The Gilded Age: Carrie Coon was secretly pregnant in this episode, and no one noticed

A chance conversation with a fan on X in 2022 revealed that Carrie Coon was 8 months pregnant while filming many scenes in The Gilded Age Season 1, particularly the carriage scene.

While this news was certainly shocking, as Bertha Russell is always the epitome of elegance and extravagance in HBO's American historical series, created by Julian Fellowes, it is confirmed by the actress herself.

While filming for The Gilded Age Season 1, the actress was pregnant with her second child with her husband, Tracy Letts, and gave birth to a daughter in the Summer of 2021.

With this happy news, the actress had to conceal her pregnancy in the show, and the production department came to her rescue. According to the actress, the costume department did such a good job that even pre-production did not notice that Coon was 8 months pregnant.

More on this in our story.

---

Carrie Coon was secretly pregnant while filming The Gilded Age Season 1

Carrie Coon has perfected her portrayal of Bertha Russell in The Gilded Age, the ambitious and socially flamboyant wife of a rail tycoon. While the show is widely appreciated for its historical costumes and styling, the department pulled off something quite extraordinary in Season 1 by flawlessly hiding Carrie Coon's pregnancy behind the period's beautiful corsets and brasiers.

While Coon's pregnancy was well-concealed in the show, the secret came to light when a fan posted a scene on X, appreciating the actress's wardrobe. The user wrote:

''Obsessed with everything carrie coon wears. is it historically accurate? is it intentionally ugly? is this camp?''

Surprisingly, the actress replied:

''Eight months pregnant.''

According to the actress, she was pregnant in many scenes in The Gilded Age Season 1, especially in the carriage scene. Still, the costume department helped the actress conceal her 8-months-pregnant bump with beautiful capes and corsets.

While this was not the first time an actress was pregnant on set, hiding the bump with clothing alone is quite commendable. Famously, actress Julie Bowen was pregnant while shooting the Modern Family Pilot, and the production hid her bump behind laundry baskets, elevated kitchen tops, and many such tricks behind the camera. But The Gilded Age's costume department did a commendable job of hiding Carrie Coon's pregnancy.

---

What changes were made to Carrie Coon's wardrobe to hide her pregnancy in The Gilded Age Season 1?

As Carrie Coon discussed the issue of her secret pregnancy with Entertainment Tonight, she revealed that the production did not rely on old TV tropes of hiding the bump behind objects. Nor could Bertha Russell be dressed in baggy clothes in late 1800s New York.

Strategic changes were made to Carrie Coon's wardrobe in The Gilded Age, which she revealed as:

“There were a few months where I got to wear the costumes as they existed. But when we came back, I had to put strings on the back of all of them...What’s extraordinary about this story is that no one batted an eye. They all just got on board.”

She added:

''[The Department did] such an amazing job of hiding it that a lot of people working in post-production didn’t know I was pregnant...[she] had a lot of very fancy capes towards the end. There were a lot of moving buttons. Its really magical.''

According to the actress, while some changes were made to her wardrobe in The Gilded Age Season 1, the beautiful clothes did most of the work.

---

For the latest scoops on your favorite TV shows and movies, follow SoapCentral.