Duke Rancic: What You Didn't Know About Bill & Giuliana's Son

After years of fertility struggles, Bill and Giuliana Rancic welcomed their first child together, a baby boy named Edward Duke Rancic, on August 29, 2012. Their son, who goes by Duke, was delivered in Denver, Colorado, via surrogate, and the parents' excitement was clear, with Bill posting on X, "G & I feel blessed beyond words...We did it!" As Giuliana would later tell People in 2024, "It was such a hard time in our lives when we were going through IVF and even opening up about it." That's why she considered becoming a parent and having a healthy child nothing short of a blessing. "We're so lucky," she enthused.

Growing up, Duke proved even more of a joy than they perhaps expected. "He's a good kid. He's always laughing," Bill told People of a then 2-year-old Duke. "Just the happiest kid I've ever met." While Duke initially appeared on their reality show and landed on the cover of Life & Style at just two weeks old, his time in the spotlight has significantly decreased since then. Even so, Bill and Giuliana have continued to offer the occasional glimpse into their son's upbringing while strategically keeping most of his life out of the spotlight. Here's everything we know about Bill and Giuliana's son.

Of all the tragic details about Giuliana Rancic's life, the hardest may have been her road to motherhood. The TV personality has spoken candidly about undergoing IVF, having a miscarriage, and ultimately choosing to use a gestational carrier to become a mother. Finally, after years of heartbreak, Duke Rancic arrived. Giuliana told E! News that she was the first to hold their baby boy, and her husband, Bill Rancic, cut the umbilical cord.

Given their arduous medical journey, the couple decided to take part in the Cord Blood Registry and bank baby Duke's umbilical cord blood. The first-time parents also set out to inform others about the benefits, writing a blog for People. "Giuliana's sister banked all four of her kids' cord blood stem cells," they wrote, revealing they had first learned about the procedure over a decade earlier. "It was a no-brainer for us," they continued, noting, "Though we hope we'll never need to use them, Edward Duke's stem cells will be available if we should ever need them." As the registry's website explains, the stem cells found in the stored cord blood can be used in the treatment of 80 conditions and counting.

Bill and Giuliana Rancic's relationship was put on full display when their reality series, "Giuliana & Bill," premiered on the Style Network in 2009 (the show ended its seven-season run on E!). It gave fans unprecedented access to their union, including the strange things about their marriage. However, one of the biggest (and most touching) storylines was the Rancics' journey to parenthood. When Duke Rancic was born in August 2012, cameras captured every moment, even making it to the delivery room.

The little tyke would go on to star in two more seasons of his parents' show, but as Giuliana told "Today," they weren't initially sure they'd let him on camera. "We went back and forth about that," she shared, noting they ultimately felt weird about screening their fertility journey without offering viewers a glimpse into Duke's upbringing. "He'll do one season, two seasons maybe, and that's it," Bill told the outlet, and the Rancics stayed true to that.

"Giuliana & Bill" went off the air in 2014 and, as Giuliana told The Huffington Post, the decision was fully driven by Duke. "We needed to pull back a little bit just because our son is 4," she explained. "I don't know if I would have wanted to show cameras at his preschool or him going through certain milestones." While she didn't close the door on future filming, she added, "Until he has a say, we want to just protect him."

Bill and Giuliana Rancic built a career out of constantly being in the public eye – they even started a podcast in 2026. However, they didn't want their careers to overshadow the time they spent with their son. As Giuliana told Psychology Today in 2014, they were making a real effort to be in tune with the then-1-year-old Duke Rancic. "I am trying to do a better job of separating work and home life so that I can be 100% present," Giuliana shared, adding that her husband was doing the same. "That means turning off the computer or putting away my phone when I am at home," she explained. Two years later, Giuliana was still following her advice, sharing a photo of her and Duke in their backyard and writing on Facebook, "It's nice to put down our phones and reconnect when we're together."

As Duke began to grow older, Giuliana's effort to minimize tech exposure also extended to her son. "It's easy to fall into a habit [of] using screens as a pacifier," she wrote in a 2019 blog for educational toy company Learning Resources. She encouraged parents to swap phones and tablets for educational play with STEM toys instead. "We've been able to replace some of Duke's screen time with hands-on science experiments," she enthused, noting these "teach him about the real world in a fun, engaging way."

Duke Rancic was just 10 months old when he joined his parents on the "Today" show in 2013, but as Bill Rancic explained, they planned to keep their son's time on the small screen limited to one or two years. "Long term, we're going to raise him in Chicago," the protective papa and Chicago native revealed. "He's going to go to school in Chicago, and he's going to be out of the LA-Hollywood scene."

The Rancics sure meant what they said because, come 2015, they announced their permanent move to Chicago. The news came not long after Giuliana Rancic's career downfall began and only a couple of months before she stepped away from "E! News" temporarily. However, Giuliana was adamant their decision only came down to doing what was best for their son. "He knows when mommy is not home," she told ABC News. "Now that he's at that age, it really is the perfect time to slow down a bit." Similarly, she explained to People it was the perfect time to leave Los Angeles so Duke could have more stability. "Up until now, Duke's been on our schedule, but he starts school at the end of summer," she mused. "We want him to have a connection with schoolmates and not be going from city to city."

