It's becoming more common for women to have children later in life as they work their way up corporate ladders and take advantage of scientific progress like freezing their eggs or using in vitro fertilization. It's not just regular women, either. There are tons of celebrities who waited to have kids until they were older. The 15 stars on this list were all over 40 when they began having children, and one of them was even 50 when she gave birth.
Several of these mothers expressed gratitude that they were parenting later in life, praising the wisdom and experience they'd gained as they got older before having babies. There's of course nothing wrong with wanting to be a younger mom and having kids in one's 20s and 30s, but there's also no right way or right age to become a mother. These celebrities just happened to wait until after 40.
Helen Hunt
Helen Hunt's daughter Makena was born when the actress was 40. She later wrote the movie Then She Found Me about a middle-aged woman who wants to be a mom against all odds. Helen said the inspiration for the film came from her own "wish to have a daughter." Her path to motherhood may have taken a little longer, but it all worked out in the end.
Eva Mendes
Eva Mendes was 40 when she had her first daughter and 42 when she had her second. But while she had kids later in life, her partner Ryan Gosling was in his 30s when the kids were born. He's seven years younger than Eva. They're both incredibly private abut their children and their personal lives in general. It's hard to blame them for that, they're just being protective parents while living in the public eye!
Salma Hayek
Salma Hayek has one child, her daughter Valentina, who was born when the actress was 41. She had a tough pregnancy and dealt with gestational diabetes, but her daughter was born happy and healthy and is now a teenager. "I think I'm a better mother because I had her later," Salma told Town & Country. "But I do get tired. I'm not going to lie."
Nicole Kidman
The actress struggled with fertility issues for many years, initially choosing to adopt and later also using a surrogate. But in between, Nicole Kidman did get pregnant with her "miracle" baby, as she called her daughter Sunday Rose whom she shares with husband Keith Urban. Nicole gave birth to Sunday Rose when she was 41.
Halle Berry
Both of Halle Berry's kids were born after she turned 40, with her daughter Nahla coming at 41 and son Maceo when she was 47. The actress told Us Weekly that she's glad she waited. "You're so much more ready to be a parent after 40 than when you’re 20," she said. "You know yourself better. You've done a lot of things for yourself, selfishly. When you wait later in life, you can really put your kids forward I think in a more meaningful way."
Diane Kruger
Diane Kruger is another celeb mom who is glad she waited to have kids. She had her daughter at 42, and later told Porter, "I didn't think I wanted children for a long time. I was too selfish. But by the time I got to about 35, I thought, yes, I probably do want one. But then you have to wait for the right person to come along." The right person for Diane ended up being Walking Dead actor Norman Reedus.
Jane Krakowski
The 30 Rock star was long out of her 30s when she had her son Bennett. Jane Krakowski gave birth to him at 42, and told People magazine that she was so smitten. "Bennett is an amazing, healthy sweet boy and we are both just crazy in love with him," she said of her and her then-partner Robert Godley.
Mary Stuart Masterson
Benny & Joon actress Mary Stuart Masterson first became a mom at 43 when her son Phineas was born. She later had three more children, including twins, by the time she was 46. Sounds exhausting! "We know that we have a lot of children," she told Upstater. "So we're trying to live with as light a footprint as we can." That includes residing in an energy efficient house and growing as much of their food as she can.
Marcia Cross
Marcia Cross was 44 when she gave birth to twins Eden and Savannah. She had a tough pregnancy, and was on bed rest for much of it, which required Desperate Housewives to come to her house to film some scenes. But it was all worth it for Marcia, who told People that it was "like a miracle" to have her babies. "I didn't think it would happen," she added.
Chloë Sevigny
At 45, actress Chloë Sevigny welcomed her first child — a little boy named Vanja. She gave birth during the chaotic year of 2020, so her baby must have been such a light in the darkness. "Blessings to all the other families giving birth during this time," she wrote on Instagram when sharing a photo of her newborn.
Geena Davis
Geena Davis had all three of her kids after she turned 40. First came her daughter Alizeh when Geena was 46. Then she had twin boys Kian and Kaiis when she was 48. "I always felt lucky that I had my kids late, because I just feel like I changed so much," she told The Guardian. "It's been great. And twins are fun!"
Holly Hunter
Just three years from her 50th birthday, Holly Hunter welcomed twins at age 47. While she was still pregnant, she said that she couldn't imagine what it would be like to raise two babies, but she had years of fictional experience playing moms in films — like Elastigirl in The Incredibles. Now when she lands the role of a mother, she can pull from her real-life experience.
Kenya Moore
In 2018, Real Housewives of Atlanta star Kenya Moore became a mommy to her daughter Brooklyn. Kenya was 47 at the time, and her labor wasn't without struggles. "She's so perfect and strong!" Kenya wrote on Instagram after giving birth, adding that her husband Marc Daly was her rock in the delivery room. "I lost a lot of blood so I'm very weak but they both were strong for me," she said. Job well done, mama.
Tamron Hall
Former Today show host Tamron Hall became a first-time mom at 48 when she had her son Moses. She later revealed that getting pregnant had been an extremely hard journey, and she eventually turned to IVF. "When I was traveling, I was afraid to give myself the injections," she said of her experience. "It was very painful and I couldn't work up the nerve … It's brutal." We're glad her story had such a happy ending.
Janet Jackson
Menopause starts for many women in their 40s and 50s, but not for Janet Jackson, who had a baby when she was 50. Her son's name is Eissa Al Mana. According to Janet, he was already showing a love of music when he was 3 years old, so he could follow in his mama's footsteps.
