25 Celebrities who gave birth after turning 40

These inspiring celebrity mums defied the biological clock and welcomed babies post-40, proving that there is a season for everything!

Brooke Shields

The 50-year-old actress gave birth to her first daughter, Rowan, in 2003.

She was vocal about her severe struggles with postpartum depression, which she recounts in detail in her 2005 memoir Down Came The Rain.

In 2006, she had her second daughter Grier at the age of 41.

Julianne Moore

The Oscar winning actress welcomed her second child, Liv (who’s now 13 years old) when she was 41 years old.

She had her first child, Liv’s older brother Caleb at 36.

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Naomi Watts

The Oscar-nominated actress became a mum in 2007 at 39 years old. Her eldest Sasha is now 9 years old.

In 2008, she gave birth to her second child, a son, with husband fellow actor Liev Schreiber when she was 40 years old.

Uma Thurman

The ‘Kill Bill’ actress welcomes her third child, Rosalind Arusha Arkadina Altalune Florence Thurman-Busson, back in July 2012 when she was 42 years old.

She already had two kids with ex-husband and fellow actor Ethan Hawke before turning 40, Maya and Levon.

Mary Stuart Masterson

Best known for her role in 80s classics such as ‘Some Kind of Wonderful’, she became a mum at the age of 43.

She admits it took some effort to conceive but she finally succeeded with her third husband actor Jeremy Davidson: "I've been trying to get pregnant for a long time. I'm ready, I'm excited!" she said in a previous interview with Life & Style magazine.

The couple were blessed with twins a year later! And in October the next year, she gave birth to their fourth child.

Jennifer Connelly

She and husband fellow actor Paul Bettany welcomed their first daughter in 2011, when she was 40 years old.

Their two sons Kai, and Stellan, became big brothers when they were 13 and 7, respectively.

Mira Sorvino

The actress overcame a complicated pregnancy and gave birth to her third child, Holden Paul Terry, when she was 41 years old.

Three years later, she welcomed fourth child, Lucia with husband Chris Backus. The couple were already parents to Johnny Christopher King and Mattea Angel.

Beverly D'Angelo

The 64-year-old Beverly D’Angelo was 49 years old when she gave birth to her twins Anton and Olivia with Al Pacino.

Geena Davis

It was in 2002 when she was 46 years old that the actress gave birth to daughter Alizeh.

Two years later, she and husband Reza Jarrahy welcomed twin sons, Kian and Kaiis.

Marcia Cross

The former Desperate Housewives star became a mom to twin girls Eden and Savannah before she turned 45.

After she married Tom Mahoney in 2006, they knew they wanted to start a family right away so they skipped the honeymoon and began trying to get pregnancy immediately after the wedding.

Mariah Carey

The road to motherhood wasn’t easy for the multi-awarded singer.

After a miscarriage, she finally became a mum to twins Moroccan and Monroe in 2011. She was 42 years old.

"The main thing I did that was tough, was to go on progesterone like every month and then when I was pregnant, I had to stay with the progesterone for 10 weeks." Mariah said in a previous interview. "It minimizes the chance of miscarriage by 50 percent."

Helen Hunt

The Oscar winning actress struggled with difficulties getting pregnant. She finally got pregnant in 2003 and welcomed a daughter when she was 40 years old. She named her Makena Lei.

"It turned out to be tougher to get pregnant than I thought it would be," she told Ladies' Home Journal in 2008. "I tried for a long time, and it just didn't happen, to the point where getting pregnant became the greatest wish — and the greatest challenge — of my life."

Molly Ringwald

The 80s sweetheart starred in teen classics such as 'The Breakfast Club' and 'Pretty in Pink'.

She was 41 when she became a mom to twins Roman Stylianos and Adele Georgiana.

Her first daughter Mathilda is now 7 years old.

25 Celebrities who gave birth after turning 40

When many believed their "time was running out", they defied the ticking biological clock!

These successful and inspiring celebrity mums really prove that you can have it all, in your own time.

