Gay parenthood is becoming increasingly common. In schools across the nation, many classrooms will now have one or more kids with queer parents.
To mark Father’s Day this Sunday (June 18th), let’s take a look at some of the better-known celebrity gay daddies.
Click through to check them out all out for their special day…
1. Cheyenne Jackson and Jason Landau
Cheyenne Jackson met his husband, Jason Landau, in 2013. They married in 2014. In October 2016, they welcomed twins Ethan and Willow into their lives.
2. Lance Bass and Michael Turchin
Former NSYNC member Lance Bass began dating painter and actor Michael Turchin in January 2011. They married on December 20, 2014. Their surrogacy journey proved complicated and involved several attempts. They welcomed twins Violet Betty and Alexander James in October 2021.
3. Elton John and David Furnish
Rock royalty Elton John began dating David Furnish in 1993. They were among the first same-sex couples to have a civil partnership ceremony when the law changed in the UK in December 2005. They changed this to marriage in 2014. Their elder son, Zachary Furnish-John, was born via a surrogate on Christmas Day 2010. Younger brother Elijah arrived January 11, 2013.
4. Karamo Brown
In 2007, Queer Eye star Karamo Brown, then 26, was made aware that he was the father of a ten-year-old boy, Jason. He took custody of him that same year. Brown adopted Jason’s half-brother Chris in 2010. Karamo is now dating photographer Carlos Medel. In 2019, Karamo and Jason published a children’s book together, entitled I Am Perfectly Designed.
5. Tan and Rob France
Tan France and husband Rob, an illustrator and pediatric nurse, welcomed their first son, Ismail, in July 2021. The child was born via surrogate seven weeks early, while Tan was in the UK. This led to the Queer Eye and Next In Fashion presenter frantically trying to arrange a flight back to the US, while COVID restrictions were still in place. He was sadly not able to be present for the birth, and Ismail had to spend three weeks in ICU. Their second son, Isaac, was born in May 2023.
6. Ricky Martin and Jwan Yosef
Singer and actor Ricky Martin became a dad to twins, Matteo and Valentino, in 2008. He married Swiss artist Jwan Yosef in in 2017. They are fathers to four children. Besides their twins, they had a daughter Lucia Martin-Yosef in December 2018, followed by another son, Renn Martin-Yosef, in October 2019.
7. Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka
Neil Patrick Harris began dating David Burtka in 2004, two years before he publicly came out. They married in September 2014 in Italy. Their children, twins Gideon and Harper, were born via a surrogate on October 12, 2010.
8. Shaun T and Scott Blokker
WTF?!?!! I’m gonna ground them all! ? https://t.co/snwC0BSKQ3
— Scott Blokker (@ScottBlokker) March 9, 2023
Fitness expert Shaun T (née Shaun Thompson), married husband Scott Blokker back in 2012. They tried for several years to become parents. In 2017, they finally became dads to twin sons Silas Rhys and Sander Vaughn after 12 earlier attempts with five different surrogates.
9. Dustin Lance Black and Tom Daley
Oscar winner Black, and diver Daley met in the spring of 2013, and get engaged in 2015. They married in 2017, and welcomed their son, Robbie, to the world in June 2018. He was named after Daley’s father, Robert, who died in 2011 from brain cancer. Their second son, Phoenix Rose, was born March 28, 2023.
10. Andy Cohen
Andy Cohen is dad to Benjamin Allen Cohen, 4, and Lucy Eve Cohen, 1. Both were born via surrogate and Cohen has said they are biological siblings.
11. Anderson Cooper and Benjamin Maisani
Anderson Cooper became a dad in June 2020 with the birth of his son, Wyatt. A second son, Sebastian, arrived in 2022. Anderson is raising his kids in a co-parenting relationship with his ex-partner, Benjamin Maisani (swipe above to see a pic of the whole family).
12. Pete and Chasten Buttigieg
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Chasten Glezman began dating in August 2015. They married in June 2016. They became dads when they adopted newborn twins in August 2021. Their children are named Penelope Rose and Joseph August.
13. Perez Hilton
Controversial celebrity blogger Perez Hilton became a dad with the birth of his son, Mario, via a surrogate, in February 2013. Daughter Mia Alma Lavandeira was born in 2015, followed by a second daughter, Mayte Amor, in 2017.
14. Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Justin Mikita
Ferguson and Mikita met in 2010 and began dating a few months later. They wed in 2013. They are parents to two sons. The first, Beckett Sullivan, arrived via surrogate on July 7, 2020. Their second, Sullivan Louis Ferguson-Mikita, was born last November.
15. Lee Daniels
Writer, director and producer Lee Daniels adopted his niece and nephew, Clara and Liam, when they were just three days old after his brother was sent to prison. He did so with a former partner, Billy Hopkins. The two men have since separated. Daniels has been dating his current partner, Jahil Fisher, for the past half a dozen years.
FreddieW
Good for them! Childlessness is an advantage of being gay that I wouldn’t sacrifice. Dogs are good for substitutes, and I know a straight father who says he prefers his dog to his kids.
ShaverC
Where are David Burtka’s other kids?
Chrisk
Most did it through surrogacy which costs between 100k – 130k. Not to mention another 300k to raise them to 17. Then the cost of school. That’s just one kid.
If you’re rich or you’ve had them through other means then yeah for sure.
GayEGO
I wish gay marriage would have been sooner, my husband and I were interested in raising kids back in the 1980s.
MacTavish14
It’s Anthony Rapp’s first father’s day. Was hoping he’d have made the list.
inbama
Like children in straight families conceived using sperm or egg donors, I wonder if they’ll be eventually try to track down the woman who donated her egg or the one who rented her womb. And the kids would likely have semi-siblings as well.