Lucy Liu has gained worldwide recognition from her acting career, especially for her roles in Ally McBeal, Charlie’s Angels, and Kill Bill. More recently, she voiced the role of Master Viper in Kung Fu Panda, along with portraying a modern-day female version of Dr. Watson in the television series Elementary.
Her most recent role, however, is that of “mom,” ever since she welcomed her now eight-month-old son, Rockwell Lloyd, into her life.
“It’s a magical experience,” says Liu, in this interview with US Magazine.
Not only magical, as it turns out, but also non-traditional: Lucy Liu is among the latest celebrity parents who have chosen to start a family via gestational surrogacy. In so doing, she has brought modern surrogacy squarely into the public eye – and opened the door to public discussion.
The Choice of Gestational Surrogacy
“I decided to (use a surrogate) a little bit later on,” Liu said, speaking about her decision to use a surrogate mother, “I was focused on my career. ,” Rockwell was conceived using donor sperm and Liu’s own egg cells.
With a growing number of women pursuing full-time careers across a variety of fields, gestational surrogacy is gathering widespread attention as a viable reproductive option. Once regarded as an option reserved for individuals in need of medical fertility assistance, it now appeals to intended parents whose careers have pushed their ability to spend time raising a child back into their forties.
Based on her ongoing Instagram photos of her baby, Rockwell Lloyd seems like the best thing to happen to Lucy Liu. Among the many images of Rockwell are some of his first efforts at crawling – and some interesting adventures with food.
The Tylenol “How We Family” Campaign
Liu has also shared her thoughts on a social awareness campaign celebrating the diversity of modern families, which was sponsored by Tylenol.
“I think ‘How We Family’ is about how we as a modern family are connecting now,” Liu explains. The 47-year-old actress is one of millions of people participating in Tylenol’s #HowWeFamily campaign. “Whether it’s gay parents, or you have a child coming out as transgender; it’s about how you show your love.”
With the motto “For What Matters Most” and slogans such as “We believe it’s not about who you love, but how,” the Tylenol brand is sponsoring the campaign as part of an ongoing public awareness effort. It celebrates, among other non-traditional families, those which have resulted from the recent triumph of gay marriage in the US Supreme Court. It also celebrates stories of interracial marriages, which still face considerable animosity in some parts of the country, and of families which have adopted children.
The “How We Family” campaign was designed by J. Walter Thompson of New York, and was also sponsored in part by Johnson & Johnson. Click here to view J. Walter Thompson’s “How We Family” page, including a video of one of the more compelling TV spots associated with the campaign.
The “How We Family” content is a powerful reminder that, for many people, becoming a family requires fighting for recognition, and staying strong in the face of intolerance. However, the campaign is also a message of positive change, and of hope: more and more people are speaking out on behalf of acceptance and understanding, and legislative change is occurring as a result. States are passing laws which recognize the rights of gay couples to adopt, while New York has recently placed its ban on gestational surrogacy agreements under official review.