Lisa Ray has long been an inspiration to many women dealing with breast-cancer and it’s after-effects.
The ‘Water’ actress, who’s been at a hiatus from movies, concentrating on her health first, added another milestone to her personal life.
The 46 year old model-turned-actress has become first time mother to twin daughters, via surrogacy.
Their names? – Sufi and Soleil.
Lisa announced the news of her motherhood through a cover-story on Bombay Times, along with a first-look of her chubby-cheeked precious little babies.
Courtesy @bombaytimes: ‘Lisa shared, “Every new phase of life challenges my openness and the ability to adapt with each new experience.” Lisa and Jason have named their daughters Sufi – the mystic – and Soleil – the French word for ‘sun’. They were born via surrogacy in Tbilisi, Georgia, in June. “It has been an arduous and interesting experience. Having been diagnosed with multiple myeloma (a form of blood cancer) in 2009, which requires me to be on a lifelong dose of medication, pre-empted the possibility for me to carry children myself. Fortunately, technology has progressed where there are choices and new possibilities for having children. My husband and I decided to pursue surrogacy. India was the obvious choice. We consulted a reputed fertility doctor, but a week before we could begin, India outlawed commercial surrogacy. We were crushed. While I understand the pressing need to regulate the industry and prevent exploitation of surrogate mothers, it was a case of literally throwing out the baby with the bath water. But, I was determined. My husband and I were advised we could continue the process in India and that there were ‘ways’. But we did not want to bring our children into the world under a cloud of uncertainty,” she said.’ Image @aligphoto MUH @jomakeupartist PR manager @bazinga_ent
In an exclusive interview with Times Of India, Lisa said, ‘“Jason and I have chosen to share the intimate story of our surrogacy journey as a way to normalize and embrace fertility possibilities for everyone. “
She further added:
“I will teach my girls to be resilent, strong, open and that they can achieve anything they set their hearts on. I can’t resist whispering in their tiny ears – ‘The future is female’.”