Life has a funny way of imitating art, but for Vanessa Kirby, it was more like a surreal, high-stakes collision. Imagine being on a massive Marvel set, strapped into a heavy prosthetic belly to play a pregnant Sue Storm, only to find out you’re actually expecting a child in real life. That’s exactly what happened during the production of The Fantastic Four: First Steps.
Honestly, it sounds like something a publicist would dream up to grab headlines, but the Vanessa Kirby baby news was as real as it gets. By the time the world saw her cradling her bump on a red carpet in Mexico City in May 2025, she wasn't just "method acting" for her role as the Invisible Woman. She was navigating the start of her own family with partner Paul Rabil.
The Secret Pregnancy and That Viral Red Carpet
For a long time, Kirby and Rabil kept things tight-lipped. They’ve always been a bit low-key since they started dating back in 2022. He’s the American lacrosse legend who co-founded the Premier Lacrosse League, and she’s the British powerhouse who made us all weep as Princess Margaret in The Crown. It’s a bit of a "sports meets silver screen" power couple situation, but they don't flaunt it.
The big reveal happened at the CCXPMX Film Festival. Kirby stepped out in this shimmering, form-fitting Schiaparelli dress that left zero room for doubt. No official press release was needed. The photos of her holding her stomach while standing next to her co-stars Pedro Pascal and Joseph Quinn went nuclear on social media within minutes.
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Why the Timing Was "Crazy"
While appearing on Late Night with Seth Meyers later that summer, Kirby admitted the timing was "just crazy." She spent months filming The Fantastic Four wearing a foam prosthetic. Being the dedicated actor she is, she actually complained the foam was too light. She convinced the costume department to stuff it with rice packets to make it feel "real."
The irony? The fake belly was so heavy it gave her chronic backaches. When she actually became pregnant, she realized her real bump was significantly lighter than the rice-filled contraption she’d been lugging around the London sets. "I gave myself a backache for no reason at all," she joked.
Welcoming the Newest Addition
Fast forward to October 2025. While the internet was busy speculating about baby names and gender, Paul Rabil took to Instagram to confirm the news everyone was waiting for. On Sunday, October 19, he posted a carousel of photos that felt incredibly intimate for a couple that usually stays out of the paparazzi's lens.
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The photos weren't polished or staged. One showed Rabil holding a tiny, blanket-wrapped bundle against his chest. Another was a quiet shot of Kirby and the baby resting in bed. Rabil’s caption was pretty emotional, too. He talked about how parenthood "slows you down and wakes you up at the same time."
He also included a picture of two miniature lacrosse sticks. "For your first cradle stick," he wrote. "Likely broken windows too. Balls are allowed in the house."
What We Know (And Don't Know)
Despite the viral photos, the couple has managed to keep some boundaries.
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- The Name: As of early 2026, they haven't publicly shared the baby's name.
- The Gender: They haven't officially confirmed if it's a boy or a girl, though some fans have tried to "detective" their way through the nursery colors in the background of social media posts.
- The Birth Date: Based on Rabil's announcement, the baby likely arrived in mid-October 2025.
Working Through Motherhood: Avengers: Doomsday
You’d think a new baby and a massive blockbuster release would mean taking a year off. Not Kirby. She actually filmed portions of Avengers: Doomsday while visibly pregnant. On the Happy Sad Confused podcast, she described it as "the coolest thing," praising the Russo Brothers and Kevin Feige for being incredibly supportive of her needs on set.
It’s a massive shift from her role in Pieces of a Woman, the film that earned her an Oscar nomination. In that movie, she played a woman navigating the trauma of a home birth gone wrong. She spent months shadowing midwives and even watched a live birth to prepare for that role. To go from that level of researched intensity to experiencing the joy of her own healthy delivery is a full-circle moment fans have found deeply moving.
How to Follow the Journey
If you’re looking for more updates, don't expect a sudden flood of "mommy vlogs." Kirby has always valued her privacy, often citing her sister Juliet as her closest confidante and "lifeline" in the industry.
Your next steps for staying in the loop:
- Follow Paul Rabil on Instagram: He tends to be slightly more open with "life update" posts than Kirby.
- Keep an eye on Marvel press tours: As The Fantastic Four: First Steps and Avengers: Doomsday gear up for their big theatrical runs, Kirby will likely share more anecdotes about balancing the MCU with a newborn.
- Support Aluna Entertainment: That’s Kirby’s production company. She’s focused on telling complex female stories, and her new perspective as a mother is likely to influence the projects she greenlights next.
Basically, Vanessa Kirby just pulled off the ultimate crossover: becoming a real-life superhero while playing one on screen. It wasn't a PR stunt or a "hidden chapter"—it was just a woman living her life in front of a very large, very excited audience.