In Hollywood, every celebrity, no matter how important or irrelevant you are, has a team of people who work for them. From assistants to glam squads, celebrities rely on many different people to make it through the day.
That's no different once that celebrity becomes a parent either. As soon as a celebrity has a baby there's a team of nannies that join the other staff members to help that celebrities life run as smoothly as possible. Children are a lot of work and celebrities — especially those that are high profile, often return to work shortly after having their babies. To keep their kids close while they work they employ sometimes an entire crew of nannies that are there all hours of the day.
There are even many celebrity parents who try to make it look like they do it all themselves, but behind the scenes just out of reach of the paparazzi photos are a team of nannies who are doing all the heavy lifting.
While there are many working celebrity mothers who need those nannies to help raise their kids, there are also a few that choose to do it themselves. Surprisingly, some celebrity moms chose to take a break from Hollywood or work their schedules so they can be their child's primary caregiver.
Here are 10 celebrities who absolutely need their nannies and 5 who do it all themselves.
14 Kim Kardashian - A Nanny For Each Kid
Kim Kardashian is one of the most famous people in the world. She stars on her family's hit reality show Keeping Up With The Kardashians, she runs her own beauty product line called KKW Beauty and she has her hand in so many other projects it's a wonder she has any time for herself much less her three children.
It's no surprise that someone as busy as Kim would have a team of nannies to ensure there's always someone there to care for her kids when she's working. According to internet rumors, Kim Kardashian has three nannies to help care for her three children. However, while the reality star is quick to display almost every aspect of her life to her fans on television and social media, her nannies are never shown on KUWTK nor mentioned on her social media feed.
Some may say that the Kimoji creator is concerned about trust issues, and the less the public sees of her nannies the better, but many criticize the busy mom of three for employing staff to care for her children. No one should criticize a working mother for hiring competent staff to care for her children so she can earn a living, but it is important to give those caregivers the credit they deserve. It takes a village and Kim seems to have a big one!
13 Jessica Alba Praises Her Nanny
Unlike Kim Kardashian, Jessica Alba not only admits to having a nanny, but praises her publicly as well. Connie Simpson has been known to help celebrities like Alba, Jessica Biel and Emily Blunt through all their parenting dilemmas.
Alba, who welcomed third child, son Hayes on December 31, recently posted a sweet dedication to her Nanny Connie on Instagram as Connie promotes her new childcare book.
"I’d like to introduce y’all to a very special person," Alba captured the pic of her, Hayes and Connie. "My sweet @nannyconnie -nearly 10 years ago she came into my life and showed me the ropes with my newborn baby Honor -even though it was for only 3 weeks, as a new mom, it set the stage for me to take on the biggest, most important thing that had ever happened to me. She taught me how to bathe, breast feed and soothe my new baby. And taught me about the importance of taking care of myself and gave me the space to have all the feels and not feel so alone. Well nearly 10 years later, she’s back in our life with our sweet baby boy Hayes. It truly takes a village to raise kiddos- whether it’s your blood family or chosen family. I am so thankful for Connie who has been there for me and now she is sharing her wealth of knowledge with all of you with her new book."
In the past Alba has also stated that she prefers to hire younger family members to care for her kids instead of professional nanny's who are strangers. Sometimes however that nanny becomes a part of the family themselves, which is exactly what Connie did.
12 Jennifer Garner's Nanny Problem
We all know that Jennifer Garner is one of those celebrities who has a nanny because she sadly had one of those husbands who had an affair with the nanny. Jennifer Garner and former husband Ben Affleck are two very busy parents to three children, Violet Seraphina and Samuel.
Christine Ouzounian was the couple's former nanny before it was revealed that she and Affleck were having an affair. Garner opened up in Vanity Fair about how hard it was to explain to her children why their nanny wasn't going to be around anymore.
“Let me just tell you something,” Garner said of 'nannygate'. “We had been separated for months before I ever heard about the nanny. She had nothing to do with our decision to divorce. She was not a part of the equation. Bad judgment? Yes. It’s not great for your kids for [a nanny] to disappear from their lives. I have had to have conversations about the meaning of ‘scandal,’ ” she says, with her children.
