It's generally assumed that all women want to or should become mothers at some point in their lives. This notion is definitely untrue, considering the goals and aspirations of people are as diverse as the people themselves.

Some women choose not to take parenthood on. Plenty of women live happy, fulfilling lives without raising little ones and while it is still considered to be unconventional by societal standards, it's perfectly normal and healthy. You know what they say: different strokes for different folks.

Then there are the women who desperately want children, but no matter how hard they try, the can't seem to reach that goal without a little bit of help. Lots of women count on medical intervention and even adoption to eventually achieve their goal of becoming a parent.

Still, plenty of women forgo motherhood, although they tried with all of their might. If medical intervention is not up one's alley, and adoption isn't their cup of tea, parenthood sometimes doesn't happen. The topic of infertility and barrenness is still not something that is generally discussed, although people have become more open and honest about the condition in years past. We bet most would be surprised that these ten stars never became moms not because they didn't choose to, but because they just couldn't. We also included ten famous mamas who went alternate routes to meet their bundles of joy.

18 Patti Boyd Never Had Kids

Perfectly pretty Patti Boyd was a style icon and muse for some of the 1960's most famous rockers. She was first married to Beattle drummer George Harrison for ten years, but eventually, Harrison's little wife caught the eye of guitarist and Eric Clapton. He told his fellow musician and friend that he was going to have his wife, and he did.

The couple had a rocky relationship, and Patti herself dealt with IVF in an attempt to have children of her own. She never did get pregnant.

17 Megan Mullally Couldn't Get Pregnant

Many readers probably recognize actress Megan Mullally because of the hilarious characters that she plays on hit televisions shows like Parks and Recreation and Will and Grace. She is married to her best friend and fellow actor and comedian, Nick Offerman and the pair seems to have it all these days. One thing they do not have, but did want, is a baby.

The funny couple met later on in life, she was 41, and he was 29, so the chances of naturally getting pregnant weren't exactly in their favor. Mullally never saw motherhood in her plans, until she met Nick. The pair tried for about a year, but when it didn't happen, they took that as a sign that it wasn't meant to be.

16 Kate Walsh Never Became A Mother

Talented and beautiful Kate Walsh is a whole lot of things, but mother she is not. The stunner has been open about her issues with fertility saying that when it came to pregnancy, she let too much time go by. Her sister sounded the alarm telling Kate that she was going through early menopause, so she had better get checked out by a doctor.

Sure enough, the same thing was happening to the actress who claims that the doctors told her, "You have one egg, and there is a hairline fracture, so enjoy it."

15 Ann-Margret Never Had Kids

Legendary and beautiful Ann-Margret made history in the film industry, but she never became a biological parent. The style icon married her husband Roger Smith back in 1976 and became a step-mother to his three children born from his earlier marriage.

Even though the couple was devoted to one another for many decades, no children came from their union. Ann-Margret could not bear children of her own. Even though their family primarily consisted of just the pair of them, they seemed mighty happily all the way up until the end.

14 Maria Menounos Didn't Find Any Success With Treatments

Maria Menounos had faced her fair share of trials and tribulations, with fertility challenges being just one of them. The E! News host has shared her challenging experience with IVF. She and longtime love Kevin Undergaro did pretty much everything that they could think of to become parents, but it seems that is a long shot at this point. Of the IVF treatment procedure, Menounos has called it, "exhausting, physically and mentally."

While the entertainment guru does have embryos in a fertility freezer, they may or may not come to fruition.

13 Liza Minnelli Used Her Inability To Have Kids To Help Others

Entertainer Liza Minnelli has come to terms with the fact that kids are not in her life's plan. These days she is at complete ease with the notion that she will not be becoming a mother in this life. Now she doesn't even want them. She has stated that children were something that "she tried...and it didn't work."

What her inability to get pregnant did do, however, was help her in understanding that her need to nurture lied in her efforts to help children in need all over the world.

12 Fran Drescher Never Had Kids

Fran Drescher played the lead role of Fran Fine on the sitcom The Nanny. Her primary purpose in her television life was to care for and nurture children. In real life, Fran never had any children of her own. She went through a divorce from her husband, and then she dealt with health issues

This left Fran unable to have biological children of her own. Nevertheless, she has found a way to work through the pain and always found the joy and humor in life.

11 Gilda Radner Never Got To Be A Mom

The late Gilda Radner was nothing if not entertaining and enigmatic. The comedienne was married to fellow actor Gene Wilder, and although the pair deeply loved one another and would have made great parents, that was never in the cards for them. After break ups and make ups, the couple finally made their way to the altar to become man and wife.

Sadly they were only married for two years before Radner started feeling ill and fatigued. Radner passed away in 1989.

10 Elizabeth Banks Chose Surrogacy

Hilarious actress Elizabeth Banks and her hubby Max Handelman desperately wanted to become parents, but nature would not allow such a dream to come true easily. Banks revealed in an interview with Lucky magazine that her fertility woes could be attributed to issues in her womb. Her embryos would not implant properly, thus leading Banks and Handelman to turn to alternative roads to hopefully lead them to the roles of mom and dad. After trying some medical treatments and interventions, they ultimately chose to go down the route of surrogacy, and they now have two beautiful sons thanks to a gestational carrier.