Not long after Bill and Giuliana Rancic moved their young family from Los Angeles to Chicago, the TV personality gave OK! an update on their new life. Speaking of a then-4-year-old Duke Rancic, the proud mama told the outlet he was embracing his new home, as well as newfound passions. "Duke loves to sing and he has a little guitar that he plays," she shared, adding that he also enjoyed learning languages.

Indeed, the preschooler was picking up his mother's native tongue, as well as several other languages. "He speaks Italian, Spanish and English," Giuliana enthused to People, praising, "His accent is amazing." As she explained, she decided to speak to her son in Italian, as that's how she was brought up. "I have never spoken a lick of English to my parents," she told Stay Tuned in 2009. "We only speak Italian in our home." Bill even hopped on the bandwagon, hiring a tutor to learn how to communicate with his in-laws.

However, Duke went even further with his language skills, as Bill told People. "We have a woman who helps us out and she speaks Albanian, and Duke started singing in Albanian," he revealed while Giuliana applauded. "He has a really good ear. It's pretty cool!"

Duke Rancic was just 6 years old when mom Giuliana Rancic shared his passion for STEM toys with the world. In a 2019 blog post for educational toy company Learning Resources, the proud mama revealed that he particularly enjoyed playing with Beaker Creatures and wrote, "Duke's interest in science emerged early on." According to Giuliana, Duke's curious mind is a family trait, as Bill Rancic's parents were teachers. "We see that same love of learning in our son, Duke," she mused.

Duke's dream present for his 7th birthday wasn't what most kids his age would have asked for: a 3D printer. "He's always been quick to take gadgets apart to see how they work, and ask questions like a little engineer," Giuliana enthused. Unsurprisingly then, Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry and the Public Library Maker Lab were just some of his favorite places to visit. That's why, when it came time for him to go to school, "We made the decision to enroll Duke in a STEM-focused program for half of each school year."

However, embracing STEM didn't mean ditching all other extracurricular activities. "Usually, he goes to a coding class one day and basketball practice the next," Giuliana shared, explaining, "We're making sure both his body and mind stay healthy."

In what was a surprising career pivot, Bill and Giuliana Rancic decided to move into the hospitality industry. Back in 2012, three years before Giuliana left her hosting gig at "E! News" amidst mounting controversy, the couple were at the height of their career and decided to add a new venture to the mix. Teaming up with Chicago's culinary heavyweights — the Melman family –- they opened a restaurant in the city called RPM Italian. It may have seemed like an odd choice, but over a decade later, RPM is still going strong and has expanded to more locations and cities, including Las Vegas and Washington, D.C.

The culinary venture would also eventually offer a learning opportunity for the next generation of Rancics. Speaking with Page Six in 2024, Bill shared how a then-11-year-old Duke Rancic was getting an early taste of his parents' hustle. "He's starting to work at the restaurants a little bit here and there," Bill revealed. He explained that he wanted to teach Duke the importance of hard work. "I tell my son, 'Put your head down, keep your mouth shut and let your actions speak louder than your words,'" Bill said, musing, "That's in everything — in sports, in school, everything."

As a toddler, Duke Rancic was most passionate about planes. His nursery was covered in them; as Giuliana Rancic told LA Mag in 2015, he loved going to Santa Monica Airport and learning everything there was to know. "There's an airplane museum where Duke goes into an actual cockpit," she shared. "Duke pushes buttons, and they turn it on so you can hear noises. It's really cool."

As Duke transformed from a reality TV baby to a teenager, that passion evolved into a larger love of STEM, but it seems he also found a new hobby that had nothing to do with tech or engineering. In 2019, a 6-year-old Duke and his mom were tasked with designing a gender-neutral collection for Abercrombie Kids and, as Giuliana told People, her son had quite the eye for fashion. "Duke loved the whole process," she enthused, noting he helped her pick colors and gave his opinion on various designs.

That interest didn't seem to fade as an 11-year-old Duke was still looking to collab with his mom, although he was ready to be more hands-on. Speaking with People in 2024, Giuliana recalled coming home to find Duke surrounded by products from her HSN collection. "He's like, 'Mom, shoot me on your phone' and he's doing the presentation of [my] skincare line," she shared. She did, and once finished, her tween happily quipped, "Make sure it gets on TV."

Duke Rancic spent the first few years of his life in front of the camera, but as his parents told "Today" back in 2013, they had no plans for him to stay in the limelight long-term. As Giuliana Rancic revealed, she and Bill Rancic were against their son having a career in Hollywood. "If he goes to medical school or law school, then he can do whatever he wants after he has the degree," Bill joked about the possibility of Duke becoming an actor.

Bill doubled down on his stance when he spoke to ABC News that same year, underscoring the fact that once the family moved to Chicago, Duke would no longer be filmed for TV. "He's not going to be a Hollywood kid, I can promise you that," Bill said, adding that he planned to give Duke as normal an upbringing as possible. "My son's going to have a job," he vowed. "And if he wants to get a car when he gets his license, he's going to pay for it on his own like I did."

Even so, it seems Duke may not have gotten the memo because in 2018, Giuliana told E! News how her then-5-year-old loved to watch her interview celebs on the red carpet. He was especially drawn to her bedazzled mic, which he asked her to bring home. "Maybe he'll be the next Jason Kennedy," she quipped.