Neena Gupta To Ileana D’Cruz: Bollywood Actresses Who Chose Motherhood Without Marriage
Motherhood in the Bollywood world was typically associated with marriage until some actresses took up the challenge to become mothers independently of marriage. Below is the story of five such women.
Neena Gupta
Known to be the first one to do so in Indian cinema, Neena Gupta got pregnant in the late 1980s in her relationship with the former West Indies cricketer Vivian Richards who was already married back then. She decided to give birth to her child, now a famous fashion designer named Masaba Gupta, despite the odds stacked against her. According to her autobiography titled Sach Kahun Toh, the actress faced many difficulties and resistance from her family, apart from her father who supported her in that decision.
Sushmita Sen
The former Miss Universe and actress Sushmita Sen has chosen to become a single mother by adoption way earlier than her peers. She adopted her first daughter named Renee back in 2000 when she was only 24 and had to face legal battles for the right to adopt her since the existing legislation did not allow a single woman to do that. She adopted her second daughter, Alisah, in 2010 and managed to raise both of them as a single mother and continue working as an actress.
Raveena Tandon
Before the actress started to build her film career, she decided to adopt two little girls, Pooja and Chhaya, at the age of 21 as an unmarried woman which received plenty of criticism and scepticism in the industry. Nevertheless, she succeeded in raising both of them as a single mother before her own marriage and treated her adopted kids equally to her biological ones.
Kalki Koechlin
The actress Kalki Koechlin who played in films such as Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani has chosen to become a mother being in a live-in relationship with the Israeli painter Guy Hershberg without getting married. Kalki gave birth to her daughter in 2020 and shared the details of her pregnancy and mothering online. Prior to this relationship, Kalki used to be married to the filmmaker Anurag Kashyap whose marriage ended up in divorce in 2015.
Ileana D'Cruz
In recent times, actress Ileana D'Cruz revealed her pregnancy in the year 2023, opting to become a mother by herself and keeping the name of her lover confidential. She is famous for leading a private life all along and even when pregnant, chose not to reveal anything about the name of the father of her baby.
