clinic for 4 months. She used the SNS system to supplement. I had plenty of milk and gave it to her. Her supply continued to dwindle. The most she ever pumped was 1 oz. Some people really cannot breastfeed.
February 28th, 2005 at 10:58 pm
Weird question, but I was wondering. I know that quite a few celebrities have had breast implants, and I guess I always assumed that someone with breast implants wouldn’t be able to breastfeed. Apparently I was wrong. Well, it’s not like I know anyone who’s had them, except my friend’s mother who had reconstructive surgery after breast cancer, and she her kids were in the university age group, not the breastfeeding age group!
I was impressed and surprised that so many celebs breastfeed, and that so many did for a year or even more.