Famous Prems

Photo by ©Christiaan Kotze/SASPA

Prematurity isn’t a new thing and in fact some famous names and high achievers had a premature start to life.

Some were born centuries ago and battled incredible odds to survive in the first place given the conditions and views at the time.  Follow these links to read about some famous prems, some famous people who have been on a neonatal journey, and some famous multiple births.

• Famous people born prematurely
• Famous people who have been on a neonatal journey
• Famous Multiples

Famous people born prematurely

Some were born centuries ago and battled incredible odds to survive in the first place given the conditions and knowledge at the time. They then went on to achieve incredible things in the creative, academic, science and leadership fields. Below are a few people you might have heard of who were born prematurely. For a printing and sharing, you can download this PDF.

Wayde van Niekerk Born at 29 weeks and weighing just over 1kg, Wayde van Niekerk’s parents never thought he would survive, let alone become a successful athlete. At the Rio 2016 Olympic Games he made history winning South Africa’s first gold medal since readmission. He won the men’s 400m event in 43.03 seconds, smashing the world record at the same time.

Stevie Wonder was born at 34 weeks gestation in 1950. A child prodigy and hugely successful musician, he has won 22 Grammy awards and has had over 30 top 10 hits. Stevie Wonder is blind due to retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), a complication of prematurity caused by underdeveloped vessels on a premature baby’s retinas. Through research in the years since, the incidence of vision issues is now greatly reduced.

Sir Isaac Newton One of the world’s most famous and influential scientists, Sir Isaac Newtown was born on December 25, 1642. He weighed just 3 pounds at birth, and was not expected to live beyond a few hours. Not only did he survive, but he went on to describe the laws and gravity of motion.

Sir Winston Churchill Although he wasn’t due to be born until January of the following year, Sir Winston Churchill was born on November 30, 1874. Although he was born early, Churchill went on to become Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, a gifted military leader, and a recipient of the Nobel Prize for Literature.

Albert Einstein Physicist and Nobel Prize Winner in 1921, he was born early in Ulm, Germany in March 1879. Albert Einstein contributed more than any other scientist to the 20th-century vision of physical reality. At his birth, Albert’s mother was reputedly frightened that her infant’s head was so large and oddly shaped. His parents also worried about his intellectual development as a child due to his initial language delay and his lack of fluency until the age of nine, though he was one of the top students in his elementary school and then progressed rapidly from there.

Anna Pavlova Born prematurely in 1885, Anna Pavlova become one of the world’s most famous ballerinas. Her small size and stature, likely a result of her premature birth, set her apart from other ballerinas of the time. Character images on this page created by the talented Tania of Drawer Full of Giants.

Mark Twain American novelist Samuel Clemens, was born 2 months early in November 1835. He weighed just 5 lb at birth. His novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn has been called “the Great American Novel”.

Johannes Kepler German astronomer and mathematician. He was born in 1574 and had an estimated I.Q. 160. He had a bad start in life as he was a seven month baby and seven month babies at that time were proverbially thought “to be weak in body and mind”. As he grew however, his body became strong and his superior intellect evolved. He became the Principal Mathematician to the Emperor and a founder of modern astronomy and physics. He elucidated the Copernican concept of the Universe.

Sir Sidney Poitier is a Bahamian-American actor, film director, author and diplomat. He became the first African-American to win an Academy Award for Best Actor. He was born two months premature in Miami as his parents were there selling tomatoes. He was not expected to survive, but his parents remained in Miami for three months to nurse him to health.

Famous people who have been on a neonatal journey

Here are some people you might have heard of who have been on a neonatal journey:

Charlie Sheen
Charlie Sheen and his third wife Brooke Mueller Sheen had premature twin boys, Bob and Max. The boys were born in 2009 at 33 weeks gestation, after Mueller’s pregnancy was complicated by preeclampsia and gestational diabetes. Although Max had a heart condition caused by prematurity, both boys are doing well and were home from the hospital after 3 weeks.

Faith Hill and Tim McGraw
Country music superstars Faith Hill and Tim McGraw had their youngest daughter, Audrey at just 32 weeks gestation in December 2001. At a routine obstetrical appointment, Faith’s doctor discovered that her amniotic fluid was dangerously low and Audrey would have to be delivered immediately.  Audrey weighed just 3 lbs 11 oz. at birth but is now a healthy 14 year old.

Melissa Gilbert
Actress Melissa Gilbert had her second child, Michael Garrett, at 28 weeks after her water broke prematurely.  Although he was very early. Michael had an uneventful NICU journey. He was mechanically ventilated for a day, but had no interventricular haemorrhage (IVH) or other serious complications of prematurity. He spent 40 days in the NICU.

Sherri Shepherd
Actress and The View co-host Sherri Shepherd had her son Jeffrey at just 25 weeks gestation in April of 2005.  Jeffrey weighed 1 lb 10 oz. at birth and was in NICU for 3 months.  Due to his extreme prematurity, Jeffrey had an IVH and a patent ductus arteriosus (PDA).  Jeffrey works with physical, speech and occupational therapists to help overcome developmental delays caused by his early birth.

