- Anderson Cooper revealed that his late mother Gloria Vanderbilt once offered to be his surrogate.
- In a radio interview on Wednesday, Cooper said his mom was already 85 when she made the suggestion.
Anderson Cooper revealed that his late mother Gloria Vanderbilt once offered to be his surrogate.
Speaking on SiriusXM's The Howard Stern Show on Wednesday, Cooper opened up about an unexpected conversation about parenthood that he once had with his mother.
"This was like eight years before I decided to have a child, but my mom really wanted me to have a kid. And she called me up one time and she was like, 'Honey, there's something I really need to talk to you about,'" Cooper said on the radio show.
The CNN anchor explained that even after he had "steeled his nerves" to visit her to figure out what she wanted, he was still taken aback by what his then 85-year-old mother said.
"She was like, 'Well, the most amazing thing happened. I went to the gynecologist the other day,'" Cooper said.
"'And she said the most amazing thing — she told me I could still bear a child,'" he continued, recalling his mother's words.
Despite his surprise, Cooper said he decided to react by being supportive.
"I've spent my life not reacting to my mom's crazy statements," the 56-year-old said. "I said, 'Yes mom, I think that is amazing that a gynecologist told you that at age 85 you could still bear a child.'"
Cooper admitted on the radio show that he was under the impression that his mother wanted to have another baby, and so he started coming up with excuses to talk her out of that idea — including telling her that she'll be 105 when the kid turns 20.
Finally, she clarified that she wasn't thinking about carrying a child herself — but rather, for him.
"She was like, 'Well, I was thinking you get an egg, fertilize it with your sperm, and I'll carry your child,'" Cooper said. "I said, 'Mom, I love you, but even for you this is batshit crazy."
According to the Guinness World Records, Maria del Carmen Bousada Lara from Spain was the oldest person to give birth. She had twin boys via cesarean section at 66 years and 358 days old in December 2006.
Vanderbilt was an American heiress and a fashion designer. She died at age 95 in June 2019.
Cooper now has two sons via surrogacy that he shares and co-parents with his former partner, Benjamin Maisani.