There was a time, not so long ago, where it was considered abnormal to have children outside of your 30s. But now, thanks to technological as well as social advances in society — this is no longer the case.
In fact, more and more celebrities seem to be holding off on starting a family, opting instead to pursue their career. Have a look and check out these 10+ celebrities who had children after 40.
Naomi Watts
Naomi had her first child with her ex Liev Schreiber at 39 and gave birth to their second a year later at 40. The esteemed actress remarked on how she loves nothing more than the feeling of her children pulling at her heartstrings .
Nicole Kidman
Nicole already had two adopted children from her marriage to Tom Cruise when she began her relationship with Keith Urban. The Australian treasure was told she’d never conceive naturally.
Then in 2008, Nicole and Keith welcomed their biological daughter Sunday Rose to the world.
Meryl Streep
Meryl Streep and her husband of more than 40 years, Don Gummer, share four children together. The last of which, Louisa Jacobson, was born on June 12th, 1991, when Meryl was 41-years-old .
The legendary actress has never spoken about issues she may or may not have had during her pregnancies publicly.
Julianne Moore
Julianne had just turned 42 when she became a mother for the first time. She said that one of the most important things she wanted to provide for her children was a sense of normalcy, as well as a regular life.
Brooke Shields
Brooke Shields required surgery in order to remove precancerous cells from her cervix. She was told by doctors that the scarring left behind would likely prevent her from being able to get pregnant.
She tried multiple rounds of IVF and was finally successful. She gave birth to her second child at 40.
Susan Sarandon
One of the main reasons why Susan Sarandon never attempted to have children earlier in life was because her doctor said that it was impossible.
Susan said her pregnancy came along at a time when she was falling out of love with acting and searching for something more.
Eva Mendes
Eva spoke with The Violet Files about what it felt like becoming a mother for the first time at 40. She joked about how “I thought my wild nights were over but these are some of the wildest nights I’ve ever had.”
Jennifer Connelly
Jennifer and her husband Paul Bettany have three children together, the last of which (their daughter Agnes ) was born when Jennifer was 40.
The Requiem for a Dream star remarked on how happy the news made her family but that three children were also more than enough.
Salma Hayek
At 41-years-old, Salma was confident that she’d need some kind of medical assistance when it came to conceiving a child, but luckily for her, this wasn’t the case.
Salma called her pregnancy fairly uneventful and that the only thing she ever craved was cold fruit.
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Kristen Wiig
It was just last year that Kristen announced that she and Avi Rothman were expecting their first child via surrogacy. The SNL icon and star of WW84 was 46 at the time and had just finished an unsuccessful 3-year-long bout with IVF.
Laura Linney
In 2014, Laura gave birth in secret at the age of 49. There were never any photographs of Laura showing a baby bump , which led many people to speculate whether she conceived via other means (i.e. a surrogate).
Tina Fey
Unlike many celebrities on this list who were caught off-guard by their pregnancy, Tina and her husband Jeff Richmond made the conscious decision to try again.
Neither Tina nor Jeff wanted to look back on their lives and have any regrets . Their second child Penelope was born back in 2011.
Helen Hunt
Helen had just barely scratched 40 when she became pregnant with her daughter, nearly 16 years ago.
Now that her daughter is a teenager , Helen says that she’s becoming much more politically charged. The mother/daughter duo have even attended the odd rally together as a show of support for Women’s Rights.
Jane Krakowski
Jane Krakowski was 42 when she learned that she was becoming a mother for the first time . Luckily for her, she had her friend and 30 Rock co-star Tina Fey to be able to turn to for advice.
Halle Berry
As Halle explained to Ellen DeGeneres during an appearance on The Ellen Show , “I didn’t think it was possible at my age.”
The Oscar-winning actress goes on to say how she was pre-menopausal, and that a baby was the last thing she was expecting.