Pregnancy has long been associated with a certain kind of fashion—flowing silhouettes, breathable fabrics and outfits designed to keep a changing figure carefully covered.
However, several showbiz stars have challenged those conventions over the years, turning their style choices into statements of their own.
Not all of them earned praise, though, with some becoming lightning rods for criticism and proving that dressing for motherhood can be just as divisive as it is eye-catching.
This list looks at 12 such celebrity looks, spanning Hollywood actresses and chart-topping singers who dared to break the mold.
#1 Anne Hathaway
Anne Hathaway attracted plenty of attention on Sunday, August 9, when she stepped out for the Los Angeles premiere of The End of Oak Street in an icy-blue cape-style gown paired with low-rise denim jeans.
The combination allowed her to flaunt her baby bump, leaving some old-school netizens unimpressed.
“She is a gorgeous woman. Why did she spoil it by acting cheap?” one person asked.
“People are so desperate for attention,” another added.
The criticism extended beyond Hathaway’s fashion choices, with some even questioning whether her bump was real.
“How did her bump get so big, so fast?” one user asked, referring to the actress having only mild swelling in her belly in June, when she announced she was expecting.
“It’s definitely prosthetic,” they added.
Hathaway dismissed the speculation by sharing a get-ready-with-me video on Monday, captioning it, “Fake hair, real bump.”
The actress is already a mother to sons Jonathan, 10, and Jack, 6, whom she shares with husband Adam Shulman.
Image source: Getty/Emma McIntyre , Getty/Emma McIntyre
#2 Rihanna
Rihanna welcomed her daughter, Rocki, in September 2025, following the births of her sons, RZA and Riot, with longtime partner A$AP Rocky in 2022 and 2023, respectively.
In August of that year, she had seemingly foreshadowed the gender of her baby in a 2001 Issey Miyake dress featuring semi-sheer pleats in a gradient of pink tones and a shoulder-engulfing neckline.
The ensemble also reflected the late designer’s interest in portraying the body as something fluid rather than fixed.
That artistic intent, however, was lost on some X users, who quickly compared the rapper to colorful desserts.
“She looks like a bloated cupcake,” one person wrote.
“A walking cotton candy,” another added.
The disappointment was intense enough for many users to call for the firing of her stylist, Jahleel Weaver.
Image source: The Image Direct
#3 Adriana Lima
Adriana Lima, widely celebrated as one of Victoria’s Secret’s most valuable Angels, embraced a decidedly daring approach to motherhood when she took to the runway.
The model showcased her baby bump in a ruffled, belly-baring cut-out dress, paired with a coordinating cardigan and glossy scrunch thigh-high boots, as she walked in Alexander Wang’s Fortune City show in Los Angeles in April 2022.
Her decision to leave her bump on display, however, sparked an unusual wave of controversy online.
One Reddit user remarked that her stomach looked “odd,” likening it to “inflated abs,” while another joked that it looked as though “an alien’s going to burst out of there.”
The model gave birth to a son in August. She and her boyfriend, entertainment executive and film producer Andre Lemmers, named him Cyan.
Lima also shares two daughters, Valentina and Sienna, born in 2009 and 2012, with ex-husband Marko Jaric.
Image source: Getty/Frazer Harrison, Getty/Frazer Harrison
#4 Sienna Miller
Sienna Miller experienced an unplanned pregnancy at 41 in 2023 and announced the news with an outfit she later admitted she was initially “nervous about.”
“But once I had it on, everything else felt boring,” she said.
The ensemble consisted of a white cropped shirt paired with a matching voluminous skirt.
The styling once again became a source of online debate, with one critic advising Miller—and other expecting mothers—to keep the “stupid trend” of baring baby bumps “out of” people’s faces.
Pregnancy in her 40s also made Miller the subject of jokes about being a middle-aged mother, something she admitted was frustrating.
In an interview with People, she said, “I’d love to get to a point where I didn’t feel the need to make a joke of my being older and having a baby. To show I’m in on the joke.”
Miller eventually welcomed a girl in December 2023.
She went on to have another child with fiancé Oli Green in early 2026.
Her latest pregnancy also gave hope to a woman in her 40s who said she wished for a “conception every day,” despite knowing the odds were slim.
“This made me think, ‘It’s possible for me too,’” she said.
Miller also shares a teenage daughter, Marlowe, born in 2012, with ex-husband Tom Sturridge.
Image source: Getty/Mike Marsland , Getty/Mike Marsland
#5 Kate Hudson
90s icon Kate Hudson remains a fashion reference point to this day, thanks in part to her iconic gold backless dress from How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days.
However, in a 2022 interview with Elle, she revealed that another look from her wardrobe had also secured its place in fashion history.
The ensemble was a silver Chanel number that she wore to the 2003 Venice Film Festival, where she debuted her pregnancy.
The reaction to the outfit, however, was nowhere near as glowing as the praise reserved for her famous golden dress.
It was branded “outlandish” by one Reddit user, who added that it “looks like something made in the basement before homecoming.”
Hudson, however, had no regrets.
“But I loved it,” she said, describing it as her “favorite fashion moment.”
Image source: Getty/Pascal Le Segretain , Getty/J. Vespa
#6 Meghan Markle
“Cost as much as a car but still looks ugly.”
That was one Reddit user’s verdict on Meghan Markle’s headline-making $76,800 (£60,000) beige kaftan-style Dior gown.
