# Actress is pregnant but no one notices **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** tv-shows-scripted\ **Created:** [March 2, 2022, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actress-is-pregnant-but-no-one-notices/960379 "2022-03-02T23:50:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Nars\_Glinley](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nars_glinley/32/8177_2.png) [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2022, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actress-is-pregnant-but-no-one-notices/960379/1 "2022-03-02T23:50:08Z")
Typically when an actress gets pregnant IRL, the show that she’s on will take measures to hide the fact by having her stand behind things, wear oversized clothes, or carrying large handbags. Often, as the pregnancy advances, it will be announced that the person’s character is pregnant as well. Are there any instances of an actress getting pregnant IRL and the show just totally ignoring the fact? She just keeps getting bigger and bigger and no one seems to notice? If there’s not, I think there should be. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2022, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actress-is-pregnant-but-no-one-notices/960379/2 "2022-03-02T23:51:50Z")
They did this for one of Alyson Hannigan’s pregnancies on How I Met Your Mother. They just didn’t address it and then she missed a few episodes at the very end of the season. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2022, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actress-is-pregnant-but-no-one-notices/960379/3 "2022-03-02T23:58:35Z")
This wasn’t long term but was ridiculous because of how far along she was. Julie Bowen was pregnant while auditioning for _Modern Family._ They wanted her enough they were willing to overlook that in the pilot. The character was definitely not supposed to be pregnant. The pilot became the 1st episode. She was 8 1/2 months pregnant with twins. She hid behind a lot of scenery. There was a lag between when the pilot was picked up and the first season was ordered so she wasn’t pregnant in episode 2. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2022, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actress-is-pregnant-but-no-one-notices/960379/4 "2022-03-03T00:00:34Z")
Felicia Rashad was pregnant during a season of the Cosby Show. They hid her behind stuff. The actress who played Cecey Babcock had a hidden pregnancy on The Nanny. There was a scene where the character, speaking as a theater critic, said ‘It was ridiculous! Like the audience didn’t know she was pregnant!’ about a recent play. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2022, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actress-is-pregnant-but-no-one-notices/960379/5 "2022-03-03T00:11:51Z")
Here are 20 examples [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/EzlMTPtzNAU/maxresdefault.jpg "Top 20 Funniest Ways TV Shows Hid Pregnancies") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzlMTPtzNAU) ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2022, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actress-is-pregnant-but-no-one-notices/960379/6 "2022-03-03T00:23:37Z")
For much of Kaitlyn Olson’s pregnancy on Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia the guys completely ignored her very obvious condition — the joke being that they didn’t give a shit about anything that didn’t directly impact themselves. ---
**Author:** ![CaptMurdock](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/captmurdock/32/11736_2.png) [@CaptMurdock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaptMurdock)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2022, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actress-is-pregnant-but-no-one-notices/960379/7 "2022-03-03T00:27:35Z")
_HIMYM_ used her pregnancy humorously in one episode for a flashback to when Lily won a hot-dog eating contest. She stands up triumphantly with a protruding stomach! ---
**Author:** ![Nars\_Glinley](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nars_glinley/32/8177_2.png) [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2022, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actress-is-pregnant-but-no-one-notices/960379/8 "2022-03-03T00:35:25Z")
Those are 20 examples of the opposite of what I’m looking for. Maybe I worded it poorly. I’m interested in shows that made no effort to hide the pregnancy and just ignored it. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2022, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actress-is-pregnant-but-no-one-notices/960379/9 "2022-03-03T02:24:49Z")
Not exactly, but the closest I can think of is on Frasier, when after Niles and Daphne were finally together, she got crazy fat, was in complete denial about it, but then finally went to a fat farm, and after a few episodes (or was it the summer hiatus) she was back to normal. In fact, Jane Leeves was pregnant, and this is how they decided to deal with it. They didn’t ignore it because much was made of her fatness in the plots (and after she was back to normal, how it was all Niles’ fault). But they didn’t try to hide her size or anything like that. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2022, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actress-is-pregnant-but-no-one-notices/960379/10 "2022-03-03T03:23:32Z")
Shirley Jones was pregnant during filming of The Music Man but no one took any efforts to disguise it (though apparently during a clinch Robert Preston was surprised by a kick) ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2022, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actress-is-pregnant-but-no-one-notices/960379/11 "2022-03-03T03:30:16Z")
