The “Days of Our Lives” star | Source: Getty Images
This Hollywood actress faced heartbreak in her personal life with four marriages and years of infertility struggles. However, through surrogacy, she found her greatest joy as a mother to two sons. Discover her emotional journey to motherhood and the family she built.
Behind the glitz and glamour of Hollywood, even the most iconic stars face personal challenges. For this famous actress, known for her decades-long role on
”
Days of Our Lives,” the pursuit of a family was filled with heartache.
The “Days of Our Lives” star circa 1986. | Source: Getty Images
Four marriages came and went, and after years of trying to conceive, she struggled with infertility. But she never gave up on her dream of becoming a mother. In her 40s, she turned to surrogacy, a decision that would finally give her the family she had longed for.
The actress posing for a portrait in 1987 in Los Angeles, California. | Source: Getty Images
A Journey of Fame and Love
This beloved star of “Days of Our Lives” became a household name through her portrayal of Marlena Evans, a psychiatrist on the long-running soap opera. However, before she rose to fame, her
career
began quite unexpectedly.
The actress as Marlena Evans in “Days of our Lives” in 1991. | Source: Getty Images
While attending college, she found herself in Los Angeles, where she decided to make some extra money on the side by modeling. This led to a series of opportunities, with an agent encouraging her to try print and commercial work.
The famous actress at the NBC Summer TCA Press Tour on July 27, 1991, in Universal City, California. | Source: Getty Images
Before long, her part-time gig blossomed into a full-time acting career. “I kept thinking, ‘Well, I’ll just do this acting thing until I’ve got a career.’ And then one day I thought, ‘What am I doing? I appear to have a career, and it’s not in psychiatry,'” she
reflected
.
The actress as Marlena Evans and Drake Hogestyn as John Black in “Days of our Lives” in 1993. | Source: Getty Images
However, while her career flourished, the actress’s personal life was a bit more tumultuous. She tied the knot four times, though none of those marriages stood the test of time.
The Hollywood star at the 20th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards on May 26, 1993, in New York. | Source: Getty Images
After her relatively private first marriage did not work out, at the height of her soap opera fame, the actress married singer-songwriter Keith Barbour. However, after six years together, their
marriage
ended.
She then said “I do” to
writer and producer
Michael Dubelko, but they also did not last. Her fourth marriage followed to
writer, actor, and producer
Steve Sohmer.
Michael Dubelko and the Hollywood star at the American Jewish Committee’s Sherrill C. Corwin Human Relations Award Salute to Merv Adelson on October 25, 1987, in Beverly Hills, California. | Source: Getty Images
Despite her marriages not lasting,
the actress
never expressed regret over her romances. She
shared
, “A friend of mine says, ‘You’ve got a bad picker,’ and I think that’s not entirely untrue. But when I look at the growth in my life, everything got me to where I am.”
Steve Sohmer and the “Days of Our Lives” actress at the “Much Ado About Nothing” Westwood premiere on May 10, 1993. | Source: Getty Images
“I was going to school in Florida and a marriage got me to California, so that opened a few thousand doors! I’ve taken lessons [from them] and still have [some] great friendships,” the actress
continued
. However, by 2019, she had made it clear that she had no interest in walking down the aisle again.
The “Days of Our Lives” actress at the “My Fair Lady” opening night performance on July 7, 1993, in Los Angeles, California. | Source: Getty Images
Surrogacy Brought Her Dream of Motherhood to Life
This well-known actress is none other than Deidre Hall, who, over two decades and two marriages, struggled to conceive a child despite her best efforts.
Deidre Hall at The New York Friars’ Club Roasts Whoopi Goldberg on October 8, 1993, in New York. | Source: Getty Images
She underwent numerous rounds of artificial insemination, surgeries, and in-vitro fertilization. Each attempt left her physically and emotionally exhausted, but still, no baby arrived. Ultimately, after
battling infertility
for so long, she and her fourth husband turned to surrogacy, a decision that changed her life.
Deidre Hall the 10th Annual Soap Opera Digest Awards on February 4, 1994, in Beverly Hills, California. | Source: Getty Images
As someone who had been through the emotional toll of infertility at 44, Deidre was drawn to surrogacy,
revealing
, “There is enormous power in women working together… and it came as no surprise to me that surrogacy would’ve worked for me.”