Anna Faris
Actress Anna Faris and her husband, Chris Pratt had their son Jack nine weeks early in August 2012. He spent a month in the NICU but is now a healthy baby boy and what Faris calls a “chubster”.

Julia Roberts
Although they were not due until January, Julie Robert’s and husband Danny’s twins arrived early on November 28, 2004. Phinnaeus and Hazel weighed just over 5 pounds each, and there were no complications. Today the 11 year old fraternal pair are total bookworms.

Michelle Duggar
A bout with preeclampsia caused reality TV show Mum, Michelle Duggar to deliver Josie her 19th baby, via emergency C-section 15 weeks premature on December 10, 2009.  Josie weighed just 1 lb, 6 oz. Duggar said that despite still been small for age she is doing really well and that’s probably the only thing that hasn’t caught up.

Nancy Grace
In November 2007, the CNN anchor Nancy Grace gave birth to twins, Lucy and John, two months prematurely.  Lucy weight 2 lbs, 15 oz., and Jon was 5 lbs, 1oz. Following the delivery, Nancy was hospitalised after suffering pulmonary edema, and the twins were kept in the NICU. John for three weeks, Lucy for nearly six.  The twins are now healthy 7 year olds.

Annika Sörenstam
Annika now a retired professional golfer, gave birth to her son William at 27 weeks in 2011, after developing placenta abruption. William weighed 2 lbs, 1oz, and spent more than eight weeks in the NICU. William is now a healthy boy who loves spending time with his big sister, Ava.

Jamie Anne Allman
The American Actress and star of The Killing, gave birth to her twin boys, Asher and Oliver, over 11 weeks early in January 2013. Oliver weighed just 2 lbs, 11 oz., and Asher weighed 3 lbs at birth.  Allman said she vomited 12 times a day and was on bed rest for most of her pregnancy due to a shortened cervix and gestational diabetes. The twins spent months in the NICU. ‘The first month, I only got to hold them for two hours total. They went through a lot. In the second month, thank God, I got to hold them a little bit more”. Allman said Asher had acid reflux and Oliver has milk and soy allergies, but they are no “two normal, healthy babies’.

Kim Kardashian and Kayne West
Kim and Kayne’s daughter, North, was born June 15, 2013, 5 weeks before her due date. Kim had a natural birth after being admitted to hospital with medical complications.  North weighed just under 5 lbs.

Sophie Ellis Bexter
Sophie Ellis Bexter gave birth to her second son nine weeks prematurely, in 2009. It was the second pregnancy scare for the singer, who also delivered her first child Sonny, more than two months early.  Ellis gave birth to the 2lb 10 oz. baby boy, named Kit Valentine, on February 7th.  Doctor’s performed an emergency caesarean section after diagnosing her with pre-eclampsia, the same condition she suffered during her first pregnancy four years ago.

Gordon Ramsey
Gordon Ramsey and his wife Tana, welcomed their twins, Jack and Holly, 7 weeks early back in 1999. Jack was born with a hole in his heart, and both he and his twin Holly, spent the first week of their lives in intensive care wired up to feeding drips and ventilator machines. After a week, the twins were moved to the special care baby unit until they gained enough weight to be allowed home.   The hole in Jack’s heart cured itself naturally within a year and now he is a robust freckled boy who looks just like his Dad.

Famous Multiples

Here is a list of some famous multiple births that you may have heard about:

The Mathias Quadruplets
Identical twins are rare, but identical quadruplets are a 1 in 15 million occurrence. The adorable, identical Mathias quadruplets stole American hearts in 2001 on America’s Funniest Home Videos in a video that shows the girls all laughing together as their dad films them. The “laughing quadruplets” were born on February 16, 2000 at 28 weeks gestation.

The Dilley Sextuplets
The United States first set of surviving sextuplets, the Dilley Sextuplets were conceived with the help of fertility medications and born on May 25, 1993. During the pregnancy only 5 babies were seen on ultrasound, and the sixth baby was a delivery room surprise. All six children are good students and graduated from high school with honours.

The Gosselin Sextuplets
The Gosselin Sextuplets made famous on television’s Jon & Kate Plus 8, were born at 30 weeks gestation on May 10, 2004. The six babies required mechanical ventilation at birth, but were home with their family by about 2 months of age.

The McCaughey Septuplets
Born on November 19, 1997, the McCaughey septuplets were the world’s first known septuplets to survive infancy. The seven babies were conceived with the help of fertility medications and were born at 31 weeks gestation. Two of the children, Alexis and Nathan, have cerebral palsy as a result of their premature birth.

The Suleman Octuplets
Born on January 26, 2009, the Suleman octuplets remains the only surviving set of octuplets. The 8 babies were conceived with the help of IVH and were born weighing between 1 lb 8 oz. and 3 lb 1 oz. The birth caused controversy because 12 embryos were transferred during the IVF procedure, although the norm for a healthy woman Suleman’s age is 2 embryos. The physician who transferred the embryos, Dr. Michael Kamrava, was investigated and eventually his license to practice medicine was revoked.