Doing It On Their Own! 17 Single Celebrity Parents

As many people know, being a single parent is a full-time job in itself. Imagine being a single parent and juggling a kid (or kids) when you’re also required to star in shows, attend red carpets, award shows, TV interviews and more. Yet there are some amazing Hollywood celebs who do just that every single day.

MORE: 14 Single Stars Who Have Adopted Children

So step forward and take a bow Michelle Williams, Minnie Driver, Ricky Martin and Colin Farrell. There are many more — all of whom work their bottoms off while also raising children.

MORE: Padma Lakshmi On Being A Single Mom, 'It Does Get Overwhelming Sometimes.'

Some Hollywood celebs have found juggling the two — and doing both well — impossible so chose their children. Rick Moranis left showbiz to take care of his kids after his wife passed away. That is a show of priorities.

In 2009, Colin Farrell was labeled Hottest Single Celebrity Dad. That focuses his achievements on his looks and not the fact that he’s the greatest dad alive to his son James who was born with a rare neurogenetic disorder called Angleman Syndrome. According to TVOvermind, Farrell also donates time speaking for and about the Foundation for Angelman Syndrome Therapeutics.

Sandra Bullock’s pretty much a supermom and that’s even without the Hollywood celebrity status. According to Parenting, Bullock was already helping raise the three stepchildren from her marriage to Jesse James, who she allegedly divorced because he was cheating on her, when she also secretly adopted a baby boy from New Orleans.

In 1998, Katie Couric found herself in a terrible position when her husband passed away from colon cancer. But according to Parenting, Couric placed the good with the bad and raised her two daughters, then 6 and 2, all by herself.

According to TVOvermind, Liam Neeson had been happily married to Natasha Richardson from 1994, and they even had two kids together. Tragically, Richardson died from a skiing accident in 2009 making Neeson a single dad. He’s since raised both kids alone while juggling a career as movie star.

Rick Moranis had been happily married to costume designer Ann Belsky since 1986. Sadly, Belsky developed breast cancer and passed away in 1991 leaving behind Moranis and two children. According to TVOvermind, Moranis realized he couldn’t continue his career as an actor while at the same time raising his children. In 1996 he made the decision to quit acting as his children came first, and he became a full-time father.

According to Parenting, Lance Armstrong split from Sheryl Crow because she wanted kids but he didn’t. That didn’t stop her. Crow moved on and adopted her first son, Wyatt, in May 2007, followed by another adopted son, Levi James , in 2010. She’s now having fun on Santa Monica Blvd — well, at least until the sun comes up.

From Bond Girl to Single Mom, Denise Richards has had an interesting career path. According to Bravo, Richards was granted full custody of her daughters, Sam and Lola, in 2010 upon divorcing Charlie Sheen. In 2011, she adopted a third daughter, Eloise, who has learning disabilities. Richards said, "You take care of your children no matter what is going on with them. I don’t know if Eloise is ever going to talk like a typical child. But as a parent, you want what’s best for your children, and you just do it."

Minnie Driver was raised by a single mom herself so knew the ropes. According to Romper, Driver gave birth to her son in 2008 but kept the identity of the father secret until 2012, saying he knew about the child but “hasn’t been that involved.” According to Parenting, she likened the first year of parenthood to an "insane earthquake."

Empire star Taraji P. Henson found herself a single mom upon the death of the father of Marcel — their child who she had while in college. Henson told Glamour that her father told her, “That’s your baby. That’s your blessing. That’s your strength. And you know what? He was.”

Modern Family's Sofia Vergara married her high school sweetie, and they had a son called Manolo. But, according to People, after splitting from her husband just two years later, Vergara found herself raising Manolo on her own saying, “When people compliment me on him, on how well mannered, how charming, funny and well-behaved he is, it makes all the sacrifices worthwhile."

Pop singer Kelis has raised her son Knight alone since he was just a baby following her divorce from the boy’s father and her husband, Nas. According to Zimbio, she said, “It’s hard being a working single mother, but on the flipside, it’s awesome too. You only have to worry about yourself. It’s only your influence and your ideas.”

Fosse/Verdon star, Michelle Williams, lost Heath Ledger — her former partner and father to her daughter, Matilda, in 2008. She and Ledger split before his suicide, but according to Vanity Fair, she said, “I feel really sensitive about it and certainly did not expect to still be dating at 36 with an 11-year-old. This is not what I imagined.” But she added, “I’m also happy with myself and just because I might have a desire to be with someone … that won’t lead me to marry the wrong person.”

According to Closer, soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo announced that he was a dad in 2010. At the same time, he announced he would have ‘exclusive guardianship, as agreed with the baby’s mother, who preferred to keep her identity confidential’. Ronaldo’s mother added her two cents saying, “I am not bothered who the mother is. I just want to give my grandson love and educate him as Ronaldo asked me to.”

Pop singer Ricky Martin is the father of twin boys born from a surrogate mother. According to Billboard, they’re with him wherever he goes. Martin said, “They're stuck to me constantly. If I'm in L.A. and have to travel to Hong Kong for 24 hours, I'll leave them with my mom. But fortunately, I have sons who are warriors and who were born on tour and don't know anything else.”

According to TVOvermind, when Lenny Kravitz and Lisa Bonet divorced in 1993, Kravitz took the lion's share of raising their daughter Zoe — she lived with him during the year and her mother during the summer. People reported that Kravitz said, “I’m not a jealous dad at all. I trust her judgment. She’s well equipped, and she needs to go out and do her own thing. She’s seen enough and was loved enough by both her mom and me that she has made me proud on every account.”

According to Marie Claire, Christina Aguilera divorced the father of her son, Max, in 2010. She said, "It's a struggle. But I can't single out my ex-husband as the problem because he's a devoted father and great with my son. We always make sure that we put Max first.”

Kate Hudson has two sons — Ryder and Bingham — and, according to E! News, they were fathered, respectively, by Chris Robinson and Matthew Bellamy. She says one of the issues of being a single mom and Hollywood celebrity is when she’s asked by the press who she’s dating. She told Marie Claire that "People ask that question as if, 'Oh yeah, it's really healthy to publicly talk about who I am or am not dating when I've got a tween.' Ryder can read, and he can hear. I'm not going to indulge in that kind of thing until there's someone in my life who I am introducing to my kids."