All About Michelle Buteau's Twins Hazel and Otis

Mar. 15, 2025

Michelle Buteau and her daughter Hazel; Michelle Buteau and her son Otis.Photo:Michelle Buteau Instagram

Michelle Buteau Instagram

Michelle Buteaubecame a mom of two when she welcomed twins Hazel and Otis.

Although the comedian always knew she wanted to have children, her road to motherhood was far from easy. After getting married in 2010, Buteau and her husband, photographer Gijs van der Most, spent several years trying to conceive through in vitro fertilization before ultimately welcomingdaughter Hazel and son Otis via surrogatein January 2019.

“Surrogacy is not something you go into IVF thinking, ‘This is what I’m going to be doing,’ ” theBabesstar told PEOPLE in September 2020, adding that it’s “so beautiful that that is even a choice.”

She went on to describe the experience of meeting her babies for the first time as “bananas,” before expressing gratitude for her surrogate. “I’m just forever thankful," she said.

Since becoming a mom of two, Buteau hasbecome even busier. In 2020, she wrote a book, released her first comedy special on Netflix and landed the role of host on Netflix’sThe Circle.More recently, she co-created a series based on her book,Survival of the Thickest,and starred in the rom-com,Babes.

In a May 2024 interview with21Ninety, Buteau acknowledged the difficulty of balancing work and motherhood but explained that the fatigue has only made her happier. “For me, being tired is a privilege. Being a tired mom is a privilege,” she said.

On top of that, her kids help keep her motivated. “I want the world for them. I want them to know that they’re never losing, only learning,” Buteau toldUSA Todayin December 2024, when her comedy specialMichelle Buteau: A Buteau-ful Mindhit Netflix.

From their birth to their personalities, here’s everything to know about Michelle Buteau’s twins, Hazel and Otis.

She’s been open about her struggles with infertility

Michelle Buteau and her kids Hazel and Otis in July 2022.Michelle Buteau Instagram

Speaking to PEOPLE, Buteau opened up about her struggles with infertility prior to becoming a mom.

“Just seeing your friends in general with kids or anything that you are yearning for. It’s very hard to be around,” she shared. “Anybody that has had a miscarriage can understand.”

“We did a lot of rounds of IVF. It was insane. I wanted so much to be pregnant that it took over me like a bridezilla for the uterus,” she wrote. “Four or five rounds of IVF and four miscarriages later, I was done. I was exhausted. I didn’t recognize my body.”

Eventually, with the help of her own mom, she and her husband decided to turn to surrogacy.

“I wanted so badly to be pregnant, but I hit a wall and couldn’t do it anymore,” she wrote. “I was glad that someone else could. So even though I felt sad, I also felt free.”

Hazel and Otis were born via surrogate in January 2019

Michelle Buteau and her kids Hazel and Otis in March 2019.Michelle Buteau Instagram

While she was filmingAlways Be My Maybe,Buteau and her husband found out that their surrogate was pregnant, and in January 2019, their twins, Hazel and Otis, were born.

A few days later, the couple announced the news onInstagramwith a photo of Buteau smiling while holding her babies.

She was in the room during their birth

Michelle Buteau and her kids Hazel and Otis in May 2024.Michelle Buteau Instagram

Due to surrogacy laws in New York, Hazel and Otis were born in Pennsylvania, but Buteau was able to be there for the whole thing.

“We wanted to make [our surrogate] feel as comfortable as possible. So she got to decide who was in the room with her,” the actress explained in an interview withThe Bump. “I was so lucky that she chose me, but then I felt bad for my husband.”

In her essay forGlamour,Buteau opened up about the experience of being there while her twins were born. “When I held my babies for the first time, it was wild. It was insane, over the top. There’s not one word you can use to describe it. It was a marathon of emotions,” she wrote. “I was so tired, but had finally reached this goal. They are two souls who joined the world, and it will forever change us.”

She and her husband have different parenting styles

Michelle Buteau and Gijs van der Most celebrating Halloween with their twins in October 2021.Michelle Buteau Instagram

Buteau and van der Most have been married since 2010, but they didn’t realize how different their parenting styles were until after their twins were born.

“I think he’s too laid-back. He thinks I’m a helicopter parent,” the actress wrote in a December 2020 essay forTheNew York Times.

While Buteau was born in New Jersey to a Jamaican and French mother and a Haitian and Lebanese father, van der Most was born and raised in the Netherlands. According to her, these cultural differences have created very opposing parenting styles.

“In general, Dutch children are taught not to depend too much on adults; adults are taught to allow children to solve their own problems. It’s not a big deal to eat dinner and leave your eight-month-old sleeping in her stroller outside of a restaurant,” she explained.

She went on to describe how her own childhood differed. “We didn’t do roller coasters. I didn’t climb trees. And we didn’t swim very far at the beach.”

They were part of her first magazine cover

Michelle Buteau and her kids Hazel and Otis in New York City in December 2021.Michelle Buteau Instagram

In 2020, Buteau appeared on the Decembercover ofParentsmagazinewith Hazel and Otis. She shared the significance of the milestone onInstagramwith a photo of the cover.

“This is my first magazine cover. It’s a big deal,” she wrote in the caption. “For someone who’s been told for years that I wouldn’t be able to carry a child and that I’m too fat to be on camera — here I am on the cover ofParentsmagazine, holding my beautiful, healthy twins in a dope plus size onesie with a wedgie I’ll never get to.”

For the story, Buteau spoke to fellow comedian and twin-mom,Wanda Sykes, about motherhood. “Parenting them can be overwhelming at times,” she admitted. “But then when they play with each other, I’m like, ‘This is so beautiful,’ because I’ve always wanted someone to play with. I’m an only child, and I think it’s a miracle that they will always have each other and have this bond.”

She went on to describe the difficulties of raising kids during a global pandemic. “I didn’t know if I could do it. Up until then I had always had help with the babies,” she shared. “Being alone with them, it felt like I was snorkeling for the first time and didn’t know how to breathe yet. I felt bad for being impatient.”

They have very different personalities

Michelle Buteau and her kids Hazel and Otis in May 2022.Michelle Buteau Instagram

During that same interview withParents,Buteau said that her twins have “such different personalities and therefore different vibes.”

No matter what, Buteau is raising them both to pursue their own happiness.

“I want to be the best me, so they know that Mom’s proud of what she does and they should do something they like,” she toldHarper’s Bazaarin July 2023.

source: people.com