Happy Father’s Day! Gay dads have many options nowadays for raising kids, from surrogacy to adoption many — and a study has even shown that kids of gay dads are happier and healthier than kids of straight parents!
On that note, here are some of our favorite famous gay dads. These men are making it clear that gay dads can be amazing parents.
1. Cheyenne Jackson & Jason Landau
Cheyenne Jackson and his husband, actor Jason Landau, have two adorable kids, Willow and Ethan, via surrogacy. Biologically, one child is Jackson’s, and one is Landau’s. The kids were born in 2016, and as we can see, they’re growing up great.
2. Tan France
Queer Eye‘s Tan France and his husband Rob have two kids, via surrogacy. In 2021, Ismail was born, and in late 2023, he was joined by Isaac. The couple are participating in a newish trend where parents are keeping their kids’ privacy by covering up faces in photos until the kids are old enough to consent to being posted online.
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3. Pete Buttigieg
Former presidential candidate and current Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and his husband Chasten have twins. They adopted Penelope Rose and Joseph August in August 2021. Of course, right-wingers couldn’t understand why he’d want to take two months of paternity leave — apparently not understanding that babies need a lot of care.
4. Dustin Lance Black and Tom Daley
SO THANKFUL. Happy #Thanksgiving to our family & friends in the States. In a challenging year, I’ve felt so fortunate to have our little family near…and for Tom’s new knitting skills. For bow ties. pic.twitter.com/FSgVME3oZh
— Dustin Lance Black (@DLanceBlack) November 26, 2020
Filmmaker Dustin Lance Black and Olympian Tom Daley have welcomed two children into their lives via surrogacy. The first child, Robbie, was born in 2018, and he was joined by Phoenix Rose in 2023.
5. Anderson Cooper
CNN megastar Anderson Cooper has two children, Wyatt and Sebastian. Though he ended up breaking up in 2018 with his former partner, Benjamin Maisani, the two friends co-parent, and Maisani has even adopted Wyatt and Sebastian.
6. Robbie Rogers & Greg Berlanti
Soccer star Robbie Rogers and television creator Greg Berlanti had a child, Caleb, with a surrogate in 2016. Even six months after his birth, Rogers was teaching Caleb to follow in his footsteps by teaching him how to kick.
7. Neil Patrick Harris & David Burtka
Father’s Day is coming, and Wondercade, my weekly email newsletter, is calling all fathers, dads, papas and daddies!
Send us your best Dad Joke (or is it the*worst*?)! We’ll run my favorites in next Wednesday’s Father’s Day edition of @Wondercade. pic.twitter.com/3t5ndXxUWo
— Neil Patrick Harris (@ActuallyNPH) June 9, 2022
Actor Neil Patrick Harris and his husband, actor/chef David Burtka welcomed their twins Gideon Scott and Harper Grace in 2010. Since then, Harris has called fatherhood his most important role, saying it’s shown him the “magic in everyday life.”
8. Anthony Rapp
A perfect day for a family outing. And it was Rai’s first experience of the Atlantic Ocean. #bliss #samesexparents #queerfamily pic.twitter.com/0C5WyvsSyY
— Anthony Rapp SAG-AFTRA National Board Member (@albinokid) April 4, 2023
Star Trek star Anthony Rapp and his partner, yoga instructor Ken Ithiphol, have two children. Rai Larson Ithiphol was born in December 2022, and he was joined in November 2023 by Keony Lee Ithiphol.
9. Elton John
LGBTQ+ legend Elton John has yet another hyphenate to add to his long list of talents: gay dad. He and his partner, David Furnish, have two sons, Elijah, 11, and Zachary, 13. Both were given birth by a surrogate; the ever-classy New York Post announced the 2010 birth of Zachary as “Elton & Wife Proud Dads.” Ugh.
10. Nate Berkus and Jeremiah Brent
Trolls pic.twitter.com/fF2ZkI6sM2
— Nate Berkus (@NateBerkus) January 20, 2024
Queer Eye‘s Jeremiah Brent and American Dream Builders host Nate Berkus have two kids together, Poppy, 9, and Oskar, 6. Both children were delivered by surrogate, but by different surrogates.
11. Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Justin Mikita
Actor couple Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Justin Mikita have two children, Beckett Mercer born in July 2020 and Sullivan Louis, born November 2022, both carried by the same surrogate. Ferguson joked he’ll be trying his best to raise his kids as gay — though if they come out as straight, he’ll love them anyway.
12. Ricky Martin
With my platoon, “to infinity and beyond”#happyDayforPapi #ontheroadagain #thankful 👧🏼👦🏻👦🏼👦🏽👨👧👦👨👦👦 pic.twitter.com/efTDF9puv7
— Ricky Martin (@ricky_martin) November 23, 2023
Ricky Martin has four children. His two youngest, Lucia and Renn, were born with a surrogate to Martin and his ex Jwan Yosef. Yosef and Martin divorced in 2023, but share custody. Martin has two other kids born in 2008, Matteo and Valentino, which he raised as a single parent.
13. Terrell and Jarius Joseph
Instagram influencers Terrell and Jarius Joseph had twins via surrogacy when they were 22, and had a third child last year. They say they were the youngest Black gay couple to have a surrogate.
14. Dennis O’Hare and Hugo Redwood
Actors Dennis O’Hare and Hugo Redwood met their son Declan when he was put in their care in the foster system in 2011. Three years later, they adopted him. From the pictures on Redwood’s Instagram, it’s clear the two gay dads adore their son.
15. Rufus Wainwright
Rufus Wainwright tends to keep his children out of the public eye, so we’ve just put in one of his prettier songs in place of a photo of his child. But Wainwright and his partner Jörn Weisbrodt have an uncommon arrangement — the couple are raising their daughter, Viva Katherine, with the girl’s mother, Lorca Cohen, the daughter of famed songwriter Leonard Cohen. Viva lives with her mom.
16. Shaun T and Scott Blokker
Fitness influencer Shaun T. and his husband, soccer star Scott Blokker have two adorable twins, Sander and Silas. The two kids, born in 2017, have just graduated kindergarten, and have two very proud papas.
17. Karamo Brown
Queer Eye star Karamo Brown found out he had a son when Jason turned 10, and Brown later adopted Jason’s half-brother, Christian, as well. Jason, who also goes by Rachel, wrote a children’s book with his dad, I Am Perfectly Designed, illustrated by Anoosha Syed. The book is described on Amazon as an “empowering ode to modern families.”
18. Lance Bass
N*Sync’s Lance Bass and his husband Michael Turchin welcomed twins in 2021, Violet Betty and Alexander James. The twins were born with the help of a surrogate and came into the world only one minute apart.
19. BD Wong
Jurassic Park star BD Wong has one son via surrogate, Jackson Foo Wong. Jackson’s brother, Boaz Dov, sadly passed away about 90 minutes after being born. Jackson is gay, just like his dad, having come out when he was 15.
20. Andy Cohen
Reality TV impresario Andy Cohen has two kids, Ben and Lucy. He’s said he helps raise his kids with a community of fellow gay dads like Anderson Cooper. But he also jokes that his experience with the Real Housewives has taught him a lot about dealing with toddlers.
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