12 Celebrities Who Had Their First Child After 40

Despite doctors’ recommendations in most countries to have the first baby before the age of 30, this number is constantly increasing. Careers, failed relationships, and problems with conception are just some of the reasons why women decide to postpone motherhood. Sometimes, children are born when their mothers are well over 40 years old. And these cases inevitably attract a lot of attention.

We at Bright Side are inspired by the examples of women who have enough courage to contradict the generally accepted norms just like the women from this compilation did. They took the risk to become first-time mothers after the age of 40.

Eva Mendes, 40 years old

Since 2011, the actress has been in a relationship with one of the most desired men in Hollywood — Ryan Gosling. During this period, the couple had 2 daughters, Esmeralda and Amanda Lee. After that, the famous parents got married in secret. In one of her interviews, Eva said that when she fell in love with Ryan, she didn’t just want to have children, but she wanted to have his children. Now, Mendes spends all of her free time with her daughters and she isn’t interested in coming back to Hollywood.

Emma Thompson, 40 years old

British actress and scriptwriter and winner of 2 Oscar awards, Emma Thompson had her first and only daughter Gaia at the age of 40 when she got married for the second time. Her husband was Greg Wise, who she met during the shooting of Sense and Sensibility. Aside from their daughter, they also have an adopted son Tindyebwa Agaba from Rwanda, he was a former child soldier who was adopted after his family died.

Nicole Kidman, 41 years old

Nicole Kidman, who has millions of fans, had 2 children when she was married to Tom Cruise, but they were adopted — daughter Isabella and son Connor. After she got divorced from Cruise and had several romances, Kidman got married again. She chose Australian singer and musician Keith Urban. In 2008, when the actress was 41 years old, the couple had a daughter Sunday Rose. 2 years later, the Kidman-Urban family had another daughter Faith Margaret who was born by a surrogate mother.

Helen Hunt, 41 years old

The star of the movie What Women Want and a lot of other great films, Helen Hunt, became a mother for the first time one month before she turned 41. Unfortunately, both of the actress’s marriages were unsuccessful. But in her second marriage, she finally had a daughter. Makena Lei Gordon. Helen really wanted to have a baby and she was really sad about it, but one year before she turned 40, she gave herself another chance and succeeded.

Glenn Close, 41 years old

Glenn Close is a record holder in the number of Oscar nominations among actresses. Her most iconic roles were in Dangerous Liaisons, Fatal Attraction, and 101 Dalmatians. In her third, but not her last marriage, at the age of 41, Close became a mother for the first time. Her daughter Annie Starke followed in her mother’s footsteps and also became an actress.

Jane Kaczmarek, 42 years old

Mary Louisa with her father Bradley Whitford.

American actress Jane Kaczmarek has played more than 40 roles in her career, the most popular ones being on Malcolm in the Middle and The Big Bang Theory. Jane was married to actor Bradley Whitford for 17 years and she had 3 children: Frances at 42, George at 44, and Mary Louisa at 47. According to the actress herself, the peak of her career happened right when she had children.

Mary Stuart Masterson, 43 years old

Mary Stuart Masterson is an American actress, scriptwriter, and director who was at her most popular at the end of the 80s and the beginning of the 90s. She has done about 30 movies and she has been married 3 times. In her third marriage with actor Jeremy Davidson, she had 4 children after the age of 40: 2 sons at the age of 43 and 45, respectively, and twins, a boy, and a girl at the age of 46.

Cheryl Tiegs, 44 years old

Cheryl Tiegs was the first American supermodel. She filled this role when the world model itself was not even widely used yet and only the bravest girls could allow themselves to do photo shoots in revealing swimsuits. Cheryl appeared on the covers of magazines like Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue and Time and the poster Pink Bikini became iconic to the culture of the 70s.

Tiegs was married 4 times and in her last 2 marriages, she had 3 sons. At the age of 44, the model gave birth to Zacharie, and at the age of 53, she had twins Theo and Jaden. But these boys were born thanks to a surrogate mother.

Geena Davis, 46 years old

Actress and the member of the high IQ society Mensa International, Geena Davis has been married 3 times. But neither the first marriage with a restaurateur, nor the second marriage with director and actor Jeff Goldblum brought Geena children. It was only when she got married to plastic surgeon Reza Jarrahy that she became a mother. At the age of 46, the actress had her daughter Alizeh Keshvar, and when she was 48, she had twins Kaiis and Kian.

Holly Hunter, 47 years old

The Oscar winner who you might remember from the movie The Piano, Holly Hunter was married to cameraman Janusz Kaminski famous for Schindler’s List, War of the Worlds, and Saving Private Ryan. They were married for 6 years. But this marriage didn’t make Holly a mother. When she was married for a second time to British actor Gordon McDonald, the actress gave birth to twins when she was 47. Hunter doesn’t talk about her private life and doesn’t show her children in public.

Laura Linney, 49 years old

The star of movies like Love Actually, The Truman Show, and the TV series Law & Order first became a mother one month before she turned 50 years old. Laura has been married twice, the first time to actor David Adkins, and the second to real estate agent Marc Schauer. In her second marriage, she had her first son Bennett Armistead. The star did a great job at hiding her pregnancy and she is still trying to protect her family from public attention.

Beverly D’Angelo, 49 years old

Actress Beverly D’Angelo was really popular after she starred in the movie National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation and its 4 sequels. Her first husband was an Italian aristocrat, Don Lorenzo Salviati but they didn’t have children. And when she had a relationship with Al Pacino, she gave birth to 2 children: son Anton James and daughter Olivia Rose. They are twins. This was also very brave because she was 49 when she had them.

We think that you have to be very brave in order to decide to become a mother for the first time after the age of 40. And what do you think?