23 Celebrities Who've Given Birth Via C-Section

Gwen Stefani welcomed all three of her kids, Kingston, Zuma, and Rocco, via C-section at an LA-area hospital.

Elizabeth Hurley was in a bit of a paternity drama when she delivered Damian Charles via a scheduled C-section in London.

Back when Denise Richards and Charlie Sheen were married, the couple had a plan for everything, including giving birth via C-section nine days before her due date to tie in with Charlie's scheduled work hiatus. But their first child, Sam, had her own plans, sending Denise into labor and into the operating room a day early.

Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony's long-awaited twins were welcomed via C-section. About the experience, J Lo said:

"I had a C-section, but my sister gave birth six months later — we got pregnant around the same time — and she asked me to be in the delivery room with her, and I was, like, 'Wow!' Because I had twins and that was recommended for me to have a C-section, and there was a part of me [that] had thought, 'I didn't get to do it the way that everybody else does.' But when I saw my sister pushing that baby out, I was like, 'Maybe this was all right! Maybe this was a better out.' So that was an experience."

Camila Alves labored for 60 hours with her first child, before her doctor recommended taking her in for a C-section. Matthew McConaughey recalled Levi's birth, saying, "We'd been up for 40-something hours, and we went from dead tired to a really steadfast, 'Let's handle this . . . let's stay in the rhythm. Don't let the contraction be more than you.' The doctor wanted to give her an epidural, and we said, 'Give us a few more hours to keep rocking with this.' I wasn't speaking for Camila. She had the option of saying, 'Give me an epidural, right now,' whenever she wanted. This is where I learned — and no one tells you this — but having a baby is a bloody, pukey, sweaty, primeval thing! And I mean that as a beautiful thing. It is wild. But the vacuum didn't work, and the doctor said, 'C-section.'"

Claudia Schiffer welcomed her third child, Cosima Violet, via C-section.

Bethenny Frankel endured 30 hours of labor before her doctor recommended a C-section to bring baby Bryn into the world.

Brooke Shields is a double C-section recipient, having labored for 24 hours before an emergency C-section with her first daughter, Rowan, and scheduling the delivery of her second, Grier. She described the difference between the two experiences, as Rowan being "whisked away . . . this time I got to feel Grier, kiss her, and they put her right on my chest."

Kate Winslet lied to friends about giving birth to her first child, Mia, via C-section. Having tried for a natural birth, she covered up her emergency C-section, telling friends she "had a natural birth because I was so completely traumatized by the fact that I hadn't given birth. I felt like a complete failure. My whole life, I'd been told I had great child-bearing hips. There's this thing amongst women that if you can handle childbirth you can handle anything. I had never handled childbirth and I felt like in some way I couldn't enter the 'powerful women's club.'"

Tiffani Thiessen was in labor for 30 hours before her doctors turned to a C-section to get baby Harper out. The actress said, "First my water didn't break; they had to do it for me. Then the baby wasn't descending, because the cord was wrapped around her neck. Once she was finally out, I didn't even get to hold her before they whisked her away. You're staring across the room, like, 'Hello? Over here!' The whole thing was very surreal."

Pink and Carey Hart may have been planning on a natural birth for their baby, Willow, but the tot had other plans.

"We watched Ricki Lake's documentary The Business of Being Born early on. It was so enlightening and empowering. We took all kinds of classes and decided to work with midwives at The Sanctuary . . . I was really looking forward to the whole rite of passage — giving birth perfectly present, unmedicated, in the way nature intended . . . She was in the frank breech position, which is head up with her legs up by her head in a pike position. We tried everything to turn her around. Turns out this little girl had other plans — she is my daughter, after all. It all turned out perfectly in the end, even though it wasn't what we intended, because she is healthy and happy and so am I."

Shakira welcomed baby Milan Piqué Mebarak via C-section in Barcelona, Spain.

Molly Sims had planned on a natural birth, but little Brooks's umbilical cord put an end to that. She said:

"I wanted to do it naturally but there was a problem with the umbilical cord, so I had to have a C-Section. It's definitely scary because you have to go into an operating room — I walked in and then right back out! But Scott was there the whole time. When they took Brooks over to the warmer, he grabbed my husband's finger. Scott cried so hard, he basically baptized him."

Despite plans for a natural birth in a decked-out birthing suite, Jessica Simpson reportedly gave birth to Maxwell via a scheduled C-section in May 2012. She went on to schedule a C-section for baby Ace's birth the following year.

After more than 70 hours of labor before giving birth to Apple, Gwyneth Paltrow opted for a C-section to bring baby Moses into the world almost two years later.

Kate Hudson's C-section with baby Ryder was more a result of happenstance than preplanning or emergency. Kate recalled:

"I was going in to get induced because the baby was so big. Then my hips weren't opening and I wasn't dilating. I was in labor. My contractions were two to five minutes apart, and I couldn't feel anything. The doctor said I could go home, but it was such a pain in the butt to get to the hospital because we were being stalked by photographers . . . I was like, 'I am not going home, just don't want to do this again. Let's just have a C-section.'"

Baby Bing was born via VBAC (vaginal birth after C-section) in 2011.

Tori Spelling was planning on a vaginal birth to welcome her firstborn, Liam, but her doctor said he needed to perform an emergency C-section. After the birth, which was chronicled on her reality show, she said, "I had a C-section, which kept me from exercising for nine weeks. One of the biggest misconceptions is that celebrities have C-sections because it's easier. If I had a choice, I would not have. The recovery is much worse." She went on to schedule C-sections with her subsequent children, Stella, Hattie, and Finn.