20 Celebs Who Looked The Most Unrecognizable When Pregnant

Publish date: 2024-06-13

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Pregnant women have the perfect excuse when they pile on the pounds. After all, they’re “eating for two” and have to make sure they take on board enough nutrients for themselves and their baby. No-one would dare criticize a mom-to-be if she puts on some weight.

That must be so refreshing for celebrity moms. After all, women in the public eye have their every flaw analyzed, and if you’re a famous actress or singer, you usually can’t even look at a slice of pizza or a piece of cake without gossip columnists getting on your back.

Perhaps that is why so many famous moms really let their hair down when they’re expecting – not just in terms of putting on a few pounds, but also dressing down and letting their usual strict beauty regimen slip.

A woman who was a healthy weight before falling pregnant can expect to put on between 25 and 35 pounds while she’s expecting, although a lot depends on diet, exercise and genetics. Lots of famous moms seem to lose their baby weight really quickly after, but you shouldn’t even think about dieting until your baby is at least six weeks old, as your body is still recovering from the ordeal of pregnancy and labour!

20 of the celebs below gained on some weight, dressed down and became almost unrecognizable. Whose transformation is most shocking?

Carey Mulligan

The British star of The Great Gatsby is well known for her tiny frame and her individual sense of style. Although she didn’t put on a lot of weight while pregnant, fans were surprised to see that Carey’s usual sense of style went out of the window when she was pregnant with daughter Evelyn in 2015.

Part of the problem was that Carey was determined to keep the fact that she was expecting under wraps for as long as possible, which meant wearing unflattering flowing outfits, and some speculated that the pregnancy may have been a difficult one, as the actress was often photographed looking pale with bags under her eyes. (Source: DailyMail)

Adele

Adele may have put on a few pounds during her pregnancy, but what shocked her fans the most was that she rarely bothered to apply her trademark eyeliner while she was expecting and tended to dress in roomy, comfortable clothes – which led to lots of paparazzi shots of a very pale, dressed-down Adele looking like she couldn’t care less about her unconventional new look.

Normal service was soon resumed, however, and Adele’s on-fleek makeup was firmly back in place by the time she picked up the Oscar for Best Original Song in 2013, less than four months after giving birth to Angelo. (Source: Celebbuzz)

Mila Kunis

Once voted the most beautiful woman in the world by readers of UK magazine FHM, actress Mila Kunis would have had trouble winning a local beauty pageant when she was pregnant. Mrs Ashton Kutcher really piled on the pounds while she was expecting, and took the opportunity of being out of the public eye for a few months to forego her usual beauty routine in favour of a makeup free face and unstyled hair.

The Hollywood power couple have two children, daughter Wyatt and son Dimitri, but the Family Guy star has made it clear that two kids is more than enough for her! (Source: DailyMail)

Amber Rose

Model Amber Rose has always been a larger than life personality – and she had a figure to match when she was pregnant with son Sebastian in 2013. She ballooned to 202 pounds, and was honest about how difficult she had found shifting the baby weight after Sebastian was born.

It wasn’t just the extra weight that made Amber Rose look a little out of the ordinary while she was expecting, however. She also insisted on wearing the same brightly coloured, figure-hugging outfits she had always worn – even though her impressive baby bump was stretching some of them to bursting point! (Source: DailyMail)

Blac Chyna

When she was pregnant with then boyfriend Rob Kardashian’s baby, Blac Chyna was determined to put on as much weight as possible, setting herself a target to gain at least 100lbs. She eventually managed to put on about 50lbs, with most of the weight seemingly ending up on her posterior if photos from the time are anything to by.

Blac Chyna appeared to lose most of the weight pretty quickly after she gave birth to daughter Dream Renee, although Rob has since claimed that his ex-girlfriend actually took the easy way out, spending $100,000 on weight loss changes. (Source: CelebrityBabies)

Kim Kardashian

And Blac Chyna is far from the only Kardashian woman who underwent a stunning transformation while pregnant. Kim may have opted to have her most recent child, Chicago, through a surrogate mother, but she bore her first two children, North and Saint, naturally, and struggled with both pregnancies.