Deidre Hall at the Fifth Annual GLAAD Media Awards on March 19, 1994, in Los Angeles, California. | Source: Getty Images
She and Steve found a surrogate, a young mother named Robin, through a surrogacy center in Beverly Hills. However, that was just the beginning of the emotional process.
Deidre
recalled
the moment she met Robin, “It took about a year to find Robin, and as everything else in this process that has happened, when I saw her, I knew it. I knew she was my surrogate. I knew it. I knew it. I knew it.”
Deidre Hall and her sons at the “Cinderella” video cassette and album release party on October 2, 1995, in Burbank, California. | Source: Getty Images
Robin gave birth to their first son, David Atticus, on August 23, 1992, and three years later, on January 19, 1995, she delivered their second son, Tully Chapin. The joy Deidre felt when her sons were born was indescribable. “In the moment that baby is placed in your arms, it doesn’t matter how they got there,” Deidre
reflected
.
Deidre Hall and her son at the Caring for Babies with AIDS’ Fifth Annual Stroll-A-Thon Benefit on November 12, 1995, at Roxbury Park in Beverly Hills, California. | Source: Getty Images
“When David was born, the doctor cut the cord and handed him to me, and I remember saying, ‘If anybody ever tries to hurt you, I will kill them’ … at a rational moment,” the actress
joked
.
Deidre Hall and her sons at “The Aristocats” video release and special screening on April 18, 1996, in Westwood, California. | Source: Getty Images
Deidre’s surrogacy journey was so significant that she and Steve decided to share their story with the world. In 1995, Steve wrote the made-for-TV movie “Never Say Never: The Deidre Hall Story,” in which Deidre played herself, reenacting her own surrogacy experience.
For Deidre, it was important to set the record straight and to show how positive and successful surrogacy could be when done properly. She felt particularly compelled to dispel the negative perceptions that lingered after the notorious Baby M custody case, which had cast a shadow over surrogacy in America.
“I thought: I believe in this so much. I’m so grateful to Robin for the gift she gave us. And I just wanted the world to know what it was. I had really wanted people to understand that Mary Beth Whitehead [of Baby M] was not the story, that wasn’t how it worked, and that women are extraordinary and they can do things together,” Deidre
said
.
The bond between Deidre and her surrogate, Robin, remained strong over the years. “We’re still close,” the actress
shared
. She maintained a warm relationship with Robin and her children, who had been quite young when they first met.
Deidre Hall and her sons at the launch party for “The Simpson’s Ride” on May 17, 2008, in Universal City, California. | Source: Getty Images
Deidre fondly recalled how Robin’s children had been told that their mother was “helping [a] lady with a broken tummy” and how they all came to visit her home to make sure the baby had a bedroom. “It was a terribly sweet relationship,” she
remarked
.
Deidre Hall with her sons David Atticus Sohmer and Tully Chapin at her ceremony being honored with a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on May 19, 2016, in Hollywood, California. | Source: Getty Images
Now all grown up, despite her success, Deidre’s sons have lived mostly out of the public eye. The “Days of Our Lives” star
shared
in 2019, “Tully took a little break and he’s going back to college, and David’s been going to college in Paris. He graduates in May.” According to his
Instagram
bio, David went on to work in
real estate
.
David Atticus Sohmer, Deidre Hall, and Tully Chapin at the actress’s ceremony being honored with a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on May 19, 2016, in Hollywood, California. | Source: Getty Images
In 2021, the actress shared a photo dump on social media, including a sweet snap of her and David, and one social media user
commented
,
“He is so handsome.”
Another person
typed
,
“That’s a proud and loving Mom smile. Very beautiful.”
A third added,
“Love you always Deirdre and your son very handsome beautiful like mom [sic].”
Deidre is now well into her 70s, and over the years she has reflected on her life and
shared
, “I’m so sublimely happy. My kids and my family are in good shape, I’m healthy. I do a job that I love. I have people and a home that I adore, a garden that I like growing. It doesn’t get any better, and I’m beyond grateful.”
Deidre Hall at the 91st Hollywood Christmas Parade on November 26, 2023, in Los Angeles, California. | Source: Getty Images
Deidre Hall’s
journey to motherhood was not an easy one, but through surrogacy, she finally achieved her dream. Today, as a proud mother of two sons, the actress reflects on her life with gratitude, proving that love and fulfillment can take many forms, even beyond the traditional paths.