Celebrity Moms Over 40: Stars Who Gave Birth, Had Kids Later in Life

Several celebrity moms waited until they were in their 40s (and even 50s!) before having kids. While some dealt with fertility struggles, others simply waited until it was the right time in their lives to have children. Either way, many A-list mamas are totally killing the parenting game.

Take Gwen Stefani — she welcomed her third child, Apollo Bowie Flynn Rossdale, with ex-husband Gavin Rossdale when she was 44 years old in 2014. The singer even called her youngest her “miracle” in a September 2014 interview on Late Night With Seth Meyers, while explaining how other son Kingston Rossdale was praying for another sibling.

“[Kingston] has a direct link to God, basically,” the “Hollaback Girl” artist said. “He asked me, ‘Mom, are you gonna have a baby? I want you to have a baby.’ I was like, ‘It’s over. We’re not having any more. This is our family.’ … And four weeks later, I was pregnant!”

Another prominent name is actress Halle Berry, who explained in a 2007 interview on The Oprah Winfrey Show that she got a positive pregnancy test result after taking 35 tests.

“There’s so few genuine surprises in life anymore that, why not have a huge surprise?” the Catwoman actress said at the time. “I think it validated that I was meant to be a mother because every day, I dealt with the character as a mother and thinking as a mother. It let me know that I must be a mother.”

Halle has, indeed, portrayed multiple mama figure characters in movies, such as Kidnap. She welcomed her first child, Nahla Ariela Aubry, with ex-boyfriend Gabriel Aubry in 2008 when she was 41 years old and her second baby, Maceo Robert Martinez, with ex-husband Olivier Martinez in 2013 when she was 47.

And since motherhood doesn’t come easily for everyone, a few other Hollywood stars have faced difficulties with bearing children. Mariah Carey is one of them, as she took the fertility-boosting hormone, progesterone, after she suffered from a miscarriage in 2008 while still married to ex-husband Nick Cannon at the time.

The “All I Want for Christmas” songstress opened up about the hardship in her member The Meaning of Mariah Carey, which was released in 2020.

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“It was near Christmastime, and I was 10 weeks pregnant,” she wrote in her book. “It was our Christmas miracle … On a routine checkup at our obstetrician’s office, the sonogram was silent. The sacred, rhythmic swoosh of our baby’s heartbeat was gone — and in that silence, I could hear my own heart crack.”

After she was able to move forward from the devastating incident, Mariah later welcomed twins Moroccan and Monroe Cannon in April 2011 when she was 41 years old.

Scroll through the gallery to see other famous stars who welcomed their bundles of joy into the world in their 40s.

Nicole Kidman

Nicole Kidman has been very open about her fertility struggles. During her marriage to ex Tom Cruise, she suffered an ectopic pregnancy, which led to their decision to adopt their kids, Isabella and Connor. Despite thinking she was unable to conceive, she gave birth to her daughter, Sunday Rose, in 2008 with her current husband, Keith Urban when she was 41. Three years later, they welcomed Faith Margaret via surrogate.

Janet Jackson

The singer surprisingly announced that she was expecting her son, Eissa Al Mana, weeks before her 50th birthday. She gave birth in January 2017 and is smitten over the sweet boy. Unfortunately, three months after her newborn’s arrival, she and Qatari business tycoon Wissam Al Mana announced that they were divorcing after five years of marriage.

Alyssa Milano

Alyssa Milano was 41 when she announced that she was expecting her daughter Elizabella in 2014. The actress was unbothered by having another child later in life. “I loved waiting a long time to be a mom,” she explained to Us Weekly. “I’d had my ladies’ lunches and my shopping days.” She had her son, Milo, in 2011.

Angela Bassett

The actress’ twins — whom were delivered via surrogate — were born in 2006 when she was 48. “I was devastated when it didn’t happen [again and again]. I had to remain hopeful and resilient and, ‘Okay, let’s do it again,'” she recalled to People about the struggle of having children. Now, Bronwyn Golden and Slater Josiah are 13 and absolutely adorable.

Brooke Shields

Brooke Shields had her second daughter, Grier, when she was 41. The brunette beauty has been very open about her struggle to conceive with husband Chris Henchy. “I was growing weary of the anticipation and the pressure, and Chris said he wasn’t sure he could handle seeing me rip off another estrogen patch in frustration … At wit’s end, we decided to try one more time,” she told Fertility Today about trying to get pregnant before her second child. The last round of IVF was luckily successful.

Celine Dion

After multiple failed cycles of IVF, Celine Dion gave birth to her twins — Eddy and Nelson — at 42. “It’s priceless,” the songstress admitted during an interview on Good Morning America in 2010. “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.” The queen of Vegas also has an older son, René-Charles Angelil, whom she had in 2001.

Eva Mendes

Eva Mendes became a first-time mom at 40 when she and Ryan Gosling welcomed their daughter Esmerelda. Two years later, the couple had a second daughter, Amada, and they may not be done yet. “Ryan and Eva definitely talk about having another child,” a source exclusively dished to Life & Style. “They would love a little brother for their daughters, Esmerelda and Amada.”

Halle Berry

After a long struggle with fertility, Halle gave birth to her daughter, Nahla, in 2008 when she was 41. Then, in 2013, she welcomed her son, Maceo, into the world. “I’m sort of superstitious, so I saved all of the negative [pregnancy] tests in a drawer,” the Oscar winner said on The Oprah Winfrey Show in 2007. “I don’t know why, but I did. After about 35 tests, we finally got a positive test.”

Salma Hayek

Salma Hayek was 41 years old when she gave birth to daughter Valentina Paloma Pinault in September 2007. She also spoke about her pregnancy experience in a 2013 interview with Glamour, revealing she had gained 50 pounds while carrying her child.
“I gained so much weight, I got an opportunity to see myself completely disfigured in many different ways,” the House of Gucci actress said. “That’s when I started appreciating my body. The things that I used to criticize, they were not that bad after all.”