Guess why Betty Grable posed the way she did in that classic poster? ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2022, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actress-is-pregnant-but-no-one-notices/960379/12 "2022-03-03T03:41:24Z")
Shelley Long was pregnant in one season of _Cheers._ They kept her behind the bar and once had her stuck in a floor duct. [![](https://vhistory.files.wordpress.com/2020/05/diane-is-trapped.jpg) ](https://vhistory.files.wordpress.com/2020/05/diane-is-trapped.jpg) Rhea Perlman, OTOH, didn’t hide her pregnancy, since it fit her character. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2022, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actress-is-pregnant-but-no-one-notices/960379/13 "2022-03-03T03:41:42Z")
Ann Morgan Guilbert, aka Millie Helper, was pregnant during the first season of the _Dick Van Dyke Show._ Because she was a supporting character she didn’t get that much screen time, but she wore basic A-line outfits that could be worn by both pregnant and non-pregnant women. They went ahead and took full-length shots of her, although they were often frontal, so her bump wasn’t all that noticeable. There was never a mention of the character being pregnant. Here’s Millie, not saying anything about being pregnant. https://www.youtube.com/embed/OnPTsya56-8?feature=oembed&wmode=opaque&list=PLnkgw0_v2rnvubiuBawzBQt5tIM-Ayyuz&start=1152 ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanubv.2/32/3260_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUBv.2)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2022, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actress-is-pregnant-but-no-one-notices/960379/14 "2022-03-03T17:48:22Z")
I may be misremembering, but I believe Leah Remini was pregnant during one of the later seasons of King of Queens, and that couple remained childless throughout the series (I think they did a story about adoption, though). ---
**Author:** ![Author\_Balk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Author\_Balk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Author_Balk)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2022, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actress-is-pregnant-but-no-one-notices/960379/15 "2022-03-03T18:00:43Z")
Traylor Howard was pregnant during one season of Monk. They did the normal stuff to hide the bump. However, in one episode (Mr. Monk is at your Service) her character pretends to be pregnant and showed her bump. A pregnant woman pretending to be not pregnant pretending to be pregnant. ---
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2022, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actress-is-pregnant-but-no-one-notices/960379/16 "2022-03-03T19:35:07Z")
> [@Kent\_Clark](#): > > Ann Morgan Guilbert, aka Millie Helper, was pregnant during the first season of the _Dick Van Dyke Show._ Because she was a supporting character she didn’t get that much screen time, but she wore basic A-line outfits that could be worn by both pregnant and non-pregnant women. They went ahead and took full-length shots of her, although they were often frontal, so her bump wasn’t all that noticeable. There was never a mention of the character being pregnant. With one exception: episode 15, “Where Did I Come From?”, the flashback episode to Ritchie being born (the famous episode where Rob sleeps in his suit so that he can be ready to take Laura to the hospital at a moment’s notice). Since Millie had a son about Ritchie’s age, it would make sense that she and Laura might have been pregnant at the same time. So for that one episode, they did less to hide Guilbert’s pregnancy, and referred to Millie as “an expectant mother.” ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2022, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actress-is-pregnant-but-no-one-notices/960379/17 "2022-03-03T19:57:38Z")
What are you talking about? They devoted an entire episode to her pregnancy, rather aptly titled [Who Got Dee Pregnant?](https://itsalwayssunny.fandom.com/wiki/Who_Got_Dee_Pregnant%3F) Up until that episode they were just doing the whole baggy clothes/hide her behind things tricks. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2022, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actress-is-pregnant-but-no-one-notices/960379/18 "2022-03-03T20:29:55Z")
If sketch shows count, there’s Series 2 of **That Mitchell and Webb Look**. Olivia Colman was pregnant, but the show didn’t bother disguising it, so every character she played had a prominent but never-mentioned baby bump. ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2022, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actress-is-pregnant-but-no-one-notices/960379/19 "2022-03-03T21:06:34Z")
> [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](#): > > every character she played had a prominent but never-mentioned baby bump. I think that that is the proper way to deal with it - if the pregnancy doesn’t have anything to do with current plot, then why bring it up? ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2022, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actress-is-pregnant-but-no-one-notices/960379/20 "2022-03-03T21:12:50Z")
I’m having a hard time imagining a show doing what the OP asks - just ignoring an actor’s pregnancy. It is not at all uncommon to have the deal where they hide the actor’s belly in various ways. My wife is VERY good at spotting these quickly. Then I look the show up on IMDB and see if it says the actor had a kid at that time. I think the wife in White Collar was a recent example. Pretty ridiculous, too, as for several eps she was always “out of town” and simply shot as a talking head on phone calls. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actress-is-pregnant-but-no-one-notices/960379.md?page=2)