Celebrity Moms Who Spoke Openly About Experiencing Postpartum Depression
Many expectant parents imagine the early days with their newborn as a time filled with joy, bonding, and calm. However, even when everything goes according to plan, it’s impossible to predict exactly how one will feel — both physically and emotionally — after giving birth.
New mothers often face immense pressure to appear perfect, while mental health struggles continue to be stigmatized. As a result, many who experience symptoms of postpartum depression (PPD) either delay seeking help or question whether what they’re feeling is “serious enough” to be considered depression.
Fortunately, several well-known women have used their platforms to speak honestly about their experiences with PPD. By doing so, they’re helping to break the stigma and encourage others to seek the support and care they need.
1. Reese Witherspoon
Reese Witherspoon revealed that she experienced postpartum depression after the births of two of her three children.
During a 2020 episode of Jameela Jamil’s “I Weigh” podcast, the actress opened up about how each pregnancy brought a different experience.
“I’ve had three kids, and after each one, it was completely different,” she shared. “With one, I had mild postpartum depression. With another, it was severe — I had to take strong medication because I just wasn’t thinking clearly at all. And with my third, I didn’t experience postpartum at all.”
Her openness serves as an important reminder that postpartum depression can vary greatly from one person — and one pregnancy — to another.
2. Behati Prinsloo Encouraged Parents to Seek Support
Supermodel and former Victoria’s Secret Angel Behati Prinsloo has been candid about her experience with postpartum struggles following the birth of her first child, Dusty Rose, with husband and singer Adam Levine.
“I experienced moments of postpartum after our first baby where I felt it creeping in,” she revealed during an interview with Today in June 2019. “But my husband was incredibly supportive and always helped pull me through.”
Prinsloo acknowledged that it’s normal for new mothers to feel overwhelmed. “As a young, first-time mom, it’s easy to feel helpless and overly emotional. I was lucky mine wasn’t severe, but I could definitely sense myself slipping at times,” she said.
The mother of two urged parents experiencing any level of postpartum distress to seek help early and reach out for support instead of suffering in silence.
3. Hayden Panettiere Opened Up About Seeking Treatment for PPD
Actress Hayden Panettiere, best known for her role on Nashville, has been open about her battle with postpartum depression after welcoming her daughter, Kaya, in December 2014.
During a 2015 appearance on Live! With Kelly and Michael, Panettiere shared, “There’s a lot of misunderstanding about postpartum depression. Many people still think it’s not real or that it’s all in your head.”
She continued, “It’s something completely uncontrollable — painful, frightening — and women need all the support they can get.”
Panettiere checked into a treatment facility for PPD in October 2015 and later tweeted in May 2016 that she was taking time to “reflect holistically on [her] health and life.” In a January 2017 interview on Good Morning America, she said she was feeling “fabulous” and “great,” showing how far she had come in her recovery journey.
4. Chrissy Teigen Said Antidepressants Helped Her Cope with PPD
In a powerful essay published by Glamour in March 2017, model and author Chrissy Teigen shared her experience with postpartum depression after welcoming her daughter, Luna, in April 2016.
“Everyone around me seemed to know something was wrong — except me,” she wrote. “How could I feel this way when everything in my life seemed perfect?”
After being diagnosed in December 2016, Teigen began taking antidepressants, which she said made her feel “like a completely different person.” Her openness helped spark important conversations about maternal mental health.
5. Brooke Shields Wants to Remove the Stigma Around PPD
After giving birth to her first daughter, Rowan, in 2003, actress and model Brooke Shields faced her own battle with postpartum depression. She chronicled her journey through recovery in her memoir, Down Came the Rain: My Journey Through Postpartum Depression, sharing how therapy and antidepressants helped her heal.
In a 2005 interview with Oprah Winfrey, Shields recalled, “I had no desire to even pretend to care about my baby. It terrified me.”
She has since become an advocate for maternal mental health, emphasizing that no new mother should feel ashamed. “If I’d been diagnosed with any other illness, I would have run to get help,” she told People. “Eventually, I did fight — and I survived.”
6. Drew Barrymore Experienced PPD After Her Second Child
Actress Drew Barrymore said she didn’t experience postpartum depression after giving birth to her first daughter, Olive. However, things felt different after the arrival of her second child, Frankie, in 2014.