She put on a lot of weight, and struggled with swollen legs, feet and ankles and backache throughout the time she was pregnant, and has even described it as the worst experience of her life. No wonder she opted for a surrogate when she and Kanye decided to have a third child. (Source: FitPregnancy)

Zooey Deschanel

Petite women like Zooey Deschanel often get off pretty easy when it comes to pregnancy, putting on just a few pounds and barely even looking like they’re carrying a baby at all. Zooey may ordinarily be the very epitome of “waif-like” but when she was pregnant with daughter Elsie in 2015, she had a baby bump that a woman twice her size would have been proud of.

It must have tough for such a slight girl to carry around all that excess weight for nine months; at least her second pregnancy, with son Charlie in 2017, was not quite such heavy going. (Source: DailyMail)

Jessica Simpson

Singer and actress Jessica Simpson, who famously donned Daisy Duke’s denim hot pants in the Dukes of Hazard reboot, looks like a completely different woman when she’s pregnant, piling on the pounds to such an extent that she has actually struggled to ever get back to anything like her original weight.

When she was pregnant with daughter Maxwell Drew in 2012, she gained a whopping 70lbs, and even faced criticism from some quarters for putting on so much weight. Jessica has accepted that having children means she may never return to her pre-pregnancy size – but her babies make it all worthwhile. (Source: BabyCenter)

Britney Spears

Britney Spears put on a fair bit of weight when she was pregnant with her sons Sean in 2005 and Jayden in 2006, but unlike Jessica Simpson, she did manage to bounce back to her pre-pregnancy size.

Britney’s big change in appearance was a more cosmetic one, as she chose her second pregnancy to debut a very bold new look, dying her hair black – a big change from her more familiar blonde locks. Although as we all know this was far from the most extreme style ever the Hit Me Baby One More Time singer had chosen for her head! (Source: People)

Christina Aguilera

Britney’s big pop rival from the early-90s, Christina Aguilera, also has two children; son Max, born in 2008, and a daughter, Summer Rain, who was born in 2014. During both pregnancies, Aguilera put on a significant amount of weight and has struggled to shift it – so much so that she was almost unrecognizable, showing off chunky thighs and doubler chins in revealing outfits more suited to a woman half her age and half her size.

However, there is something to be said for a woman who is so comfortable in her own skin that she is happy to wear tight clothes, no matter her size. (Source: Parents)

Jessica Biel

The normally polished and sophisticated Jessica Biel put on a few extra pounds while she was pregnant with son Silas in 2015 – pounds which she managed to lose pretty quickly after his birth – but the main change in her look was in the clothes she wore.

Jessica clearly took the decision to spend the months while she was expecting dressed in clothes that were much more comfortable and casual than fans had come to expect from the actress’ red carpet appearances. Still, dressing down is one way to make sure the paparazzi don’t recognize you when you’re out and about! (Source: DailyMail)

Beyoncé

For fame-hungry celebrities, the Carters do seem to value the privacy of their youngsters, and only released a handful of official photos of Mrs Carter (aka Beyoncé) when she was pregnant, first with daughter Blue Ivy and then with twins Rumi and Sir.

From these official photos, you might draw the conclusion that Beyoncé looked like a perfect goddess throughout the time she was expecting, but candid paparazzi shots show that this was far from the case. Beyoncé was warned that she could expect a 60lb weight gain when she was pregnant with her twins, and photos from the time certainly show a chubbier Queen B than we’re used to. (Source: Chron)

Tori Spelling

Actress Tori Spelling gave birth to five children between 2007 and 2017 – barely giving her enough time to lose the weight from one pregnancy before she was conceiving again! With five kids, Tori spends most of her time looking after her family, and has clearly embraced both motherhood and pregnancy, piling on a few extra pounds with every baby. She clearly doesn't care, if the happy pictures of her with her kids are anything to go by.

