baby

13 celebrities who have given birth after the age of 40

Many A-listers are choosing to become mothers later in life

June 14, 2019

Having kids later in life seems to be more in vogue than ever, with stars like Myleene Klass, 41 and Alesha Dixon, 40, recently announcing their pregnancies. Indeed some stars like Susan Sarandon and Halle Berry welcomed their children into the world well into this decade. Click through our gallery to see all the stars who became mothers later in life…

Rachel Weisz

Rachel Weisz had her second child at the age of 48. She welcomed her newborn, with husband Daniel Craig, in September 2018 although the couple haven't announced their child's name publicly yet. She is also mum to 13-year-old, Henry, who she co-parents with her ex-husband, Darren Aronofsky.

Susan Sarandon

Susan had her first kid, Eva, in 1985 at the age of 39 with her then-boyfriend, Italian filmmaker Franco Amurri. Three years later she had son, Jack, at 42 and then Miles at 45 with her ex-partner Tim Robbins.

On the subject of children with Time Out New York, she said: "I wasn’t in a hurry, but I actually had a medical condition and was told I could never be a mother." She then said that after her diagnosis of endometriosis, she said: It was just such a freak [thing] that I got pregnant that I thought I can’t ignore this. And so I jumped."

READ MORE: Celebrities who have been really honest about their fertility issues

Meryl Streep

The iconic actress has four children with her husband, sculptor Don Gummer - Mamie Gummer, Grace Gummer, Louisa Gummer and Henry Wolfe Gummer. She gave birth to her last, Louisa, in 1991 just before she turned 42 and has never spoken about any of her pregnancies publicly.

Janet Jackson

In 2016 Janet Jackson announced that she was pregnant with her first child at the age of 49 and gave birth to baby boy, Eissa Al Mana, at the age of 50. "We thank God for our blessing," she said to PEOPLE Magazine at the time but gave no further details. She shares her son with ex-husband, Wissam al Mana, a Qatari billionaire businessman.

Celine Dion

Celine Dion has three children with her late husband, René Angélil. Her first son, René Charles, was born in 2001 and nine years later, at the age of 42, the singer revealed she was expecting twins, Eddy and Nelson. Speaking about the decision to try again for children in her 40s, Dion told Good Morning America that she always had faith. "It's priceless,” she said. “So, you know what? We had a miscarriage. We tried [IVF] three more times. It did not work. ... We are trying again for the fifth try. It's aboard right now. All aboard."

Julianne Moore

Julianne gave birth to her first child, son Caleb, in her late 30s and then five years later in 2002, at the age of 41, the actress welcomed her daughter Liv. She shares her children with husband, Bart Freundlich, and she has said of her family: "We have a very solid family life, and it is the most satisfying thing I have ever done."

READ NEXT: 7 surprising fertility facts you probably didn't know

Mariah Carey

Mariah Carey suffered a miscarriage when trying for her first child with then-husband, Nick Cannon. She then went on to give birth to twins, Morrocan and Monroe, at 40.

Talking in an exclusive interview with Access Hollywood, Nick spoke of the emotional time of the miscarriage, saying: “It was emotional for both of us and that’s when I saw the strength."

He continued: “She handled it so well and then to get on the plane and have to spend Christmas with friends and family, it definitely brought us closer together. It strengthened our relationship so much..."

While Mariah said: “It kind of shook us both and took us into a place that was really dark and difficult. When that happened… I wasn’t able to even talk to anybody about it. That was not easy.”

Uma Thurman

Uma Thurman welcomed her daughter, with ex-fiancé Arpad Busson, at the age of 42. She is also mother to two children from her marriage to actor Ethan Hawke: Maya and Levon.

Tina Fey

Tina Fey welcomed her second child, Penelope, at the age of 41 and has said that it was a concious decision to get pregnant. She said to PEOPLE: "My husband and I really decided that we felt rather than risk having 30 Rock end in several years and feeling like part of our family is missing that we were going to prioritize our family."

READ MORE: How to get pregnant: 8 ways to boost your fertility naturally

Gwen Stefani

Gwen Stefani has said that experiencing pregnancy in her 40s "a whole new spiritual place." The singer gave birth to her son, Apollo, at the age of 44 when she was still married to Gavin Rossdale. They have two other children together and following their split, Gwen is now dating Blake Sheldon.

Halle Berry

Halle Berry gave birth to her first child, Nahla, who she shares with ex-partner,  French Canadian model Gabriel Aubry, at the age of 41. Six years later, at 47, she welcomed her son, Maceo, who she shares with ex-husband Olivier Martinez. During an interview with Ellen DeGeneres, she named her pregnancy a "geriatric pregnancy" and said: "I was, you know, on my way…this is probably way TMI, but I was really, you know, kinda premenopausal so to have this happen was a huge [shock]."

Nicole Kidman

Nicole Kidman has always spoken candidly about her struggles with fertility. When she was married to Tom Cruise she suffered an ectopic pregnancy and then a miscarriage. This lead to the couple adopting two children.

However, now she has four children in total. Thinking she was unable to conceive naturally, the actress was overjoyed when she gave birth to her biological daughter, Sunday Rose, in 2008, at the age of 41, and three years later, welcomed her fourth child, Faith Margaret, via surrogate. She shares the latter two children with her husband, Keith Urban.

Talking to Australian magazine, Who, she spoke of her surprise when she conceived naturally: "I've done all the stuff you can possibly do to try to get pregnant. So, the way it just happened with Sunday was like, 'What?' The percentages were so low. It is the miracle in my life."

READ MORE: This fertility tracker bracelet can help you get pregnant

Salma Hayek

Salma Hayek shares Valentina Paloma with her husband, François-Henri Pinaul. The actress gave birth to her only child in 2007 at the age of 41 and has spoken about her pregnancy. Talking to WebMD in 2009, she said: “I thought I was going to need help getting pregnant, and I didn’t” but has since said that she's grateful she waited for kids saying: "I’m a more fulfilled human being now, and I probably wouldn’t have been 10 years ago. She gets a better mother for being born now.”

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