There are some famously prolific parents in the celebrity world. Eddie Murphy has 10 children, Nick Cannon has 12 (and counting), and Michelle and Jim Bob Duggar have a staggering 19. But not everyone wants a large brood. In fact, some celebrities are content with just one kid who they can lavish all of their time, attention, and love on.
So-called "one-and-done" parenting is actually a growing trend around the world, as more couples choose to stop at one child. They're consciously limiting their family size for a wide range of reasons, including finances, familial support, age, mental health, environmental concerns, and convenience. And sure, money and resources aren't typically an issue for celebrities, but their demanding work and travel schedules can certainly make it difficult to juggle multiple kids.
Despite only children becoming more common, pressure to have more kids remains — from everyone from family members to complete strangers. Stereotypes about only children being spoiled or lonely without siblings persist, forcing people to have to defend their decision, as some of the celebrities on this list have experienced. But as more of them speak out on the subject, hopefully they can help bust those stereotypes.
Here, 15 stars share what led to their decision to be one-and-done parents — and why it works for them.
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Amy Adams
After she and husband Darren Le Gallo welcomed their daughter, Aviana, in 2010, Disenchanted star Amy Adams decided she was content being a family of three. But she's found that people are perplexed when she tells them Aviana will be an only child.
"People really give you a look. They're like, 'When are you having another?' And you're like, 'I'm not.' And then you feel like a bad person," she explained during an appearance on Chelsea Lately. "They're like, 'Don't you want to give her a sibling?' But I had so many siblings that I'm like, 'God, no!'" (Amy grew up with four brothers and two sisters.)
Katie Holmes
Katie Holmes decided early on that she wanted daughter Suri Cruise to be an only child, and it has a lot to do with her own childhood. "I'm the youngest in my family — my closest sister is five years older than me, and the next one is nine years ahead of me, so I was a bit of an only child, and I liked it. I liked having all of my mom's attention, and sometimes I think I still do," she told Marie Claire in 2010. "I want to make sure I'm really there for Suri."
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Sofia Vergara
When Sofia Vergara married Joe Manganiello in 2015, people immediately began asking the Modern Family star whether the couple planned to have a child together. But at the time, Sofia said "it's not a priority" and that she wasn't interested in being an older mom. "I don't want to be 50 with a baby," she told Women's Day. She also felt content and happy just having her son, Manolo, who she raised on her own. "I was a single mom for a long time and I was able to do everything I wanted to do," she said in a 2016 interview with Harper's Bazaar Arabia.
Jacqueline Piñol
Spider-Man star Jacqueline Piñol became a mother for the first time in 2016 with the birth of son Atlas, and she quickly realized she wouldn't be giving him any siblings. "I'm good with one," she told People at the time, though she did note that having just one child can be taboo to some. "There was pressure like, 'Should I not be saying I only want one?' but there's going to be judgment with every situation."
Taraji P. Henson
Actress Taraji P. Henson jokingly admitted that it was her son hitting his teenage years that cemented her one-and-done status. "Noooo! No, thank you. You want to know what my birth control is? It's called "teenager," she told The Huffington Post in 2011, when asked if she'd like to have more kids. She even admitted that she was looking forward to having more time to herself once Marcell headed off to college. "I'll probably be 50-50 [between being happy and crying]. It'll be like, 'Woo-hoo I'm free!' The other half will be like, 'What do I do now?' I'm so used to being a mom."
Kate Beckinsale
Though she was on the fence for a while, Kate Beckinsale ultimately decided not to have another child. The 49-year-old actress, who is mom to daughter Lily, said she worried that expanding her family would disrupt the good dynamic she already had going. "I feel very lucky in that we navigated a pretty bumpy situation and that Lily's okay," she explained to Glamour UK in 2012, referencing her messy 2003 split from Lily's father, Michael Sheen. 'So my resistance is along the lines of, 'Do I want to upset the apple cart?' And we're such a merry little bunch as we are."
Jenny McCarthy
In 2002, Jenny McCarthy gave birth to her son, Evan, who was later diagnosed with autism. She split from his dad, John Asher, in 2005 and raised Evan mostly on her own. When she remarried in 2014, she and new husband Donnie Wahlberg blended their families together (he has two sons), and it turns out that three boys were more than enough for the couple. "When you work so hard and your kids are out of the diaper phase, out of the high chair, and you get rid of all that stuff … to start over again? No way!" she told E! News in 2015. "I want to go towards the light with my husband while we still can walk."
