The topic of infertility is something that has been explored since the dawn of time. However, different misconceptions, myths and advice have come from the research done, thus leaving people to wonder whether this is something that can be fixed, avoided, or endured.
The Office of Women’s Health at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Recourses released a statistic that one in every ten couples aged 15-44, have trouble conceiving. Moreover, it is obvious that the older you are, the more difficult it is to conceive, research shows that about a third of all couples, which include women over 35, have problems with fertility.
This is a shocking reality which can cause many families to lose hope. However, we want our dear readers to stay positive thus we have compiled a list of celebrities who have managed to conceive during their 40’s.
Big names such as Eva Longoria, Christie Brinkley and Janet Jackson are just a few of some of our ladies who have managed to fall pregnant post the age of 40. Bare in mind, most of these women have different lifestyles to the majority of us and therefore it is important that we mention, these are the rare exceptions.
Meaning, most couples are not able to afford full-time help, or are able to go without working in order to care for their children, or are able to undergo the new procedures available to assist infertility. One has to remain completely relevant to their situation.
Now that we’ve gotten through the serious stuff, let's start gossiping about our favorite mama bears who conceived post the age of 40…
Nicole Kidman
Nicole Kidman has been appearing on your screen since the 90’s, in movies such as Bewitched, Days of Thunder and many more. Kidman attempted a marriage with well-known actor, Tom Cruise. However, their real-life marriage didn’t work out nearly as well as their movies did.
During their marriage, Kidman suffered a traumatic ectopic pregnancy, which is a complication in a pregnancy that causes the embryo to attach itself to the outside of the uterus. This led them to the decision of adoption and they received their two blessings, Isabella and Connor. The couple continued to try to fall pregnant naturally. However, Nicole then suffered from a miscarriage as well, which is enough to scar a woman for life. After a marriage filled with turmoil, Nicole went on to marry her current husband, Keith Urban.
Sunday Surprise
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After multiple attempts and no progress, Nicole was lead to believe that having children naturally, wasn’t in the cards for her. Just as the actress lost all hope, she fell pregnant with Sunday Rose in the year 2008, at age 41.
It is still a mystery as to whether Nicole used IVF to fall pregnant. However, in 2012, she cleared the air in an interview with Australian Magazine when she explained that "I've done all the stuff you can possibly do to try to get pregnant. So, the way it just happened with Sunday was like, 'What?' The percentages were so low. It is the miracle in my life."
Kidman hadn’t had enough and three years later, her and Keith, decided to have another child via surrogacy. They named the child Faith Margaret. Although Nicole had a difficult journey with her troubled pregnancies, she has stated that she would still love to have more children.
Geena Davis
Remember how Geena Davis appeared to be such a natural mother in the childhood film, Stuart little. Well, she’s not just an incredible mother on TV. This actress gave birth to all three of her children after the age of 40. Davis gave birth to her daughter Alizeh when she was 46, in the year 2002. Following that, she then fell pregnant with Kian and Kaiis, two years later. That’s right, twins at the age of 48!
A Better Parent
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Although having children at this age would appear to have been a strain on Geena, she later had an interview with Good Housekeeping in 2006, where she explained "I felt 100 percent that I would be such a better parent than I would have been even five years earlier and certainly 10 or 20 years earlier," she explained.
"I'm sure there are younger people who have figured things out long before I did, but in my case, I became a parent with exactly the right person, at exactly the right time."
Wow, now that’s an incredible woman.
Susan Sarandon
In the year 1985, Sarandon gave birth to her first daughter Eva Amurri, with her former boyfriend Franco Amurri (An Italian filmmaker).
It was only a few years later that she conceived her son Jack, at the age of 42, and then Miles, at the age of 45. At the time, her partner was Tim Robbins, an actor/movie-producer/musician. So he definitely knew how to multitask!
"I Was Told I Could Never Be A Mother"
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Although it may seem like Sarandon packed these pregnancies in pretty close together for a lady her age, it was not without reason. Susan explained in an interview with Time Out New York that
"I wasn’t in a hurry, but I actually had a medical condition and was told I could never be a mother."
Of her pregnancies after being diagnosed with endometriosis, Sarandon explained: "It was just such a freak that I got pregnant that I thought I can’t ignore this. And so I jumped."
Many women have been told they can’t have children owing to endometriosis. However, an overwhelming amount of those women have then fallen pregnant. Thus we recommend that you always get a second opinion before making such a permanent change.
Halle Berry
Although Berry’s banging body may look like it belongs to a 21-year-old, it was still a shock when she fell pregnant at the age of 41. A lovely shock, but a shock nonetheless! Halle gave birth to her first daughter, Nahla. Following Nhala, came her little brother Maceo, who Halle had at the age of 47!
