10 Celebrities Who Look Better After Having Babies

Most women lament that they never get their bodies back after having children. But somehow, certain celebrities seem to look even better after they’ve had babies! Maybe they undergo strict diets and training regimens, using more self-control than before…or maybe it’s a blissful, golden motherly glow that makes them look fantastic. Here are 10 different celebrities who looked better after becoming proud mommas:

10. Reese Witherspoon

Back in December 2012, Reese was appearing in snug dresses on red carpets just two months after she gave birth to her son, Tennessee James. “I don’t know if I’m bouncing back. I’m slowly crawling back,” she said at the time. “You know, all of your joints feel wobbly, and your head is sort of confused. You just have to be gentle and patient with yourself and just sort of, you know…slowly get back to your health.” We think she looks amazing, but we love her level-headed attitude about recovering from pregnancy!

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9. Nicole Richie

Before getting pregnant, Nicole Richie frightened us with how thin she looked. There were times when it was reported that she weighed under 90 pounds. She admitted to Vanity Fair in 2006, “I know I’m too thin right now, so I wouldn’t want any young girl looking at me and saying, ‘That’s what I want to look like,’ I do know that they will, which is another reason I really do need to do something about it. I’m not happy with the way I look right now.” But when she was expecting, Nicole’s figure filled out in a beautiful way, and though her weight has been something of a yo-yo, she tends to look better after having kids.

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8. Ellen Pompeo

Grey’s Anatomy star Ellen Pompeo, who has two daughters (Stella Luna and Sierra May) is definitely one of those moms who has a post-baby “glow.” She told Self Magazine, “I hope Stella has more self-confidence than I did as a child. Because when you believe in yourself…you don’t look for validation from others.” Ellen certainly looks confident now! Two weeks after giving birth in 2009, Ellen appeared on a red carpet for an Adidas product launch in a black sweater dress with wavy hair and a huge smile. Being a mom looks great on her!

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7. Hilary Duff

We’ll always be jealous of Hilary Duff, who posted an Instagram bikini selfie three years after giving birth to her son, Luca. “Hey #moms #westillgotit ❤️ #loveyourbod,” she wrote as a caption. We love the body positivity, but it’s easier to love your “bod” when you have such a trim, toned tummy! In an interview with Ellen Degeneres, the Younger star explained why she posted the photo: “I’ve never done anything like that before — my Instagram page is pretty tame,” she said. “I had spent all weekend in a bikini and I was feeling pretty good. I’m just like everyone else; usually I’m not feeling so good. I [have a] love-hate relationship with my body.” She continued: “I’m just so proud of my body and what it’s done for me. It gave me the most beautiful little boy and I feel strong and powerful and I wanted to inspire other women.”

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6. Megan Fox

It’s hard to tell that 29 year-old Megan Fox is mom to Bodhi and Noah. When she appeared in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie, she was looking better than ever. To get lean, Megan worked with celebrity trainer Harley Pasternak. “She eats carbs,” he explained of her diet. “She just eats the right carbs. She eats three meals and two snacks a day. ‘She’ll have protein, fiber, and healthy fat every meal. She is living a low-sugar lifestyle, definitely…She has definitely buckled down and she is amazing.” Okay, now it all makes sense!

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5. Jennifer Hudson

Dreamgirls star Jennifer Hudson famously slimmed down from a size 16 to a size 6, dropping 80 pounds over the course of 2010 to 2014. She says that being a mom was a big inspiration for her weight loss journey: “I have a child now and I want to set a great example for him,” she said. Jennifer also works with Harley Pasternak, starting with a 25-minute circuit-training routine of cardio, lunges, shoulder presses, and ab exercises five days a week. She eventually shifted to doing 50-minute routines with an additional 25 minutes of cardio. That’s a lot of work! For her diet, she tries not to be too restrictive; she eats a lot of healthy things but also will occasionally indulge in ice cream.

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4. Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi

We’re kind of shocked at how Jersey Shore star Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi looks now compared with her original messy party-girl look. She’s lost weight and adopted a more mature, upscale fashion sense with classy pieces paired with glamorous hair and makeup. The mom of son Lorenzo and daughter Giovanna was down to 99 pounds just two months after giving birth in 2014 (that might sound low, but it’s a healthy weight for someone who is only 4’8” tall). Her trainer Michael said she worked on “reducing calorie intake” and spiking her heart rate with cardio in the gym. Her kids are a big inspiration: “Even though I want to be healthy for myself and it feels great to be healthy, I mainly want to do it for my kids,” she said in an interview with People magazine. “I just really want to be a fit mom. I want to be able to keep up with them, run after them.”

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3. Katherine Heigl

Grey’s Anatomy star Katherine Heigl is another mom with that special mommy glow. We think it might have something to do with the fact that she quit smoking to be a better mom to her adopted daughters Nancy and Adalaide. “Now I use an electronic cigarette. I know it’s ridiculous, but it’s helping me not to actually smoke real cigarettes,” she told Parade in 2010. “I’ve been doing it for six months. Smoking sucks! The one thing I would say to my kid is, ‘It’s not just that it’s bad for you. Do you want to spend the rest of your life fighting a stupid addiction to a stupid thing that doesn’t even really give you a good buzz?'”

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2. Jennifer Lopez

We honestly don’t know how Jennifer Lopez looks as amazing as she does — it’s like she’s aging backwards! The American Idol judge gave birth to daughter Emme and son Max in 2008, and now looks better than ever. She told Us Weekly that she didn’t bounce back immediately, though. “I remember my flabby belly hanging out right after I gave birth,” she said. “I kind of laughed and said to Marc, ‘Look, baby! Isn’t this crazy?’ I just didn’t care. I look back at pictures from that time, and I’m like ‘Oh, god, I was fat. I was still heavy eight months out!'” But now, her kids inspire her to stay healthy. “You get to the point where you’re like, Where am I?” she said. “What happened to me? I got to get myself together for my kids, you know? They need to know what I really look like.”

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1. Heidi Klum

Another mom who defies the “mom bod” is Heidi Klum. We shouldn’t be surprised, since Heidi is a former supermodel who seems to have superhuman genes. In 2009, she walked a catwalk just five weeks after giving birth! The Project Runway host has four kids: Helene, Henry, Lou and Johan, and told What to Expect that she got back into shape by “breast feeding.” She added, “And getting active again, that’s the best thing. I had a very steep driveway so I’d go up and down it with the baby in the stroller. But you really have to listen to your body and not overdo it.” In a separate interview, Heidi says she had a trainer come to her house in L.A. to help her get back in shape. “She’s helping me so I don’t overdo it,” Heidi explained. “I’ve been walking on the treadmill. Walking up and down the driveway. She has a medicine ball so she showed me things on there. You can’t do too much too early.” We appreciate her attitude of restraint!