# The actress is pregnant, but her character is not. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 23, 2014, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-actress-is-pregnant-but-her-character-is-not/702247 "2014-10-23T13:22:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Katriona](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/katriona/32/113_2.png) [@Katriona](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Katriona)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2014, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-actress-is-pregnant-but-her-character-is-not/702247/41 "2014-10-23T20:00:14Z")
> [@kstarnes](#): > > I want y’all to ponder this: If your life choices hurt a production. Shouldn’t they be allowed to ax you? They may very well make the decision not to because you’re incredibly valuable but why should there be a legal prohibition against it? > > Just ponder that but do not respond. Carry on. I’m thinking based on the result of Hunter Tylo suing Spelling Productions over her firing on Melrose Place, no: > **[Hunter Tylo](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hunter_Tylo)** > > Hunter Tylo is an author and a former American actress and model. She portrayed the role of Taylor Hayes (1990–2002, 2004–14, 2018–19) on The Bold and the Beautiful. > Tylo has an older brother Jay, who died on August 29, 2018, and a younger brother named Cliff. Tylo has been credited as Deborah Morehart;\[citation needed\] Morehart was the last name of her first husband. > In 1984, credited as Deborah Morehart, Tylo appeared in the sorority slasher film The Initiation with future Melrose Place act... > [@](#): > > In 1996, Tylo was cast in the primetime soap opera Melrose Place and opted to leave The Bold and the Beautiful to take the role. However, she was fired by Melrose Place producer Aaron Spelling prior to filming any episodes for the series, when she announced she was pregnant. The character she was to play, Taylor McBride, was recast, Lisa Rinna taking the role. Tylo quickly returned to The Bold and the Beautiful. Tylo sued Spelling on grounds of discrimination for being pregnant and won $4.8 million from a Los Angeles jury. Spelling argued that Tylo’s pregnancy rendered her unable to play the character, who was supposed to be a sexy seductress. ---
**Author:** ![Poysyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Poysyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Poysyn)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2014, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-actress-is-pregnant-but-her-character-is-not/702247/42 "2014-10-23T19:59:48Z")
> [@blondebear](#): > > Kristen Bell in the Veronica Mars movie. I thought she had just had the baby prior to filming…? ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2014, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-actress-is-pregnant-but-her-character-is-not/702247/43 "2014-10-23T21:50:11Z")
I got a kick out of the way the producers of "The Nanny " handled Lauren Lane’s (Cece Babcock) pregnancy…They kind of hid her behind props but in an amusing, obvious way … In one scene she was holding a framed poster for a show called “Baby” over her stomach and she once made a snarky reference to the way the show Seinfeld handled Julia Louis Dreyfuss’s pregnancy - something like “hiding her behind props, who did they think they were fooling?” - uttered while Lane was holding an oversized purse or some other prop over her stomach. ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2014, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-actress-is-pregnant-but-her-character-is-not/702247/44 "2014-10-23T21:53:01Z")
> [@Ann\_Hedonia](#): > > I got a kick out of the way the producers of "The Nanny " handled Lauren Lane’s (Cece Babcock) pregnancy…They kind of hid her behind props but in an amusing, obvious way … In one scene she was holding a framed poster for a show called “Baby” over her stomach and she once made a snarky reference to the way the show Seinfeld handled Julia Louis Dreyfuss’s pregnancy - something like “hiding her behind props, who did they think they were fooling?” - uttered while Lane was holding an oversized purse or some other prop over her stomach. Missed bringing up the Nanny method by 2 minutes! It was hysterical the way they did it. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2014, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-actress-is-pregnant-but-her-character-is-not/702247/45 "2014-10-23T22:03:13Z")
> [@blondebear](#): > > Kristen Bell in the Veronica Mars movie. > [@Poysyn](#): > > I thought she had just had the baby prior to filming…? Yep, you’re right. I was remembering her not being her usual svelte self in the movie, but that was because filming was right after she had her baby. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2014, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-actress-is-pregnant-but-her-character-is-not/702247/46 "2014-10-23T22:09:22Z")
Forty-five posts, and no one has mentioned Charlene Tilton on _ **Dallas** _?!? :eek: How quickly we forget! Her last season as Lucy Ewing, they never showed her from the shoulders down; she was always standing behind a chair or something. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2014, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-actress-is-pregnant-but-her-character-is-not/702247/47 "2014-10-23T22:44:41Z")