Find out who these fabulous women are!

Nicole Kidman

She gave birth to her first biological child, Sunday Rose (or Roast), when she was 40 years old with husband singer Keith Urban.

She already had two adopted kids Isabella and Connor with ex-husband Tom Cruise.

In a previous interview, she talks about having a child after 40: "I raised two kids when I was in my 20s, but that was a different thing. I was a kid and still so young mentally and emotionally — a totally different mum. There is something about mothering late in life. A lot of it is I want to stay alive for Sunday. There is plenty of deep fear and emotion. Sunday has healed an enormous amount in me. It's a very private thing, but she just has." Faith Margaret, Kidman's second daughter with husband Keith Urban, arrived via gestational surrogate in 2012.

Kim Basinger

The stunning actress like to keeps things private. She had her daughter, Ireland, with ex-husband, actor Alec Baldwin, when she was 41 years old.

Susan Sarandon

She was nearing 40 when she first became a mum. Her daughter Eva is now 31 years old.

She then gave birth to son, Jack, at 42 and Miles when she was 45.

Gwen Stefani

Gwen was 44 years old when she gave birth to her youngest son with ex-husband Bush frontman Gavin Rossdale, Apollo Bowie Flynn.

The rocker mum welcomed her two boys, Kingston and Zuma, in her 30s.

Salma Hayek

The stunning actress welcomed her first child, Valentina, with French billionaire Francois-Henri Pinault when she was 40 years old.

On why she started a family in her 40s, she said in a previous interview: "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."

Tina Fey

Award-winning writer/comedienne Tina Fey admits that she was worried about having a second child.

She talks more about this in her bestselling memoir: "Science shows that fertility and movie offers drop off steeply for women after 40."

She had her first child, Alice, in 2011 and gave birth to her second daughter, Penelope, when she was 41 years old.

Rachel Zoe

This top stylist/entrepreneur was 42 when she gave birth to her second child with husband Rodger Berman.

She confirmed the happy news on her website, saying: "We are beyond excited for Skyler to have a sibling and for us to fall in love all over again. We feel incredibly blessed."

Marcia Gay Harden

The veteran actress was 41 when she welcomed her first child, Eulala Grace, with husband Thaddaeus Scheel. Three years later, she gave birth to twins Hudson and Julitta Dee.

Kelly Preston

After losing her son with John Travolta when he was only 16 years old, the couple was overjoyed when they welcomed their second son Benjamin in 2010 when Kelly was already 48 years old.

She told the Today Show after giving birth: "I didn't (consider the risks). I just considered that it was difficult. I never thought that would be me at all. So I think we're just really happy that we're so fortunate."

Meryl Streep

The multi-awarded veteran actress had her fourth and youngest child Louisa Jacobson Gummer right before her 42nd birthday.

Louisa has three older siblings: Henry, Mamie, and Grace.

Halle Berry

The Oscar-winning actress was already 41 when she gave birth to her first child, Nahla Ariela Aubry, in 2008.

Her pregnancy was easy. As she shared in a previous interview with Harper's Bazaar: "My pregnancy was amazing. I was happy that whole time, I felt good, I had energy, I was like Superwoman. I wish I could feel like that for the rest of my life, that's how fantastic it was."

When she was 47, she gave birth to her second child, Maceo, who is now 11 years old.

Celine Dion

The Grammy award winning singer’s journey to motherhood wasn’t easy.

After several rounds of IVF, she gave birth to twin boys, Eddy and Nelson in 2010 when she was 42 years old. Her third son, René-Charles, is now 15 years old.

She talks about her fears about a healthy pregnancy in a previous interview with Us Weekly: "My doctors had to constantly reassure me. Each week I had sonograms. I heard their heart beats. It's stressful but I'm relaxing. To bring them into the world, there's nothing more important than that. It's incredible."

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Written by

Bianchi Mendoza

giving birthcelebrity mumsmom at 40biological clock