THE BIGGEST BROODS
One and done? No way! When it comes to having children, these celebs firmly believe the more, the merrier
There’s a sweet reason the Dawson’s Creek alum moved his crew from L.A. to Austin in 2020 — they needed wide, open spaces for their growing family! The actor and his wife, Kimberly, parents to Olivia, 11, Joshua, 9, Annabel, 8, Emilia, 5, and Gwendolyn, 3, welcomed son Jeremiah last year, after suffering two late-term miscarriages. Dad-life suits Van Der Beek, who’s said, “There’s no one ‘right way’ to raise a tiny human. The good news is, kids will teach you how to raise them.”
He may be bullish in the kitchen, but the celeb chef is a softie when it comes to being dad to Megan, 23, twins Holly and Jack, 22, Matilda, 20, and Oscar, 2, with wife Tana. “I’m firm, I’m fair and I will give you everything I’ve got to get you to the very top,” he’s said of his parenting style. He’s also opened up about how hard it was when the older ones left for college. “I was a mess,” he confessed of dropping Jack off at school. “Like, my best mate has just left me!”
The 90210 alum admitted that raising five kids can be a challenge — especially since she tries to do so much of it on her own! “I grew up with a nanny full-time, so I was always like, ‘When I have kids, I’m going to do it all myself!’” Spelling has said. She shares Liam, 14, Stella, 13, Hattie, 10, Finn, 9, and Beau, 4, with her husband, Dean McDermott, and says teamwork is what makes the dream work. “Their dad and I split the [duties] up and it works out, but it’s a lot!”
It’s the most famous family in the world! Kris, mom to Kourtney, 42, Kim, 41, Khloé, 37, Rob, 34, Kendall, 26, and Kylie, 24, may be known around Hollywood as the “Momager,” but she’s still a parent who’s always there for her children in times of need. “The kids come first,” she’s said of what she’s learned as a mama. “If you keep that in the front of your mind, you know they’re going to get through [anything]. The love is going to get you through.”
Alec and his wife, Hilaria, shocked the world when they welcomed two babies within a year: daughter Lucia arrived via surrogate last March after Hilaria had given birth to their son Edu in September 2020. (The new additions joined older siblings Carmen, 8, Rafael, 6, Leonardo, 5, and Romeo, 3.) The 30 Rock actor, also dad to daughter Ireland, 26, has said he likes being an older father. “I think you appreciate it more. When I was younger, when work was primary, I had to divide my time with that.”
The Fixer Upper stars have a few rules for keeping things cohesive at home with their kiddos, Drake, 17, Ella, 15, Duke, 13, Emmie, 12, and Crew, 3: no phones during meals for the grown-ups, and no iPads for kids until their homework and chores are done. But the most important element? Have fun! Joanna has praised Chip for being “the best kind of dad, the kind that lets his daughters french braid his hair right before he takes them shopping, even if the college world series is on.”