Geriatric Pregnancy
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Later on, Halle appeared on the Ellen Degeneres show, where she revealed to the pubic that her second geriatric pregnancy was an unplanned surprise!
"I was, you know, on my way…this is probably way TMI, but I was really, you know, kinda premenopausal so to have this happen was a huge ," she explained to Ellen.
Ah Halle Berry, even when she couldn’t give us too much information even if she tried.
Rachel Zoe
In the year 2013, fans were shocked when Rachel announced that her and husband, Rodger Berman, were pregnant! This was their second child. However, by this point, Rachel was already aged 42.
Rachel revealed in an interview with She Knows, that her first pregnancy when she was 39 was totally unplanned. She described her little Skylers arrival as an even that “just happened," she said. "It was the best thing that has ever happened to me and Rodger unquestionably, and we just stare at him and love him more every second of the day, if that is even possible."
Just Lucky
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Prior to the birth of their son, Kaius, Zoe explained that she feared she would never be able to fall pregnant again. "If we are lucky enough to have another one, we will have another one," she explained to She Knows.
"I think we are so blessed with Sky and that is all we are supposed to have, then that is OK too."
Now this is also great advice for couples trying to fall pregnant. Although one should do whatever they can that is in their control, it is also important to trust that everything will be as it should be.
Salma Hayek
This beautiful Mexican-actress/former model also had her doubts about the possibility of her falling pregnant. Thus, when she fell pregnant at the age of 41, it was a pleasant surprise. “I thought I was going to need help getting pregnant, and I didn’t,” she said. Salma named her daughter, Valentina.
Complications
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Having a child after the age of 40, will always come with risks. In the year 2009, Hayek explained in an interview with WebMD, that her pregnancy was paired with complications of gestational diabetes. Although this was a huge strain on her, she expressed that she wouldn’t change the experience for anything.
She said “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.”
Brooke Shields
Brooke gave birth to her second child in the year 2006 when she was already at the age of 40. Shields and husband, Chris Henchy named their new gift, Grier.
Before the arrival of little Grier, Brooke described her journey to pregnancy in an interview with Fertility Today. Her and her husband had great difficulty conceiving. Chris and Grier tried almost every method to fall pregnant, including multiple IVF treatments which had no success. Brooke admitted that “I was about to call it quits”.
Spokesperson For Fertility Lifelines
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"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 explained.
With that one more push, Shields finally fell pregnant and has since then been a spokesperson for Fertility Lifeline, providing guidance and support to all women struggling to fall pregnant. It is always such a wonderful thing to see women using their struggles to assist other women.
Celine Dion
If you don’t live under a rock, then you’ve heard about this music icon and Grammy-award winner. Celine Dion has been and always will be a big name in the music industry. However, behind the scenes, she was struggling with adversities of her own. For six years, Celine wanted a baby but struggled to fall pregnant.
She tried multiple different routes, including IVF but seemed to have no luck at all. Eventually, she turned to a specialist and gave birth to her first son, Rene Charles in her early 30’s. Following that she returned to the IVF procedure and gave birth to her two twin boys, Nelson and Eddie at the age of 42!
All Aboard
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During her journey in trying to conceive again, she explained to Good Morning America that although she is in her 40’s, she was nowhere near ready to call it quits.
"It's priceless,” she said. “So, you know what? We had a miscarriage.
We tried three more times. It did not work. ... We are trying again for the fifth try. It's aboard right now. All aboard," Dion said.
Kim Basinger
Kim Basinger and her former husband, Alec Baldwin only managed to conceive Kim’s first and only daughter, when she was at the age of 41. They named her Ireland, in the year 1995.
Moving Forward
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Unfortunately, the couple filed for divorce five years later, but still remain in a mutual understanding of co-parenting. It is only too clear, who Ireland takes after in regards to looks. Having a mother who is a former model, is not a bad gene pool to choose from.
Helen Hunt
Helen has appeared in some of our favourite flicks, such as Mad About You and What Women Want, When Helen was ready to have a baby, she was embraced with the reality that it would be a lot more difficult than she thought. However, Helen welcomed her daughter, Makena Lei, when she was at the age of 40, in the year 2003.
Hunt was open about her struggle to conceive in an interview with Ladies’ Home Journal in 2008, which was reported by Pop Sugar. She said that "It turned out to be tougher to get pregnant than I thought it would be”.
Trying For A Long Time
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"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. My fate wasn't to jump into the backseat of a car and have a baby.
My boyfriend and I were on our last big try, and if the baby hadn't come, we would have adopted. But then I did get pregnant in 2003."
