‘Dreams Do Come True’

A decade after Laura Orrico’s husband died, she used his frozen sperm to get pregnant. Now she’s raising her ‘miracle’ baby.

- EMILY STROHM,LUCY HEWETT

When Laura Orrico turned 48 in August 2024, she felt her dreams of having a family slowly slipping away. “I knew I couldn’t wait any longer,” says Orrico. “I kept hoping and holding out, but there was no time left, so I had to make a decision. Do it by myself or regret it for the rest of my life.”

Being a single mom was never the plan, but after losing her husband, Ryan Cosgrove, to complications from a brain tumor in 2015, Orrico became a widow at 38. A decade later the actress and business owner, who appeared on CSI: Miami and Kevin Can Wait, used her late husband’s sperm, which he previously froze in 2007, to get pregnant.

“One of my biggest fears was never having a family of my own,” she says. “I really felt like this was my last shot.” After one embryo transfer in May 2025, her “perfect” daughter Aviana Rose was born on Feb. 5, 2026. “It felt amazing to hold her for the first time,” says Orrico, 49, who has kept further details of her IVF treatments private. “You wait so long, and for her to be there in my arms was just beautiful.” She admits that some questioned her decision because of her age. “But I feel young,” says Orrico, who lives outside of Chicago. “And with everything I’ve been through, I’ve learned I’m stronger than I ever gave myself credit for. It’s never too late.”