Lily Collins and Charlie McDowell welcome baby via surrogacy—and shut down critics
Lily Collins, the 35-year-old star of Emily in Paris, and her husband, director and screenwriter Charlie McDowell, are officially parents! On January 31, 2025, the couple announced the birth of their first child, a baby girl named Tove Jane McDowell, born via surrogacy.
The couple shared the news in an emotional Instagram post, accompanied by a photo of baby Tove in a floral bonnet.
“Welcome to the center of our world, Tove Jane McDowell,” Collins wrote. “Words will never express our endless gratitude for our incredible surrogate and everyone who helped us along the way. We love you to the moon and back again.”
Collins and McDowell had chosen to keep their path to parenthood private until now, a decision that has only deepened the significance of their announcement. But as the couple celebrates this new chapter, their story has also ignited a broader conversation about surrogacy—one that McDowell was quick to address.
Related: I’ve been a surrogate three times: Here’s what I want people to know
Shutting down the critics
While their baby news was met with an outpouring of love, McDowell took to Instagram to respond to negative comments about their choice to use a surrogate.
“In regards to the unkind messages about surrogacy and our path to having a baby—it’s OK to not be an expert on surrogacy,” McDowell, 41, wrote. “It’s OK to not know why someone might need a surrogate to have a child. It’s OK to not know the motivations of a surrogate regardless of what you assume. And it’s OK to spend less time spewing hateful words into the world, especially in regards to a beautiful baby girl who has brought a lot of love into people’s lives.”
Then, in classic new dad fashion, he added, “That’s all for now because she just pooped and I need to change her diaper.”
A longtime dream come true
For Collins, the journey to motherhood has been deeply personal. In a 2017 interview with Us Weekly, she reflected on her past struggles with an eating disorder and how they shaped her vision for the future.
“My reason to finally start talking about [my eating disorder] was the moment I realized I wanted a family,” she said at the time. “I wanted kids. I didn’t want this to be something I bring into that.”
Now, Collins and McDowell—who met on the set of Gilded Rage in 2019 and married in a stunning 2021 ceremony at Dunton Hot Springs, Colorado—are embracing parenthood alongside their beloved dog, Redford.
Surrogacy in the United States: A growing path to parenthood
Collins and McDowell’s decision to pursue surrogacy is part of a broader shift in family-building choices. In the United States, surrogacy has gained significant visibility over the years, with over 30,000 surrogate pregnancies recorded between 1999 and 2013, resulting in 18,400 births, according to research published in The Linacre Quarterly.
More recently, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that in 2021, embryo transfer cycles using a gestational carrier surged to 8,862—nearly three times the number recorded a decade prior. This shift highlights the growing role of surrogacy for families navigating fertility challenges, medical concerns, or other obstacles to biological parenthood.
Collins and McDowell’s openness about their journey adds an important voice to this evolving conversation, helping to normalize and celebrate the many ways families are created today.
Related: Rebel Wilson says she felt ‘disconnected’ while using a surrogate to carry her child
A personal decision, a broader impact
While every surrogacy journey is unique, one thing remains constant: deep gratitude for those who make parenthood possible.
As Collins beautifully wrote in her announcement, “Words will never express our endless gratitude.”