Eva Mendes
This multitalented woman has appeared in films such as Hitch, Ghost Rider and many more. Eva has exercised her skills in modelling, acting and she is even a successful business woman. However, what she truly wanted was to become a mother.
Eva and Hollywood husband, Ryan Gosling, had their first daughter when Eva was already 40 years old. Following that, they delivered their second daughter two years later! There two little girls are named Esmeralda and Amada.
Wild Nights
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In a 2014 article with The Violet Files, the actress explained how motherhood was no walk in the park. “I’m completely exhausted,” she explained. “I thought my wild nights were over but these are some of the wildest nights I’ve ever had.”
This pretty much sums up motherhood all together.
Meryl Streep
Meryl Streep is clearly some sort of freak of nature, with her ability to be completely incredible at everything. The Oscar-Winning actress is also a mother to four children. The youngest of her four, was born in the year 1991, just before Streep turned 42.
Keeping It Private
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Although we would love to know all the details of her journey throughout conceiving, Meryl has kept completely quiet with regards to whether or not she struggled to fall pregnant. All we have is the result, which is her four beautiful children.
Christie Brinkley
Christie Brinkley was graced with her third child when she was already 44 years old! It was the year 1998 when little Sailor Lee entered the world. Brinkley and husband, Peter Cook, revealed that it was no walk in the park to conceive. Christie suffered from a few miscarriages before she turned to the IVF procedure.
The Struggle
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Brinkley was open about her journey to pregnancy in an interview with Good Housekeeping, in the year 1998. The pop sensation explained that "After the first miscarriage, I tried to take the attitude that it was my body's way of telling me that this pregnancy wasn't meant to be, But after the second one, it was really devastating.
Four months is a lot of living with that little life in you—thinking about it, eating right for it, nurturing it and all of a sudden, it dies. After the second one, we decided to try in vitro, because both Peter and I felt we couldn't handle another failure."
Naomi Watts
Naomi became a mother to her son, Sasha, when she was aged 39. Following that, she then gave birth to Kai at the age of 40. In an interview with People Magazine, she reported that the only regret she has, is that her and her former partner, Live Schreiber, had more children.
Better To Start Young
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Many women who have geriatric pregnancies are left wondering how things would have been had they fallen pregnant when they were younger. Naomi Watts was no exception. She said in the magazine’s October 2014 issue that “I should have had more kids, started younger”.
Gwen Stefani
In an US Weekly interview, Gwen Stefani told Seth Myers that she sees her youngest son as a “miracle” baby, as she had him at the fine age of 44. Stefani and Rossdale named their new addition to the family, Apollo.
A New Spiritual Place
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Stefani spoke of her journey to pregnancy in the year 2005, during an InStyle interview. Gwen had said that the experience of being pregnant at the age of 44, took her to “a whole new spiritual place”.
Molly Ringwald
Although giving birth to a daughter, Mathilda in the year 2003 was simple and just seemed to happen naturally, her second attempt at pregnancy was a whole different game. When the actress was at the age of 41, she and her husband, Panio Gianopoulos welcomed their new twins, Adele and Roman, in the year 2009.
The Help Helped
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“After Mathilda was born, I had some things fixed”—surgery to remove fibroids—“that made it easier to get pregnant again," she explained. "There were some other issues, too. But I was so, so lucky to be 41 and to be so healthy during this pregnancy.”
Jennifer Connelly
This gorgeous actress even exposed how great a mother she is when she acted in the film Noah. She also has a place on our list, as one of our mothers who gave birth at the age of 40. Jennifer and her husband, Paul Bettany, had their third daughter and named her Agnes Lark.
Three Are Enough
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Two’s a party but three’s a crowd. However, for Jennifer and Paul, Three was just enough.
"I knew that we were going to be done after number three," she told Allure in February 2014. "That's enough for us."
Uma Thurman
Although Uma already had two children, she never stopped wanting more. Thurman and her then fiancé, Arpad Busson, welcomed her third child when she was at the age of 42.
Keeping Custody
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If having a baby after 40 wasn't scary enough, than the messy divorce sure did it. Their daughter Altalune, came four years before the couple's messy divorce and custody battle in 2016/2017.
Julianne Moore
Julianne Moore has appeared in many of our favorite movies so it's easy to feel like we already know everything. However, what you may be surprised to learn is that Julianne gave birth to son Caleb in her late 30's. Following that, she was graced with daughter Liv who was born five years later, in 2002, when the actress was already at the age of 41.
Giving The Kids A Normal Life
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We know you may be wondering, how do the children of such a famous celebrity go on to live normal, regular lives. In a recent interview with The Daily Telegraph, the Still Alice star says she and husband, film director Bart Freundlich, keep their two (now teenage) children grounded. "They live a regular life," she says.