9 Jordana Brewster Became A Mom Thanks To Her Surrogate

Actress Jordana Brewster refuses to feel wrong about her infertility issues. The Lethal Weapon leading lady revealed that she could not carry a baby using her own body. Brewster struggled with infertility problems for some years before exploring other avenues.  Using a gestational carrier she and her husband have been able to become parents to two little boys.

Brewster has said of the experience that it forces a private person like herself to put a massive amount of trust into another person. It was hard for her to trust someone else to undertake such an intimate thing for her, but in the end, it was a life lesson and well worth the effort.

8 Giuliana Rancic Has One Child Thanks To Surrogacy

Television personality and reality celebrity Giuliana Rancic and her businessman husband Bill documented their fertility issues on their reality television show. Viewers watched as they discussed all of their options in regards to parenthood possibilities. In the end, the couple chose to use a surrogate carrier to finally meet their little son, Duke, back in 2012.

As happy as their miracle baby made them, they wanted one more child. Again they trusted a surrogate to carry and deliver their child, but this baby was not meant to be. The surrogate lost their last embryo, ending their dreams of expanding their family.

7 Connie Chung Chose Adoption

Talk show host Maury Povich and news anchor Connie Chung knew that they would someday become parents, they just weren't exactly sure how that would shake out. When they first got together, Connie became a stepmother to Maury's two daughters. She and Maury later decided that they wanted a child of their own though.

Because Chung was 43 years old when baby fever struck, the odds of carrying and delivering a baby weren't in her favor. The couple tried to get pregnant for five years using IVF before turning to adoption. They welcomed their son Matthew into the family in 1995.

6 Nicole Kidman Went For Adoption And Surrogacy

Nicole Kidman is a mother to four children now, but none of them came easily. She adopted her first two children via adoption with her ex-husband Tom Cruise. She divorced Cruise and went on to marry fellow Aussie Keith Urban. Their fertility rollercoaster took them on one wild ride that resulted in two more daughters.

Kidman and Urban's second child was born via gestational carrier. Of the experience, Kidman has said, "Anyone who has been in the place of wanting another child knows the disappointment, the pain and the loss you go through trying."

5 Emma Thompson Adopted Her Son

Emma Thompson and her husband, Greg Wise, joyfully gave birth to their daughter Gaia back in 1999. The couple was so smitten with their daughter that they decided they had to have another child. When they tried to expand their family, they were met with trials and tribulations that led them to attempt IVF. After a few failed attempts, they assumed all hope was lost.

The couple ended up meeting a 16-year-old refugee, child soldier at a refugee council event in 2003. That young man became their adopted son. Through adopted these actors were able to complete their lovely family.

4 Deborra-lee Furness and Hugh Jackman chose adoption

Famous actor Hugh Jackman married his wife Deb when he was 27, and she was 40. Because of her age, the couple started trying for children right away. They were met with some roadblocks though. They struggled, endured many failed attempts and attempted to get pregnant through IVF.

When medical intervention proved hopeless, they entertained the thought of adoption. They knew adoption was always on the table, so they decided to give it a go. The couple, who are still madly in love with one another after over two decades of marriage, have a 17-year-old son named Oscar and a 12-year-old daughter named Ava.

3 Nia Vardalos Adopted From The Foster Care System

The star of the movie My Big Fat Greek Wedding, Nia Vardal0s, and her husband Ian Gomez struggled with infertility for years. The screenwriter and actress experienced 13 failed attempted at IVF and many failed adoption attempts before finally getting the call that she would become a mother. The couple was rung up and told that they would become parents in roughly 14 hours.

Half a day later they met a three-year-old girl who had been in the California foster care system. This little lady is now their forever daughter and is named Ilaria. Ilaria is now eight years old and is indeed the purpose and joy in her famous parents' lives.

2 Sarah Jessica Parker Chose Surrogacy

Sarah Jessica Parker and husband Matthew Broderick had very little problem conceiving the first time around. They got pregnant naturally and delivered their child James Wilkie Booth when she was 37 years old. When the pair tried to give their son a sibling, things didn't go so well. The pair tried with all of their might to get pregnant, but it wasn't in the cards.

While we don't know exactly what means the famous couple went through in their pregnancy journey, we do know that at some point they turned to surrogacy. In 2008 a woman named Michelle Ross made their dreams of a large family come true, and the family welcomed twin girls into the fold.

1 Angela Bassett Used A Surrogate

Angela Basset is a proud mother to 12-year-old twins, a boy and a girl. The road to parenthood wasn't a piece of cake for the acclaimed actress and her handsome husband, not by a long shot. After struggling with getting pregnant naturally, she too turned to a gestational carrier to help her become a mother. The couple started actively trying to have a baby two years after their 1997 wedding.

Finally, their hard work and perseverance paid off when the couple was 47 and 46 years old. In 2006 Bassett and her husband welcomed their children, Bronwyn and Slater. You know what they say, better late than never!

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