For women who yearn to be moms, motherhood is a blessing at any stage in life — and as celebrity mommies like Naomi Campbell, Hilary Swank and Da Brat have proven, age is just a number.
As Campbell, who welcomed her second child at age 53, wrote on Instagram in 2023 when announcing her news, “It’s never too late to become a mother 🙏🏾.”
Here, see other stars who’ve welcomed children when they were older than 40.
Naomi Campbell
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The supermodel announced a second surprise baby, a son, on June 29, 2023, two years after welcoming a daughter in a similar fashion.
“My little darling, know that you are cherished beyond measure and surrounded by love from the moment you graced us with your presence. A True Gift from God 🙏🏾, blessed! Welcome Babyboy. 💙🍼✨ #mumoftwo ❤️💙,” she wrote on Instagram.
Da Brat
Photography by Derek Blanks with crowdMGMT
In February 2023, the “Funkdafied” rapper, then 48, announced that she and wife Jesseca “Judy” Harris-Dupart were expecting their first child together. They welcomed son True Legend that July.
“It’s been quite a journey,” Da Brat exclusively told PEOPLE in 2023, admitting, “There’s a lot of stuff we learned about women over the age of 40.”
The couple’s journey to motherhood inadvertently started around the time they tied the knot in February 2022. Harris-Dupart is the CEO of Kaleidoscope Hair Products and was in the midst of launching a new line inspired by Da Brat and her iconic braids and protective hairstyles.
“It started as a joke. We were like, ‘We’re extending our family!’ ” she said of the tongue-in-cheek marketing tagline for their collaboration. “But then we got a huge response. It was like, ‘Oh my God, do we want to actually have kids, and if we do, girl, we better hurry up!’ ”
Hilary Swank
Hilary Swank/Instagram
In October 2022, the Alaska Daily star made the surprise announcement that she and husband Philip Schneider were expecting twins. The Oscar-winning actress, then 48, shared the news during an appearance on Good Morning America.
“This is something that I’ve been wanting for a long time and my next thing is I’m gonna be a mom,” Swank said. “And not just of one, but of two. I can’t believe it.”
She went on to rave about her exciting baby news saying, “It’s so nice to be able to talk about it and share it.”
Swank welcomed twins, daughter Aya and son Ohm, in April 2023. “It wasn’t easy. But boy (and girl!) was it worth it. 👼🏼🤍👼🏼,” she captioned a photo of her holding her newborn babies on each shoulder while looking out at a sunset across the water.
Chloë Sevigny
chloe sevigney/instagram
In January 2019, a rep for Chloë Sevigny, then 45, confirmed to PEOPLE that she was pregnant with her first child.
That same month, the Oscar nominee and her now-husband, Siniša Mačković, were spotted on a stroll in New York City, smiling with each other as Mačković embraced her baby bump before sharing a kiss. TMZ first reported the news of Sevigny’s pregnancy.
The couple welcomed a son, Vanja Sevigny, on May 2, 2020. “Blessings to all the other families giving birth during this time,” the Feud: Capote vs. The Swans actress captioned a photo on Instagram of her holding her newborn alongside Mačković. “#ilovemyboys 🐣.”
Alanis Morissette
Alanis Morissette/Instagram
Alanis Morissette, at age 44, announced her third pregnancy in a pretty black-and-white Instagram post in March 2019.
“So much NEWness… ❤️❤️❤️❤️🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻,” the Canadian singer-songwriter captioned the reveal, showing her baby bump while recording music at home.
In August 2019, Morissette, then 45, and her husband, Mario “Souleye” Treadway, welcomed a son, Winter Mercy. “He’s here. ✨🙌🏻🙏🏻❤️ Winter Mercy Morissette-Treadway. #8/8/19,” the “Hands in My Pocket” singer wrote on Instagram. “#mywholelifeidreamedoflovingyouthree #😭❤”
Brigitte Nielsen
Brigitte Nielsen/Instagram
In May 2018, Danish model Brigitte Nielsen, then 54, announced her fifth pregnancy on Instagram and X (formerly Twitter), showing off her baby bump in a curve-hugging gray dress. “Family getting larger #me #family #brigittenielsen #babybump,” Nielsen captioned her photo.
The actress and husband Mattia Dessi, who wed in 2006, welcomed their first child — and Nielsen’s fifth — daughter Frida, on June 22, 2018.
“We are overjoyed to welcome our beautiful daughter into our lives,” the proud parents, who underwent 13 rounds of IVF before Nielsen gave birth to Frida, told PEOPLE at the time. “It’s been a long road, and so worth it. We’ve never been more in love.”
Donatella Arpaia
Donatella Arpaia/Instagram
In May 2018, Donatella Arpaia announced during a Today show segment that she and her husband, Allan Stewart, were expecting twins.
According to the then-mom-to-be, the couple had struggled to conceive another baby but was inspired by then-new mom Hoda Kotb — who had welcomed her daughter Haley Joy through adoption in February 2017 — to consider other options to expand their family. After one final round of IVF, however, the celebrity chef became pregnant at age 47, welcoming boy-girl twins, son Noah Christian and daughter Emma Mariella, in October 2018.
