Shonda Rhimes' Story: Three Daughters Via Adoption And Surrogacy, Broken Engagement, Marriage Plans

Shonda Rhimes is the creative force behind one of the greatest television series of all time, Grey's Anatomy. The groundbreaking success of the medical drama earned Rhimes' name a place in history books as the first African-American woman to create a top 10 network series. Apart from Grey's Anatomy, she has also created and produced a series of critically acclaimed TV dramas and series, including The Residence, Private Practice, Scandal, Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story, Station 19, Inventing Anna, How to Get Away with Murder, and many more.

Shonda Rhimes' journey from a counsellor to a decorated screenwriter: From HBO's Introducing Dorothy Dandridge to winning a Golden Globe for Grey's Anatomy

The 55-year-old American television producer and writer, Shonda Rhimes, has won a series of prestigious awards and nominations in her career. Some of the biggest trophies in her cabinet include a Golden Globe Award (for Grey's Anatomy), a PGA Life Achievement Award in Television, an International Emmy Founders Award, a British Academy Television Special Award, and a Writers Guild of America Award (for Grey's Anatomy). With multiple Emmy nominations and multiple NAACP Image Awards, Rhimes continues to add more titles to her highly decorated career as a writer and producer.

Born to highly qualified parents, Shonda Rhimes was the youngest of the six children in her family. Right from an early age, she was inclined towards writing. Hence, after graduating from Dartmouth College with an English degree, she set her eyes on Hollywood to pursue her dream of becoming a screenwriter. At the beginning, she struggled to get a break and worked as a counsellor to pay her bills. Her first big break came when she sold her screenplay Human Seeking Same. After that, she was hired as a co-writer to pen the teleplay for HBO's drama film, Introducing Dorothy Dandridge, and the rest is history.

Shonda Rhimes' three daughters via adoption and surrogacy: How her family reacted to the arrival of Harper, Emerson, and Beckett

The critically acclaimed screenwriter, Shonda Rhimes, is a doting single mother to her three daughters, Harper, Emerson, and Beckett. For the uninitiated, it was back in 2002, when a 32-year-old Rhimes adopted a girl and gave her the name, Harper Rhimes. After a ten-year gap, she adopted another girl in 2012 and named her Emerson Pearl Rhimes. In 2013, Rhimes became a proud mother for a third time when she welcomed a baby girl via surrogacy, choosing the beautiful name Beckett for her. Rhimes has been a doting single mommy whose adoption and surrogacy have inspired so many women across the world.

Despite all this admiration, Shonda Rhimes' life as a single mother of three daughters has always been a topic of massive trolling from a certain section on the internet. While some criticise her for being ambitious, many people troll her for not having any biological children. On one side, while these people continued to troll her, Rhimes was unaware of their existence, as she was busy collecting trophies and awards. However, in a 2025 interview with PEOPLE, Shondaland's owner speaks about her family's reaction to adoption and surrogacy.

Shonda Rhimes refuted rumours that her family wasn't happy with her decision to adopt kids and welcome a baby through surrogacy. The screenwriter shared that she received full support from her parents, and the only thing they had questions about was the procedure of adoption and surrogacy, like how that thing works. Recalling her conversation with the family during adoption and surrogacy, Rhimes revealed:

"You know what's wonderful is my parents [got] on board but had a lot of questions about adoption. In my family, it sort of never mattered how you came into the family. You're just part of the family. Surrogacy brought up a lot of questions from my family. For a while, I think I felt like I had to justify it. You know what I mean? I felt like I had to sort of, I don't even know. I felt like I had to justify it for people."

Why did Shonda Rhimes never get married? No marriage stance, broke off the engagement, and possibility of marriage in the future

One question that tops the rest regarding Shonda Rhimes' personal life is why she never got married, and Grey's Anatomy's creator has answered it time and again in many interviews. For the uninitiated, Rhimes was never interested in marriage, despite witnessing her parents' successful marriage. The reason behind it was her will to be independent so she could achieve her dreams. In an interview on Call Her Daddy, Rhimes revealed that she once got engaged to someone but immediately broke it off after she realised it wasn't for her. She said:

"I tried the whole getting engaged thing and almost killed myself trying to pretend that I was somebody who wanted to get married and it just wasn't me. I was like, 'This is not, I feel suffocated.'"

Further, in the same interview, Shonda Rhimes also talked about her famous "no marriage" stance and admitted that she no longer feels the same about it. While confirming that she's open to marriage, Rhimes admitted that earlier she had felt threatened by the idea of marriage and wasn't ready to sacrifice her career for someone else. Now that she has reached a certain level in her career, Shonda is open to the concept of marriage, as she's confident about herself. She said:

"I wasn't necessarily comfortable in my own skin probably. I know who I am. I'm very comfortable with what I accomplished, what I haven't accomplished, who I am as a woman. Now, I'm completely comfortable with the idea that like I can meet somebody and spend the rest of my life and somebody marry them. I'm not saying like, 'Oh, I want to get married,' but I'm no longer saying, 'I never want to get married.' I'm open."

What are your thoughts on Shonda Rhimes' adoption and surrogacy journey? Do you wish to see her getting married in the future now that she has loosened the grip on her "no marriage" stance? Let us know.

Also Read: Mandy Moore's Story: Face Transformation, Hit-And-Run Case, Mental Abuse, Divorce, 2nd Wedding At 34

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