“I came under the cloud,” Barrymore told People, describing how unexpected and overwhelming it felt. Her PPD lasted about six months, but it taught her a valuable lesson: the importance of staying present and taking care of herself emotionally.
7. Bryce Dallas Howard Overcame PPD with a Variety of Supports
In a personal essay for Goop in 2010, actress Bryce Dallas Howard shared her intense struggle with postpartum depression after giving birth to her son, Theo.
“It’s strange to remember that version of myself,” she wrote. “I felt emotionally numb — unable to cry, laugh, or truly connect. I would pretend for the sake of others, but in private, I would collapse into uncontrollable sobs in the shower.”
Howard credited her recovery to multiple sources: a homeopathic treatment plan from her midwife, guidance from her doctor, the support of friends, and inspiration from Brooke Shields’ memoir. Together, these helped her find light after a dark chapter.
8. Adele Found Healing Through Talking About Postpartum Depression
After welcoming her son, Angelo, in 2012, Adele confessed that she struggled with postpartum depression but kept it to herself for a long time. In an interview with Vanity Fair, the singer revealed that she only began to feel better when she started opening up to friends who had gone through similar experiences.
“One day, I told a friend, ‘I f------ hate this,’ and she burst into tears, saying, ‘I f------ hate this too,’” Adele shared. “And just like that, it lifted.”
9. Amanda Peet Faced Serious Postpartum Depression After Her First Child
Actress Amanda Peet first opened up to Gotham magazine in 2008 about her “fairly serious postpartum depression” following the birth of her daughter, Frances. After an uplifting pregnancy, Peet expected motherhood to feel fulfilling — but reality hit differently.
“I thought I’d feel completely fulfilled after giving birth,” she said. “Instead, I felt exhausted, conflicted, and uncertain about myself as a mother,” she told People.
10. Sarah Michelle Gellar Shared Her Journey to Overcome PPD
In 2017, actress Sarah Michelle Gellar used Instagram to share her postpartum depression story after giving birth to her daughter, Charlotte, in 2009.
“Having kids is wonderful and life-changing, but it’s rarely what you’re prepared for,” she wrote. “I love my children more than anything, but like many women, I too struggled with postpartum depression after my first was born. I got help and made it through — and every day since has been the greatest gift.”
11. Courteney Cox Experienced Delayed Postpartum Depression
Friends alum Courteney Cox revealed in a 2005 USA Today interview that her postpartum depression hit six months after her daughter, Coco, was born — a delayed onset that caught her by surprise.
“I couldn’t sleep,” she recalled. “My heart was racing, and I became very depressed. When I saw my doctor, I learned that my hormones had been completely depleted.”
According to People, Cox was prescribed progesterone and leaned on close friends Jennifer Aniston and Brooke Shields for emotional support.
12. Melissa Rycroft Realized Her PPD After Talking to Her Husband
TV personality Melissa Rycroft told The Bump that she initially thought she just had the “baby blues” after her daughter Ava’s birth in 2011. It wasn’t until she talked with her husband that she realized her emotions were something more serious.
“I thought women with postpartum depression wanted to hurt their babies — but for me, it wasn’t like that,” she explained. “I just felt this emptiness that didn’t make sense. I wasn’t unhappy, but I knew something was chemically off. I’d get frustrated and angry so easily.”
13. Alanis Morissette Faced Postpartum Depression More Than Once
Grammy-winning musician Alanis Morissette first experienced postpartum depression in 2010. When her daughter Onyx was born in 2016, she recognized the familiar signs returning.
In 2017, she told People that she was still coping with PPD 14 months after giving birth. “As a kid, I imagined having children and being with an amazing partner,” she said. “But postpartum depression was a curveball I never expected.”
14. Lena Headey Called Motherhood and PPD “Tricky”
In an interview with Net-A-Porter’s The EDIT, Game of Thrones star Lena Headey revealed that she struggled with postpartum depression after giving birth to her son, Wylie, in 2010.
“I didn’t realize I was postnatally depressed,” she said. “During a checkup, I broke down crying. The doctor told me I was suffering from postpartum depression. I started therapy, and it helped — but I spent my first year on Game of Thrones balancing new motherhood and mental health. It was a strange, difficult time.”