Rachel Weisz
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In 2018, Dead Ringers actress Rachel Weisz, then 48, announced that she and husband Daniel Craig were expecting their first child together in an interview with The New York Times. “We’re going to have a little human,” she said. “We can’t wait to meet him or her. It’s all such a mystery.” In September 2018, they reportedly welcomed their baby girl, who joined Weisz’s then-teenage son Henry and Craig’s adult daughter Ella from prior relationships.
Kenya Moore
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Real Housewives of Atlanta star Kenya Moore revealed in 2018 during part one of the season 10 reunion that she was pregnant with her first child — a surprise revelation that happened at the top of the show when host Andy Cohen inquired if a baby was on the way.
“We will definitely be welcoming a boy or girl in late this year,” Moore, who conceived through IVF at age 47, said, shocking herself. “Oh my God, I said that! I don’t want to talk about the details because I’m still very nervous about everything so I want to get past a safe place.”
“We have been really upfront about wanting to expand our family, and we have definitely been taking the proper steps to try to make that happen,” she added on the RHOA After Show in early 2018, per Bravo.
Following some complications, she welcomed daughter Brooklyn Doris on Nov. 4, 2018.
Laura Linney
Evan Agostini/Invision/AP
At 49, Emmy-winning actress Laura Linney and her husband, Marc Schauer, quietly welcomed son Bennett Armistead in January 2014. Two years later, she shared the reason for keeping her pregnancy under wraps.
“Well, I was an older mother-to-be, and it had taken me a very long time to have a child,” she explained to host Kelly Ripa and her husband, Mark Consuelos, on a June 2016 episode of Live with Kelly. “I wanted to make sure that my child actually arrived, and was safe and healthy.” However, she said keeping the secret wasn’t necessarily intentional: “I just didn’t have a sign that said, ‘Hi, I’m pregnant now.’ ”
Linney described Bennett as “adorable,” adding that he “takes your breath away.”
Audra McDonald
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Audra McDonald and her husband, Will Swenson, were thrilled when they discovered they were expecting a baby together when the Broadway star was 46. “Who knew that tap dancing during perimenopause could lead 2 pregnancy?” the Rustin actress tweeted in May 2016. “@thewillswenson & I are completely surprised but elated 2 b expecting.”
They welcomed daughter Sally James the following October, joining the couple’s three teenage children from previous relationships.
“I’m so lucky. She was such a surprise, and I didn’t think this was where my life would be at this age,” the six-time Tony-winning performer told PEOPLE in 2017 of becoming a mother again later in life. “But I’m thrilled to be there. This is obviously a soul that was just meant to be here and was like, ‘I’m gonna swoop in and shake your life up.’ ”
Sheryl Crow
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Though “If It Makes You Happy” singer Sheryl Crow, at 45, welcomed son Wyatt Steven by adoption when he was just 2 weeks old, it took him a while to get used to Mom’s famous tunes. “I want to sing to him, but right now he’s like, ‘Mommy, no! All done! All done!’ ” she told PEOPLE in 2009.
In 2010, she added son Levi James to the family by adoption.
Geri Halliwell
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At 44, Geri Halliwell gave birth to her second child (and first with husband Christian Horner), son Montague George Hector, in January 2017. The former Spice Girls singer teased her pregnancy news on Instagram, posting a sketch of a pregnant woman with the caption “God bless Mother Nature #mamaspice.” Baby Montague joined big sister Bluebell Madonna, born in May 2006.
Angela Bassett
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After years of fertility struggles, Angela Bassett turned to a surrogate to carry fraternal twins Bronwyn Golden and Slater Josiah. And following their Jan. 27, 2006, arrival, the then-47-year-old wasn’t about to leave their sides. “There were so many offers to go to this party and that party,” the actress told PEOPLE in a 2006 issue. “It was a lot more fun to sit and gaze at my two little stars.”
In February 2024, Bassett reflected on her favorite photo of her twins, which first debuted in the same PEOPLE magazine issue. “I love that picture, and it actually sits in my living room on the piano,” the Black Panther actress said of the meaningful photo, which shows Bassett sitting alongside her husband, Courtney B. Vance, and their little ones.
Nancy Grace
Albert Michael/Startraks
Though she had difficulty conceiving, Nancy Grace, then 48, welcomed healthy fraternal twins John David and Lucy Elizabeth in 2007. “I can’t believe they’re mine and that this is my life,” the CNN anchor told Good Housekeeping in 2008. “I just never believed this could happen to me.”
Diane Keaton
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In 1996, at age 50, Diane Keaton welcomed daughter Dexter by adoption, followed by son Duke in 2001. “Before kids, if I worried, it was only about myself,” the Book Club: The Next Chapter actress told Life Magazine in 2005. “But that’s all you do is worry as a parent.”
Marcia Cross
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Twins Eden and Savannah brought Desperate Housewives actress Marcia Cross twice the joy when she birthed them in 2007 at age 44. “I was more scared to have girls — probably from just having been one,” she told PEOPLE at the time. “Now I’m just delighted. There’s nothing closer than the female bond.”
Sandra Bullock
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Sandra Bullock welcomed son Louis by adoption in 2010 at age 45; five years later, daughter Laila was welcomed into the family.
“When I look at Laila, there’s no doubt in my mind that she was supposed to be here,” the Bullet Train actress told PEOPLE in her Dec. 14, 2015, cover story, which introduced the world to her new addition. “I can tell you absolutely, the exact right children came to me at the exact right time.”