Debra Messing
For Will & Grace star Debra Messing, the decision to stop at one child — son Roman — came from the realization that she didn't think she could handle more kids, especially with her busy career. "I think that there are certain women who are built to have five, six children and are able to multitask and handle the sort of innate chaos of having lots and lots of kids. I know myself, and I'm not built that way," she explained to Parents.com, noting that she also appreciates the easier logistics of having just one child. "What I love about having one is dealing with pickups at school and after-school activities while you're also a working woman, it is easier with one child versus many children."
La La Anthony
In 2019, La La Anthony gushed to Us Weekly that motherhood had changed her life, calling her son Kiyan (who she shares with her NBA star ex, Carmelo Anthony) her "best friend." And it seems she didn't want to mess with that perfection, as she told the outlet that she had no plans to have another child. "I think I'm done," she said. "I live for my son. [He] has fulfilled me in every single possible way, so I think I'm done, yes." Still, since she's been back in the dating pool, that hasn't stopped nosy fans from stirring up the occasional pregnancy rumors.
Amy Schumer
After struggling to conceive after undergoing IVF when she and husband Chris Fischer decided they wanted a second child, comedian Amy Schumer ultimately gave up on her dream of a bigger family. "We're gonna have just one child and we're just enjoying our little family and I'm focusing on that," she said on Chelsea Handler's Dear Chelsea podcast. "I'm excited about it, but I was sad. And it's not really something you get sympathy for because it's like, you already have one, b—-, shut up. But you know, that's a real struggle people go through. We tried, but yeah we're just gonna have the one perfect little adorable angel."
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Ice-T
Ice-T and wife Coco Austin never planned to have kids but then she changed her mind. "Coco didn't really want to have babies and then when she hit 35, she got the bug. She's like, 'I gotta do it.' And so we had the baby," the actor and rapper told Us Weekly in 2022. But the couple now intends to focus all of their love and attention on daughter Chanel. "We're one and done. One and done," Ice-T declared when asked if another baby was in his future.
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Cameran Eubanks
Former Southern Charm star Cameran Eubanks was very open about her hesitancy to become a mother, but she ultimately took the plunge and welcomed daughter Palmer in 2017. And even though her husband would like to have another, she's firmly against it. "I think one is all I can handle. I have the self-awareness to know that I can be a really good mother to one, but not sure if I could be a really good mother to more than one," she explained to People in 2019.
Some people have called her "selfish" for not giving Palmer a sibling, but she's completely unbothered by the criticism. "I say, 'I can either give her a sibling or I can give her a sane mother,'" she said. "And I think giving her a happy, healthy, mentally sane mother is way more important than a brother or sister she's probably gonna fight with anyway."
Lisa Kudrow
While she may have given birth to triplets while playing Phoebe on Friends, actress Lisa Kudrow is a mom of an only child, son Julian Stern, who is now 24. And in a surprising admission, she once said that not having more kids was actually a gift to him. "[He] made it clear from the moment he could speak that he didn't want a brother or sister … [and] to this day, he'll say, 'Thank you,'" she told The New York Post in 2017.
Amy Duggar King
Despite being the niece of Michelle and Jim Bob Duggar — who famously have 19 children — Amy Duggar King feels no desire to follow in her aunt and uncle's footsteps. So far, she's content with her little family of three, which includes husband Dillon King and their son, Daxton. And she made that clear in October 2020 when a fan questioned why she wasn't popping out the babies and told her to "pick up the pace."
Amy clapped back, writing on Instagram: "I am an only child, and I think I grew up just fine. So cheers to the mamas who decide to have one child. Honestly, we are teetering on that idea. Some women are designed not to have large families. I am one of them. Too much noise, chaos; it's just not for me. But kudos to those mamas who do! God gave you super human strength."
Dax Shepard
This one has a bit of a twist. Dax Shepard and wife Kristen Bell were convinced they were one and done after the birth of their daughter Lincoln. But they ended up having a change of heart. "We did not want a second child. We were absolutely happy [with one]," Dax revealed on the Endless Honeymoon podcast in 2022, before explaining why that plan ultimately went out the window after further reflection.
"We travel a lot. It's not fair to bring this little human everywhere we go and deal with only adults. We owe it to [Lincoln] to her give to her a playmate who travels with us everywhere. We love her enough to do something we don't really want to do, which is have a second." And so, nearly two years later daughter Delta joined their family.
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