Somewhere between the red carpet, the acceptance speeches, and the after-parties, a sparkly breast pump stole the show at this year’s Emmys.
It belonged to Taylor Cox (@imtaylorcox), a writer on Only Murders in the Building who attended the 2026 Emmys as a first-time Primetime Emmy nominee with a 4-month-old at home. Instead of hiding her pump in an overstuffed tote, she had it bedazzled and carried it like the accessory it deserved to be. The internet loved it, and so did we. Mini Magazine’s post about her pump alone drew more than 9,500 likes. (Read the People coverage here.)
We asked Taylor about the pump, the response, and what it’s like to hold onto ambition while becoming a mom. Her answers are funny, honest, and a reminder that the realities of motherhood don’t need to be tucked out of sight.
Meet the Mom Behind the Bedazzled Pump
Taylor is a Chicago-born comedy writer whose credits include Only Murders in the Building, Girls5eva, and Miracle Workers. She also hosts the podcast Hills I’d Die On. This year, she earned her first Primetime Emmy nomination just months after having a baby.
Like so many new moms, she faced a practical problem: a long, exciting, once-in-a-lifetime night and a baby who needed to eat on schedule. Her solution was a manual breast pump designed by artist Nora Casey and covered top to bottom in pearls, pink jewels, and sparkling gems, with a pearl chain for carrying it from the red carpet to the afterparty.
Only Murders in the Building went home without a win, but Taylor found the bright side. “We didn’t win, but we didn’t get mastitis!” she joked on Instagram afterward. Her look quickly made the rounds, including a feature from Mini Magazine.
The Full Interview with Taylor Cox
What made you decide to bring your breast pump to the Emmys instead of trying to hide the need to pump?
This was my first Primetime Emmy nomination so I was VERY excited and determined to look cute! I also had a 4-month-old and knew I couldn’t safely make it through such a long event without pumping, so packing a pump was an annoying inevitability. But I’d worked hard to get to this moment and wasn’t about to let an overflowing New Yorker tote ruin my lewk. So I came up with a solution that made me laugh! Thankfully, women are incredible connectors. My friend Joanna called her friend Glory who connected me with artist Nora Casey, and boy, did she deliver.
Did it feel important to you to make motherhood visible in a space that isn’t typically centered around moms?
TBQH, it genuinely didn’t occur to me that I was making any kind of statement. I just needed to pump, didn’t want to ruin my outfit, and hoped my coworkers would find it funny! It wasn’t until I saw the overwhelmingly positive response online that I realized how lucky I am to live in a city and work in an industry where it didn’t cross my mind for even a second that carrying around a sparkly breast pump could be considered subversive. That’s an enormous privilege, and one I hadn’t really considered until that moment. That said, I’m so glad that something I did for practical reasons (and for the bit) ended up making other women feel seen. Because at the end of the day, a breast pump is a medical accessory. Why should it have to be hidden?
The response to the pump was huge. What do you think people were responding to?
I think maybe it was seeing something incredibly mundane and functional being treated like a glamorous accessory? But I also think the response revealed just how many women are accustomed to feeling like the realities of motherhood are something they need to manage discreetly or apologize for. And I think seeing something that’s usually treated as private or inconvenient being celebrated instead was meaningful to some people.
Have other mothers reached out to you since the Emmys? What have they said?
Yes! I’ve heard from so many moms and it’s honestly been my favorite part of this whole thing. So many women related to the absurdity of trying to enjoy a big, exciting life moment while also dealing with the deeply unglamorous logistics of having a baby. I even found out that several of my friends had pumped at the Emmys before, which was wild! Who knew there was such a rich history of Emmys pumping?! I raise a big glass of breast milk to all the women who came before me.
Has becoming a mom changed the way you define success?
I think it’s made my definition of success a little more expansive, if that makes sense? Becoming a mom hasn’t erased my ambition or made the things I worked hard for feel any less meaningful. I still care deeply about my work, and get excited about the same things I always did. But now there’s this whole other part of my life that I care about even more fiercely, and I think success is figuring out how to make room for both maybe?
I also think there’s this expectation that motherhood should fundamentally transform your relationship to your career, and maybe it does for some people. But I also think it’s okay to become a mom, fiercely love your children, and still really, really want to go to the Emmys.
What would you say to a new mom who feels like she has to choose between being fully committed to motherhood and fully committed to her career?
First and foremost, I’m a comedy writer, so please take any advice I give with a grain of salt. I also want to acknowledge how lucky I am to be able to pursue both motherhood and a career I love. Not everyone has that privilege, and I don’t want to pretend finding balance is simply a matter of having the right attitude.
That said, if you’re lucky enough to have both, I see you! It’s really hard! Some days your work needs more of you, some days your kid has a diaper blowout so immense you have to cancel a meeting and take a shower together. Giving more to one shouldn’t mean failing at the other (and I say this for myself as much as anyone else).
TLDR; Moms are whole people with ambitions and identities that don’t disappear when we have kids. Motherhood comes with a lot of unglamorous baggage. Might as well bedazzle it.
What Her Story Tells Us About Matrescence
Matrescence is the transition into motherhood: the physical, emotional, social, and identity shifts that come with becoming a mom. It’s often compared to adolescence because so much changes at once, and because so little of it gets talked about openly.
Taylor’s story touches on something many new moms feel but rarely say out loud. Pumping, feeding schedules, leaking, exhaustion, and the endless logistics of caring for a baby are often treated as things to manage quietly and out of view. When those realities stay hidden, it’s easy to believe you’re the only one struggling to fit them into the rest of your life.
Seeing a breast pump celebrated on a red carpet doesn’t make the logistics easier. But it does send a powerful message: these needs are normal, they deserve space, and you don’t owe anyone an apology for them.
You Are Allowed to Want Both
One of the most common things new moms carry is the fear that they have to choose. Fully devoted to your baby or fully devoted to your work. Present at home or ambitious in your career.
As Taylor puts it, some days work needs more of you and some days your baby does. Leaning into one doesn’t mean failing at the other. Your identity, your goals, and the parts of you that existed before your baby are still yours. Matrescence isn’t about losing those pieces. It’s about making room for who you’re becoming alongside who you’ve always been.
If you’re feeling torn, guilty, or unsure how all the pieces of your life fit together right now, you don’t have to sort through it alone. Our therapists support moms through every stage of matrescence, from pregnancy and postpartum to returning to work and beyond. Reach out today to schedule a session.