The actress who plays Claire on Modern Family was pregnant first season. She carried a lot of laundry baskets around. > [@Munch](#): > > What, no one’s going to mention Sophia McShera as Daisy on Downton Abbey? 😉 Don’t. Even. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2014, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-actress-is-pregnant-but-her-character-is-not/702247/48 "2014-10-23T22:48:49Z")
> [@Weaver\_of\_Nightmares](#): > > Tiffany Thiessen, who plays Elizabeth Burke in _White Collar_, was pregnant during the second season. They dealt with it by sending the character to San Francisco for work-related reasons. She was still on the show though, usually via phone calls and stuff. It was really distracting as they did some weird filter or stretching or something in shots featuring her. I guess to make her face look less fat, as she really did (quite understandably, mind you) chunk up a bit. Honestly would have looked better if they’d just left things alone. ---
**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:** [October 23, 2014, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-actress-is-pregnant-but-her-character-is-not/702247/49 "2014-10-23T23:48:54Z")
There are also pitfalls for acknowledging the actress is pregnant in the plot. **Cheers** started a story arc about Rebecca Howe wanting to have a child with Sam as a way to write in Kirstie Alley’s real pregnancy. Alas, after a couple of episodes were aired, Alley miscarried; the plot was immediately dropped. ---
**Author:** ![Wolf333](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf333/32/3460_2.png) [@Wolf333](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wolf333)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2014, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-actress-is-pregnant-but-her-character-is-not/702247/50 "2014-10-23T23:54:34Z")
Emily Procter during either season 9 or 10 of _CSI: Miami_. They changed her style (lots of dark pantsuits with jackets) and she stood/sat behind a lot of desks and boxes. Rachael Leigh Cook during season 2 of _Perception_. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2014, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-actress-is-pregnant-but-her-character-is-not/702247/51 "2014-10-24T02:48:35Z")
> [@Wolf333](#): > > Emily Procter during either season 9 or 10 of _CSI: Miami_. They changed her style (lots of dark pantsuits with jackets) and she stood/sat behind a lot of desks and boxes. I don’t ever remember her being dressed otherwise. 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2014, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-actress-is-pregnant-but-her-character-is-not/702247/52 "2014-10-24T13:38:51Z")
> [@kstarnes](#): > > I want y’all to ponder this: If your life choices hurt a production. Shouldn’t they be allowed to ax you? They may very well make the decision not to because you’re incredibly valuable but why should there be a legal prohibition against it? > > Just ponder that but do not respond. Carry on. I think the answer is “it’s complicated”. The previously referenced Hunter Tylo lawsuit certainly set a precedent and served to make producers wary, but the decision was more nuanced than “you can’t fire her because she’s pregnant” - it delved into whether the pregnancy constituted a material change in her appearance and whether it could have been adequately worked around. But Tylo was not established on the show at the time of her pregnancy. Most of the pregnant actresses we have been discussing were major characters on show that were established, long running and profitable franchises. Yes, they may have made “life choices that hurt a production” but when that production takes up over a decade of your child-bearing years I really don’t think it’s unreasonable to expect that production to work with you a little bit. And from a financial POV, I can only imagine that the producers of a show like Seinfeld or Frasier would much rather work with their lead actresses than risk losing them for forever, ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2014, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-actress-is-pregnant-but-her-character-is-not/702247/53 "2014-10-24T13:45:54Z")
> [@blondebear](#): > > Yep, you’re right. I was remembering her not being her usual svelte self in the movie, but that was because filming was right after she had her baby. She’s pregnant again right now, and I think should be filming the next series of _House of Lies_ at the moment. I wonder how they’re handling it. ---