Despite the scandal the busy mom still employs nannies to help keep her and her busy brood on track. In addition to having a new movie, Peppermint, due out this year, Garner is also one of Hollywood's most in demand celebrity spokespersons, appearing in campaigns for Neutrogena and Capital 1.
As a busy single mom, she definitely relies on her nannies for help!
11 Mariah Carey Has Strict Rules For Her Nannies
Mariah Carey is definitely a celebrity mom who needs nannies to help raise her kids, but she just doesn't want them getting too close! Carey once gave an interview to radio show The Breakfast Club where she spoke about the nannies she hires, and fires, for twins Moroccan and Monroe.
"Unfortunately I have to have nannies but I'm very hands-on. I fire nannies like this," she said, snapping her fingers. Carey says she fires her nannies if she finds they're trying to get too close to her children.
"And I hate doing it, but I have to because if they try to make themselves more important in the baby's mind than me," she said.
One nanny in particular, Simonette DaCosta, actually sued Carey and her former husband Nick Cannon after she was fired for allegedly getting too close to dem babies. According to the NY Daily News, Da Costa claimed she "was on call 24 hours a day as Carey's live-in nanny, routinely worked 100-hour weeks, and yet received no overtime."
Carey has no trouble finding help despite sounding like a nightmare to work for. Recently the twins were spotted out with one of Kourtney Kardashian's former nanny's, according to OK Magazine. She looked pretty happy to be running around with the kids as she picked them up from karate class. As long as she doesn't get too close to them, she'll be fine!
10 Beyonce has 8 Nannies
Beyonce is probably one of the hardest working women in show business, so it's no wonder Queen Bey needs a team of staff on hand to help with her kids, 6-year-old daughter Blue Ivy and soon to be one year old twins Sir and Rumi.
According to the Daily Mail, Beyonce and husband Jay-Z have EIGHT nannies to help care for their children to ensure they have round the clock coverage for their brood.
"The twins don't sleep at the same time, so she decided she needed three per child, working in eight hour shifts," a source told the site. Blue also has two nannies for herself as well.
The couple will be bringing their children on the road with them when they kick off their On The Run II tour so they will definitely need help while they're preparing and performing.
"Blue Ivy and the twins have a team of nannies working for them," a source told Entertainment Tonight. "They have people around the clock."
Thanks to their busy touring schedule of 15 cities across the U.K. and Europe and 21 cities in North America that begins on June 6th, the Carters need a team of people to care for their children while they're working.
9 Gwen Stefani Interviewed 67 Nannies
Like Jennifer Garner, Gwen Stefani also saw her marriage end after former husband Gavin Rossdale, with whom she shares three sons, had an affair with their nanny. In an interview with Stylist the singer says she interviewed countless nannies trying to ensure the best possible care for her three sons, The Inquistr reports. Despite the alleged affair between her husband and the nanny, Stefani still relies on professional help to care for sons Zuma, Kingston and Apollo when she's busy working.
She revealed she interviewed 67 nannies before finding the perfect fit for her family. Despite having a bad experience with a previous nanny, Stefani didn't let keep her from hiring new help. After all, she's a rock star and she still has three children to care for. She said she needed care that would help her maximize her time with her children best.
“I’m super-unorganized, a real procrastinator, time management is non-existent. When I had them, I realized I couldn’t be selfish anymore. My time away needs to be productive, and my time with them needs to be productive,” Gwen said. “It’s a lot of depending on a lot of other people. I had to interview 67 nannies alone, in this room, to get the people I have now.”
8 Gwyneth Paltrow Explains How Important Her Nanny Is
Gwyneth Paltrow, actress and Goop creator is the very busy mom of daughter Apple and son Moses with former husband, Coldplay frontman Chris Martin. Paltrow has always been open about her need for a nanny and how much she appreciates having one. When Apple, now 14 was just a baby, the actress opened up to People about how important her nanny was to her family.
"I have an amazing nanny. I didn’t have one till Apple was 14 months old, but then, because wewere going on tour [with Coldplay], wefound someone fantastic. She’s been with us ever since."