Laura Linney
Now this pregnancy was a well kept secret from us for a while, Laura Linney and husband Marc Schauer welcomed their first baby in 2014, when Linney was 49 years old. 49 is the oldest on our list so far!
Mystery Pregnancy
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Well we may just never know how this pregnancy was possible. Us Weekly reported the birth, noting that Linney never addressed her pregnancy publicly and was never photographed with a baby bump, so, it's unclear whether the actress conceived naturally herself or via alternative means, such as a surrogate.
Alyssa Milano
When Milano was already at the age of 41, she and husband David Bugliari welcomed their second child, daughter Elizabella. In the months before Milano's pregnancy announcement in 2014, a source told Us Weekly that the couple was trying everything to get pregnant.
The Natural Way
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"We are actively trying," Milano confirmed on Access Hollywood. "There are very natural moments. It's not like we're machines or biological experiments. We're very attracted to each other."
On pregnancy in her 40s, the actress said she was up for it. "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."
Iman
Iman gave birth to her first daughter, Zulekha, when she was in her twenties and married to NBA star Spencer Haywood.
Almost a quarter of a century later, Iman married the late David Bowie and became pregnant again, this time at the age of 45. Her second daughter, Alexandria, was a "miracle" for Iman and Bowie. And a miracle she was.
Miracle Baby
“People talk about the miracle of birth," Iman said in a 2009 interview with Parade following her pregnancy.
"No. There’s the miracle of conception. I did IVF, but nothing happened. So, I began to think of adoption, and then I got pregnant. It was definitely a miracle.”
These are some wise words from Iman, she is definitely a beacon of hope to those who are in need.
Madonna
Madonna had her second biological child, son Rocco, when she was 42 years old, after having given birth to her daughter Lourdes in her late 30s. This one doesn't even shock us! This music icon seems to be aging backwards anyway.
The Adoption Option
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Madonna has welcomed four adopted children into her family in addition to Lourdes and Rocco, bringing her to a total of six kids. The adoption process has proven to be unbelievably rewarding and is just as big a miracle as natural birth. Biology is nothing when it comes to parenthood.
Tina Fey
The Golden Globe-winning comedian and actress was 41 when she found out she was pregnant with her second child, Penelope, in 2011.
People shocked her fans when they reported that Fey's attempt to have another child in her 40s was a conscious decision made by her and husband, Jeff Richman.
Putting Family First
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“My husband and I really decided that we felt rather than risk having 30 Rock end in several years and feeling like part of our family is missing that we were going to prioritize our family,” the Bossypants author explained at the time.
Janet Jackson
In 2016, Janet Jackson announced that she was pregnant at the age of 50. If that was not a shock to her, it was definitely for us. Family, friends and fans were deeply concerned as to how this pregnancy would turn out.
Pushing The Limits
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The singer has kept the details of her pregnancy private, but whatever the means, Jackson gave birth to a healthy son Eissa, and is currently taking on motherhood in her 50s. Although this may inspire women in their 50's to conceive. It is important to remember the kind of assistance Janet has access to.
Mary Stuart Masterson
Mary Stuart Masterson and husband, actor Jeremy Davidson, gave birth to their first child when Masterson was 43. Just 17 months later the couple announced they were pregnant with twins, when she was 44.
Getting Ready For Twins
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When she was pregnant with her twins, Masterson told People:
“We are four months along, so balancing career and family is becoming increasingly challenging for me…and in five months we are going to have three kids under the age of 2," she said. "We are in happy shock about it.”
Well ready or not, here they come! and their family would never be the same again, in the best of ways.
Marcia Gay Harden
The First Wives Club actress was already in her early forties when she had her first child, Eulala Grace, with husband Thaddaeus Scheel.
Twins Too
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It didn't stop there! Marcia wanted more children and then just a few years later, she gave birth to twins, Hudson and Julitta Dee.
Beverly D’Angelo
In 2001, Beverly D'Angelo gave birth to twins Anton and Olivia with husband Al Pacino. Though rapidly approaching 50, D'Angelo and Pacino say they were able to conceive using IVF.
IVF Twins
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People reported that D'Angelo was nervous because of her age and was very uncomfortable at the end of her pregnancy but ultimately gave birth to two healthy babies.
Jane Krakowski
The 30 Rock actress was 42 when she and her then-fiancé, clothing designer Robert Godley, welcomed their first child, son Bennett.
Welcome, Son
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Although it was a shock to have children at that age, Jane is enjoying motherhood and wouldn't trade her experience for the world.
Annette Bening