The Duchess of Sussex wore the dress in 2019 during a visit to the British ambassador’s residence in Morocco.
According to Robert Jobson’s book The Windsor Legacy: A Royal Dynasty of Secrets, Scandal and Survival, the late Queen Elizabeth II was also unimpressed by it.
“She let Meghan know that such an expensive outfit was an ill-judged choice,” Jobson wrote.
Image source: Getty/Pool , Getty/Pool
#7 Kim Kardashian
A sheer catsuit was perhaps unsurprising coming from Kim Kardashian, who has long been known for taking risks with her aesthetics.
However, her 2015 experiment while expecting son Saint did not exactly win over armchair fashion critics.
“She can’t seriously think that hideous outfit is fashion-forward or even trendy. It’s a train wreck from top to bottom,” one said.
Another dismissed it as “#WhatNotToWear” when one is “pregnant or has a few pounds to lose.”
That was not Kardashian’s only controversial ensemble that year.
She also showcased a black Givenchy dress featuring lace detailing around her baby bump on Instagram, only for commenters to label the outfit “tacky” and “disgusting.”
Kardashian shares all four of her children—North, 13, Saint, 10, Chicago, 8, and Psalm, 7—with her now ex-husband, Kanye West.
Image source: Getty/Paul Morigi , Getty/Larry Busacca
#8 Suki Waterhouse
Suki Waterhouse stopped traffic at the 2023 Emmy Awards when she appeared on the red carpet in a red gown while expecting her first child with Rob Pattinson.
The Valentino creation featured a backless and largely sideless upper half, offering a striking view of the sides of her bump and her breasts.
Reddit users were particularly harsh in their assessment.
One described Waterhouse as looking like a “half-wrapped Christmas present,” while another delivered a much crisper criticism: “That’s just wrong.”
“Sorry, but I prefer a full gown on any woman, never mind a pregnant one,” a third person wrote.
Waterhouse later revealed that putting the ensemble together had been no easy feat.
“They really had to take it apart and redesign it to fit [my bump],” she said.
She and Pattinson became parents to a daughter in March 2024.
Image source: Getty/Jay L. Clendenin, Getty/Gilbert Flores
#9 Cardi B
Cardi B announced that she was expecting her first child with NFL star Stefon Diggs in September 2025.
The same month also saw the release of her second studio album, Am I the Drama?
At an event celebrating her work, the rapper appeared in a head-to-toe lacy bodysuit, leading one Reddit user to share their perspective based on personal experience.
“I hate the feeling of lace on my skin,” they said. “Being pregnant while wearing a full lace bodysuit, a wig, heels and that belt is like a full sensory nightmare.”
Much of the controversy, however, centered on her partner rather than her fashion choices.
Netizens were unhappy about Diggs being Cardi B’s baby daddy, with some describing him as “trash.”
Elsewhere, her former partner Offset, with whom she shares her three oldest children, Kulture, Wave and Blossom, sparked a storm by claiming that her fourth child was his as well.
He cited Cardi B getting together with Diggs soon after breaking up with him as the reason he was unsure about the child’s paternity.
His team later claimed that he had not been serious about the comments.
Image source: Getty/Robert Kamau , Getty/Claude Yao Sahi/Johnny Nunez
#10 Jessie J
Jessie J made a statement at the 2023 Brit Awards, arriving in a striking all-red ensemble consisting of a crop top and matching leggings with cut-outs that prominently displayed her baby bump.
A fur coat, bedazzled orb purse and slicked-back bun completed the look, which marked her first major red carpet appearance since announcing her pregnancy in December 2022.
The revealing outfit led a netizen to observe, “Pregnancy isn’t a free pass to dress like you’re going clubbing when attending a formal event.”
Image source: Getty/Mike Marsland , Getty/Mike Marsland
#11 Ciara
Ciara took the idea of dressing up her baby bump quite literally at The Color Purple world premiere in late 2023.
The singer decorated her belly with gold glitter, creating a shimmering, sculptural effect beneath the red carpet lights.
She paired the detail with a form-fitting gown while expecting her third child with husband Russell Wilson.
The dramatic styling drew plenty of attention, with reactions ranging from admiration to outright disbelief.
While some hailed her as a vision of maternity glamour, others questioned the practicality—and taste—of turning her bump into what one social media user likened to a “disco ball.”
“It’s a bit much—like she’s trying too hard to be the center of attention,” the user remarked.
Amora Princess Wilson was born on December 11, 2023.
Image source: Getty/Kayla Oaddams, Getty/Kayla Oaddams
#12 Elsa Pataky
Elsa Pataky’s form-fitting turquoise Elie Saab gown at the 2013 Oscars remains one of the more memorable controversial celebrity looks, particularly after it came under fire on E!’s Fashion Police.
Pregnant with twins at the time, Pataky opted for a drop-waist silhouette that closely hugged her figure.
The choice drew particularly harsh commentary from host Joan Rivers, who called her “huge,” while co-host George Kotsiopoulos delivered the now-infamous line: “It doesn’t look like a baby bump; it looks like a beer belly.”
Kelly Osbourne also criticized the ensemble as “not the appropriate dress to wear if you are pregnant,” suggesting that Pataky should have opted for empire-line styles instead.
She gave birth to twins Tristan and Sasha in March 2014.
Pataky and Hemsworth are also parents to India, born in May 2011.
Image source: Getty/Gregg DeGuire , Getty/Axelle/Bauer-Griffin
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