**Author:** ![slitterst](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecc23a/32.png) [@slitterst](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slitterst)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2014, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-actress-is-pregnant-but-her-character-is-not/702247/54 "2014-10-24T13:56:05Z")
> [@OttoDaFe](#): > > I recall reading that when Marian and Harold were embracing (I believe it was after the picnic), young Mr Cassidy let loose with a kick that caught Robert Preston pretty solidly in the gut. They had to reshoot. Shirley Jones told the story at an event I was working. According to her, the pregnancy was unknown to everyone but the producers and costume designer. So Robert Preston was quite surprised by that kick. Shirley broke the tension by saying “Rob, I’d like to introduce you to Patrick Cassidy.” ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2014, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-actress-is-pregnant-but-her-character-is-not/702247/55 "2014-10-24T22:29:50Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > There are also pitfalls for acknowledging the actress is pregnant in the plot. **Cheers** started a story arc about Rebecca Howe wanting to have a child with Sam as a way to write in Kirstie Alley’s real pregnancy. Alas, after a couple of episodes were aired, Alley miscarried; the plot was immediately dropped. See also Married With Children. ---
**Author:** ![Dinna\_Fash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ea924/32.png) [@Dinna\_Fash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinna_Fash)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2014, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-actress-is-pregnant-but-her-character-is-not/702247/56 "2014-10-25T04:54:13Z")
Jennifer Beals, in the 3rd season of the L Word. Her character explores Buddhism and wears flowing clothes, later she is mostly hidden behind jackets, oversized bags, and other props. Also, no more sex scenes for her :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![StJoan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@StJoan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StJoan)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2014, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-actress-is-pregnant-but-her-character-is-not/702247/57 "2014-10-26T14:18:14Z")
Sarah Jessica Parker in one of the seasons (either 5 or 6) of Sex and the City. The writers just wrote around her pregnancy, and I think there were fewer episodes in that season as well. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2014, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-actress-is-pregnant-but-her-character-is-not/702247/58 "2014-10-26T14:58:55Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > Way back in the day, I was watching some Kate & Allie retrospective that talked about a season where one of the two was pregnant and showed clips of all the contrived bag/laundry carrying, standing behind counters and wearing novelty costumes they did to keep her in the show. > > > [@That\_Don\_Guy](#): > > > > The main gimmick was, when Susan Saint James was pregnant, they had her fall down a flight of stairs (short version: they got a $500 reward for finding a man’s wallet with thousands of dollars in it, and each was supposed to buy something “frivolous” with their $250, but Allie bought an expensive sewing machine and tried to hide it from Kate by putting it on a staircase; Kate didn’t see it when she needed to descend the stairs for some reason). And for three or four episodes thereafter, they had her in a hospital bed in traction, with the bed tray always in place to cover her belly. On _Roseanne_, Laurie Metcalf was pregnant, and they wrote it into the show, but the problem was that she was huge at the beginning of the “pregnancy” season, and they tried to hide it for two or three episodes, not well, while she made the announcement, and established that she was pregnant, then suddenly she was about 7 months pregnant. Sela Ward was pregnant for part of a season of _Sisters_. There are lots of shots of her sitting on a couch with a pillow on her lap. I think the producers got lucky, and she wasn’t terribly big by the time shooting ended, and she had the baby over the summer. Kaley Cuoco just got married, and that was followed by the sudden decision on the show for Penny to become engaged to Leonard on _TBBT_, after all those seasons of waffling, probably in anticipation of her possibly becoming pregnant. ---
**Author:** ![lew\_cody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e274bd/32.png) [@lew\_cody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lew_cody)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2014, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-actress-is-pregnant-but-her-character-is-not/702247/59 "2014-10-26T15:25:11Z")
Judy Garland was pregnant with Liza at the time she filmed her sequences for _Till the Clouds Roll By_ in October-November 1945. Garland was mostly filmed from the waist up, but when her full figure is visible in the “Sunny” and “Who?” numbers, she’s not too obviously pregnant, IMO. ---
**Author:** ![Jim\_s\_Son](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19adc/32.png) [@Jim\_s\_Son](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_s_Son)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2014, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-actress-is-pregnant-but-her-character-is-not/702247/60 "2014-10-27T19:23:55Z")
Susan Lucci was once pregnant and they didn’t write it into her “All My Children” character Erica Kane. So they did a plot were Erica was depressed, stayed in bed and got fat eating bon bons all day. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-actress-is-pregnant-but-her-character-is-not/702247.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-actress-is-pregnant-but-her-character-is-not/702247.md?page=4)