Still, the plump, mumsy Tori Spelling of today is a far cry from her more glamorous days as Donna on Beverley Hills 90210. (Source: Lipstickalley)

Hayden Panetierre

Hayden Panetierre’s big break came in the TV show Heroes, in which her cheerleader character develops superpowers. Needless, to say, a young blonde in a cheerleading uniform made the show an instant hit with male viewers – although those same fans probably would have been shocked to see what Hayden looked like just a few years later when she was pregnant with Kaya. That was the name of her daughter that she had with husband and world champion Wladimir Klitschko.

Being petite, any weight loss was always going to stand out on Hayden’s 5’2” frame, but the 40 pounds she added while pregnant transformed her from fantastic to frumpy. (Source: Health)

Pink

Pink has said she thoroughly enjoyed the experience of being pregnant with daughter Willow and son Jameson, mainly because it gave her the freedom to eat anything she wants; all the carbs and sweet stuff that women in the public eye usually have to avoid in order to maintain their image!

The singer really embraced her pregnancy weight gain, even though it transformed the way she looked. And it wasn’t just the baby bump that grew bigger. Pink’s face gained a lot of weight too, which made her look really different, though the mum-to-be was rarely pictured without a smile on her glowing face. (Source: Today)

Jenna Jameson

Jenna Jameson’s army of fans were shocked to see how very different she looked when she was pregnant with her third child, Batel Lu Bitton, in 2017. Some might say that her dramatic change in appearance is unsurprising, considering she was 42 when she gave birth and the fact that pregnancy takes its toll on women half that age.

The adult film actor made a fortune from her body, but she really piled on the weight while she was expecting, transforming both her face and her figure until she was barely recognizable as the Jenna Jameson a generation of men had come to know and love. (Source: DailyMail)

Janet Jackson

Singer Janet Jackson was another star who left it late before becoming a mother, giving birth to daughter Eissa Al Mana at the ripe old age of 50. Pregnancy left Janet frequently looking tired and drawn, and she was only ever pictured wearing huge, voluminous outfits that completely covered any sign of her baby bump – so it’s anyone’s guess as to how much weight the youngest Jackson sibling actually put on while she was expecting.

By the time Eissa Al Mana was a year old, Janet was back to her old slim figure, looking much younger than she should at 50 years of age. (Source: DailyMail)

Hilary Duff

Hilary Duff was another star who really embraced the freedom of being pregnant – enjoying the fact that for once she could eat what she wanted without being judged by the tabloid press.

She was also in no rush to shed the baby weight after she gave birth, preferring to lose the extra pounds she’d added in a slower and more sensible fashion – the best way to make sure that weight stays off for good. Despite enjoying the freedom to eat all the goodies she wanted, Hilary was still shocked to see what her pregnant body looked like, and is in no rush for baby number two! (Source: HollywoodLife)

Uma Thurman

Normally very recognizable as one of the most beautiful and glamorous women in Hollywood, Uma Thurman took a rather different approach to her style when she was pregnant with son Levan and daughters Maya and Luna.

While the Pulp Fiction actress was one of those lucky women who didn’t seem to put on too many pounds while expecting – and even managed to lose most of the baby weight soon after she gave birth – she did seem to give up on stylish clothes, makeup and, if some paparazzi shots from the time are to be believed, even just washing her hair. (Source: HelloMagazine)

Kelly Clarkson

Pop Idol champion Kelly Clarkson has struggled with her weight throughout her career, feeling pressured to stay slim in the early days, before finally accepting herself as she is now that she has grown up and matured a little.

On a 2016 visit to Disneyland while she was pregnant with son Remington, however, Kelly went completely unnoticed. Not only had she really piled on the weight while pregnant, but she was wearing an unflattering, oversize pair of dungarees and a wide-brim hat; perfect for hiding from fans and from paparazzi! Unfortunately, one eagle-eyed photographer spotted the singer, and her dress-down look didn’t escape the tabloid press after all. (Source: DailyMail)

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