Paltrow has some strict rules for her nannies. According to The Richest, when Paltrow was looking for a nanny for son Moses, she had some pretty specific requirements. She wanted her nanny needed to be fluent in at least 4 languages, preferably in Greek, Latin, Spanish and French to help her kids learn other languages. She also wanted them to play at least 2 different instruments. Not an odd request given their father is a famous musician.
Paltrow was also willing to shell out a pretty penny to get the best nanny for her kids, willing to pay up to $100,000 a year for the right employee.
7 Angelina Jolie - Two Nannies Per Child
Angelina Jolie may be a super private A list celebrity, but with six children to raise she also has a staff of nannies to help out. It's been rumoured that Jolie has two nannies per child, meaning she's paying for twelve nannies to help care for her children.
The number really isn't so extreme when you consider how busy she is as an actress, director and activist and that she does have six children. However Stuff reported that the actress only now employs one nanny per child. Perhaps now that the kids are a bit older they don't need quite so much round the clock care. The site also reports that Jolie had hired her brother, James Haven, to be the head of all the nannies on staff during her tumultuous split from Brad Pitt.
Unfortunately that seemed to be simply too much for Haven, and Jolie let him go.
"It was his job to be there if any of the kids woke up during the night and to deal with the nannies if they had any issues. He was virtually running the household and it became very draining," a source said.
Jolie does her best to keep her children out of the spotlight so she doesn't speak much about her nannies as well. She's probably hoping to keep them out of the public eye in hopes of protecting her children's privacy as well.
6 Serena Williams - Bilingual Nanny, Please!
Being the GOAT of the tennis world means that Serena Williams needs to put in a lot of hours a day, training for her sport. The new mom and husband Alexis Ohanian welcomed daughter Alexis Olympia just a few months ago, and Williams is back on the competition circuit.
Despite stating that she doesn't do well when she's not around her daughter, little Olympia has been spotted out and about on more than one occasion with a nanny. When her parents stepped out for the premiere of Williams' HBO docu-series 'Being Serena,' little Olympa was there too, but in the care of a nanny. Same goes for when the couple headed to London to attend the royal wedding of Prince Harry and Megan Markle. Perhaps Williams doesn't love being away from her daughter, but circumstances do dictate the help of a nanny.
Williams even admitted to Vogue before Olympia was born that she would be searching for a French bilingual nanny to help raise her daughter, since she loves the French culture so much.
She told PopSugar that she does her best not to be away from her daughter. "I haven’t been away from her; but when I am I don’t do well, she doesn’t do well, she gets irritated, I get irritated, I get emotional. I need to be around her, so I schedule my days making sure I can spend the maximum time with her possible."
No judgement to any mom — celebrity or otherwise — who have nannies to help out. Life is busy and if you can afford help why not have it? But there are some celebrity mommas who have been totally hands on when it comes to raising their babies.
Here are five celeb moms who don't need any nannies at all.
5 Pink - No Nannies Here
You would think with a busy touring schedule and two young children to care for singer Pink would have an entourage of nannies helping her, but you'd be wrong. In an interview with Redbook Magazine the singer revealed that she takes her kids on tour with her but she doesn't have nannies for them.
"I've never juggled so many damn plates in my life, but it's because I want to. I enjoy it. If I had nannies raising my kids and just wanted to be a rock star and party all the time, I wouldn't be successful and I wouldn't be happy," she said. She then went on to discuss just how much she enjoys the family time she shares with her kids while on tour.
"When I left [for the Truth About Love Tour], Willow was 14 months, and I would come right offstage and breastfeed her. That was our bonding time and some of my favorite moments. Jameson is now doing the same thing."
She even admitted that she would stop touring if her kids ever decided it was too much for them.
"This is the first time she's leaving behind friends and school and activities, so I asked if she wanted to do this, because we make family decisions. When touring stops working for the kids, if they decide they just want to be home and have a normal life, whatever that means, I'll stop, because they are by far the priority."
4 Tiffani Thiessen Relies On Her Family, Not Nannies
Many of us grew up watching Tiffany Thiessen as Kelly Kapowski on Saved By The Bell, and many of us had our children when she did as well. Thiessen is the mom of two children, Harper and Holt with husband Brady Smith and despite working steadily since she was a teenager, the actress and blogger has never had a nanny for her two children.
