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Is ‘Sweet Magnolias’ star Brooke Elliot pregnant?

It's hard to know for sure as the actress values her privacy.

Screengrab via Netflix

Brooke Elliot, best known for her work on Drop Dead Diva and Sweet Magnolias may be about to play her greatest role yet – that of doting mother. According to Mediamass, the actress was sporting a “prominent bulge” during an intimate dinner with a potential boyfriend. Elliot is incredibly private about her personal affairs, so much so that most publications were completely unaware of her supposed partner.

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Who is Brooke Elliot?

Brooke Elliot is an American television actress and singer. According to her parents, the Minnesota native started singing when she was just 3 years old. An avid musical theatre participant throughout her high school days, Elliot attended Western Michigan University and obtained her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. Her first theater job was with the stage combat troop, Babes with Blades, where she worked on Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves and Heathers. She performed in various touring musicals like Beauty and the Beast and Wicked before landing her first Broadway musical role in Taboo.

The show was directed by Rosie O’Donnell, whom Elliot credits for her big break. The comedian-turned-director gave Elliot a second chance at auditioning, saying that her first attempt made the actress seem like she was, “fresh off a Disney Cruise.” Though the musical only ran for one hundred performances, the connection ensured that Elliot would perform on Broadway several more times throughout the years.

Her first film role was alongside Mel Gibson in What Women Want in 2000. Nine years later, she landed her most prominent television role to date as Jane Bingum in Drop Dead Diva. The series ran for six years, ending in 2014. Though Elliot filmed plenty of pilots during the interim, it wouldn’t be until 2019’s Sweet Magnolias that she would get her next long-term series.

Is Brook Elliot pregnant?

Sweet Magnolias
Photo via Netflix

The only “evidence” that most magazines have scrounged up to support their pregnancy claims seems to be Elliot accompanying several toasts with a glass of water, rather than a spirit or wine. It is, undoubtedly, a bit odd to toast with water, but plenty of folks choose to forgo alcohol for personal and medical reasons outside of pregnancy. Even television stars need to DD once in a while.

Outside of her sobriety, the only other potential evidence is a change in Elliot’s waistline. The frustratingly pedantic observations about her supposed baby bump are enough to drive a woman crazy. The actress has long been an advocate for body image representation for average and plus-sized women and has grappled with her own body image since achieving stardom. Media outlets have hyper-fixated on her weight gain and weight loss to an unhealthy degree over the years, making this rumor seem more malicious than excited about a potential Baby Elliot.

In the modern era, it’s not unheard of for women to take the leap to motherhood on their own, but at 48, Elliot faces a litany of potential complications. As a woman myself, I can attest to the constant reminders we get concerning childbearing ages. Carrying children gets much more difficult — and dangerous — as one gets older. Good support systems are necessary for mothers after giving birth, and while Elliot is surely loved by plenty of people in her life, the instability that comes with not having a long-term partner can be daunting.

But with the right support from family and friends, a good doctor, and plenty of self-care there’s no doubt that mom and baby can come out healthy in the end. For our part, we hope that when Elliot decides to take the step into motherhood she has the privacy to do so with comfort.