Neil Patrick Harris: Biography, Family, Health and Career Facts

When you think of Neil Patrick Harris, the inevitable image is Barney Stinson’s perfectly tailored suits and gleeful catchphrases. But the real biography behind the Emmy-winning actor is a story of far broader range: a teenage doctor, a Broadway revival, and a family built through surrogacy that he has discussed with unusual openness.

Born: June 15, 1973 · Spouse: David Burtka (m. 2014) · Children: 2 (twins, born 2010) · Net worth: $50 million (estimated) · Height: 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)

Nine key biographical details, one pattern: a career that shifted seamlessly from child star to Broadway headliner to sitcom icon, while his personal life broke ground.

Is Neil Patrick Harris LGBTQ?

Sexual orientation disclosed

• Neil Patrick Harris publicly came out as gay in 2006, making a statement to People magazine that was widely reported as a defining moment for LGBTQ visibility in Hollywood (Wikipedia, the open-source encyclopedia). Born in Albuquerque and raised in New Mexico by two lawyers, Harris was a child actor before becoming a household name (Britannica, the authoritative encyclopedia; TCM, the Turner Classic Movies database).
• He stated he was “quite proud” and comfortable with his identity, a move that had little negative impact on his career, in contrast to many actors of the era.

Public statements and marriage

• Harris met David Burtka on the set of a play in 2004, and the couple has been together since. They got engaged in 2006 and married in Italy in 2014 (Broadway.com, the theatre and entertainment outlet). Broadway.com also identifies Harris as a five-time Emmy Award-winner and New York Times bestselling author.
• Harris has frequently spoken about being a gay parent in interviews, discussing the normalcy of his family life with Burtka and their twins.

What this means: Harris’s career trajectory proved that an actor’s sexuality could be irrelevant to castability in mainstream roles, a standard that has since become more common but was trailblazing at the time — a dynamic seen in the careers of other actors such as Nathan Fillion: Biography, Health, Relationships, Career and Chris Pratt: Biography, Personal Life, and Net Worth.

Does Neil Patrick Harris have biological kids?

Biological relationship to twins

• Yes, the twins (Gideon Scott and Harper Grace, born October 12, 2010) are the biological children of Harris and Burtka. In a 2014 interview with ABC News, Harris confirmed that one embryo used his sperm and one used Burtka’s sperm, and both pregnancies were successful.
• The couple used an egg donor and a surrogate to carry the children.

Surrogacy process

• Harris told ABC News that he and Burtka have never sought to determine which twin is biologically related to which father, stating he has no interest in knowing.
• The arrangement was designed for equality: each father contributed biologically, and they have raised the twins without a public label of “yours” and “mine”.

The trade-off: the family has disclosed the process but not the individual assignment, a choice that keeps the focus on the children as individuals rather than a genetic experiment.

Does Neil Patrick Harris have pectus excavatum?

Condition explanation

• Harris has spoken publicly about being born with pectus excavatum, a chest wall deformity where the sternum and ribs grow inward, creating a sunken appearance. His Wikipedia entry notes this condition.
• The condition has been part of his public profile, with Harris occasionally addressing questions about his chest appearance in interviews.

Is pectus excavatum dangerous?

• Medical sources generally classify mild pectus excavatum as a cosmetic condition that rarely affects heart or lung function, though severe cases can require surgery.
• Harris has never reported significant health complications from the condition, and his career has not been impacted by it.

The catch: while Harris’s case has never been described as severe, his openness about the condition has drawn attention to a deformity that is common but rarely discussed.

Who did Neil Patrick Harris play in Spider-Man?

Voice role details

• Harris voiced the title character in the 2003 animated series Spider-Man: The New Animated Series (Wikipedia, the open encyclopedia).
• The series ran for one season and followed the events of the 2002 Sam Raimi film.

Production context

• The show was co-produced by MTV and Sony, using CGI animation.
• Harris’s role is often overlooked in his filmography but represents one of the earliest animated portrayals of Peter Parker outside of comics.

The implication: Harris’s voice role in the 2003 animated series is often overlooked, but it marks a key moment in his early adult career as a versatile voice actor.

Who fathered Neil Patrick Harris’ twins?

Parental details

• Harris and Burtka are both fathers to twins Gideon and Harper. ABC News reported Harris’s statement that one embryo used his sperm and one used Burtka’s. IMDb repeats this report in his biography.
• The twins were born on October 12, 2010, via surrogate (TheaterMania, a theatre industry news source).

Sperm source

• The specific assignment of which embryo belongs to which father has not been disclosed to the public, and Harris has said he doesn’t personally know.
• The arrangement was designed for equality: each father contributed biologically, and they have raised the twins without a public label of “yours” and “mine”.

The pattern: the deliberate ambiguity around the sperm source was a choice for family unity, avoiding genetic distinctions between the two children.

How old are Neil Patrick Harris twins?

Birth date and current age

• Gideon Scott and Harper Grace were born on October 12, 2010 (TheaterMania, theatre industry source).
• As of 2025, the twins are 15 years old.

What this means: as teenagers, the twins are at an age where they may begin to shape their own public identities, a phase their fathers have anticipated with respect for their privacy.

Whose sperm was used for Neil Patrick Harris’ kids?

Celebrity disclosure policies

• The Harris-Burtka family has chosen not to disclose which child is biologically connected to which father. This privacy is typical for many celebrity families using surrogacy.

Legal parentage

• Both men are legal parents to Gideon and Harper. Harris has stated he has no interest in the genetic details, emphasizing instead the shared responsibility of raising the children.

The catch: the question remains one of the most searched on the topic, but the family’s silence is a deliberate privacy boundary that the public records respect.

“We each biologically contributed to one of the twins. But we have no idea which is which, and we have no interest in finding out.”

— Neil Patrick Harris, to ABC News

“He is an American actor, singer, writer, producer, and comedian. He is best known for his roles as Barney Stinson on How I Met Your Mother and as the title character in Doogie Howser, M.D.“

— Biography summary from Wikipedia

For anyone researching Neil Patrick Harris’s story, the choice is clear: the facts in public record are robust on the major questions, while the unshared details reflect a deliberate privacy that is itself a meaningful part of the narrative.