In an interview with the LA Times Thiessen reveals that she's always relied on family to care for her children instead of nannies. She's managed to balance her career and work with the help mostly from her mother and her mother in-law.
"We've never had a nanny, but we have a lot of family help. My mom traveled with us and lived with us in New York when I was shooting "White Collar." She helped us with Harper and would go to set with me every day because I was nursing. The same when I had Holt; my mom or mother-in-law helped me with the baby and came to set every day. It was all family. … As of right now, we're making it work."
Sounds like Theissen is very lucky to be able to rely on her family members to help with her children.
3 Celine Dion Gives 200% To Her Kids
When you think of the word 'superstar,' Celine Dion's name most certainly pops in to your mind. The French Canadian chanteuse is a mother of three sons with her late husband, Rene Angelil. Celine was 42 years old when she became pregnant with her twins. Her eldest son René-Charles was 9 years old when his twin brothers Nelson and Eddy were born. Despite having three young boys to care for Dion refused to hire nannies to raise her children.
Celine told Gala Magazine in an interview why she chose to not have nannies for her children.
“I didn’t have these children to not take care of them, to give myself to them 200 – 300 percent. I am changing diapers and breastfeeding and that’s something where no one can take my place. It’s tiring but an intense joy.”
Obviously the sacrifice and exhaustion paid off because Dion continually gushes about her boys. René-Charles is now 17 years old and an aspiring rapper who recorded a series of tracks without even telling his mother. The twins are now 7 years old and Celine couldn't be more proud of the boys she's raised.
2 Eva Mendes - The Hands On Mom
Eva Mendes and Ryan Gosling are very private about their family life together. The couple share two daughters, Amada and Esmeralda and have managed to keep their lives as nanny free as possible.
In an interview with InStyle, the actress admitted that she's exhausted not having a nanny, but that's how she prefers it.
“I’m a very hands-on mom; I don’t have a nanny. No matter how tired I am, I just do it.”
The actress went on Wendy Williams to further clarify how she manages to juggle her work life and her home life. She explained that while she doesn't have a nanny, she does have 'help' and a lot of that help comes from both her and Ryan's families.
"I’ve never appreciated my family so much, they’ve been amazing," Eva said, revealing that her family has been a big help with her daughter. "I don’t technically have a nanny, but I do have help. I like to clarify. I’m certainly not anti-nanny, you do what you need to do as a parent, but I’m so grateful that I have help with my family and [Ryan's] family.
Sounds like Mendes has the best of both worlds with family who are available to help and the ability to afford quality childcare should she need it.
1 Reese Witherspoon Without Anyone's Help
Reese Witherspoon was married to Ryan Phillippe for seven years and together the couple have two children together, Ava and Deacon. When Reese and Ryan, who were young parents themselves, were raising their two young children, they opted to do so without the help of any nannies. Ryan opened up in an interview about how glad he was that the couple never used nannies for their kids.
“I imagine it would have been more difficult if we weren’t as hands-on as we were or allowed them to be raised by nannies. I think then they would become a**holes. But you’re constantly educating them – we have two incredible little people that we’ve raised. I’m proud of us for that fact.”
Witherspoon has a third child, son Tennessee, with husband Jim Toth, opened up to Southern Living Magazine about the pressures to be the 'perfect parent.'
"No one's really doing it perfectly," the Oscar winner said. "I think you love your kids with your whole heart, and you do the best you possibly can. "
She seems to have done a pretty great job so far!
She also revealed that being a working mom is important to her, so if she has to miss an event for her children, they understand why.
"There are some sacrifices you make, and it hurts your heart sometimes, but my kids tell me they’re proud of what I’ve accomplished, and that just means everything. I grew up with a working mom, and I have so much respect for the things she did as a nurse and a teacher. I would never begrudge her that."
References: Vanity Fair, The Breakfast Club, NY Daily News, OK Magazine, The Daily Mail, Entertainment Tonight, The Inquistr, People, The Richest, Stuff, The Sun, ABC News, Vogue, PopSugar, Redbook, LA Times, InStyle, Southern Living