Hilary Swank, the Academy Award-winning actress, announced that she is expecting her third child at the age of 52. Swank shared a video on Instagram last week depicting her family— which includes her 3-year-old twins— dancing in the dark with glow sticks taped to their bodies. Towards the end of the video, she revealed stick-figure representations of a baby bump and infant, indicating the new addition expected in December. Swank did not respond to requests for comment.
Swank’s pregnancy continues a growing trend among celebrities and women more broadly who are choosing to have children later in life, often with the assistance of reproductive technologies such as in vitro fertilization (IVF) and egg freezing. Other notable figures who have become parents in their 40s and 50s include Cameron Diaz, Madonna, Naomi Campbell, and Lena Dunham. This shift has been credited with challenging traditional views of motherhood and expanding societal norms around the timing of parenthood.
In a preview for an upcoming episode of “The Drew Barrymore Show,” a visibly pregnant Swank addressed the stigma women often face when having children at an advanced age. “There’s a lot of backlash women get for having children older, but not men,” she said.
Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicates that, despite the U.S. experiencing a historic low birthrate in 2023, the proportion of women giving birth between ages 40 and 44 has reached its highest level in recent years. Medical experts attribute this continuing rise in part to improved reproductive technologies that have increased success rates compared to a decade ago.
Dr. Laura Riley, chief of obstetrics and gynecology at Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian, noted that pregnancy later in life carries certain medical risks. These include heightened chances of preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, cardiovascular complications, and increased likelihood of preterm birth or cesarean delivery. “Pregnancy is essentially a nine-month stress test,” she said, adding that older mothers also often navigate challenging menopausal symptoms while caring for young children.
Swank previously disclosed that she froze her eggs at the age of 37 and gave birth to her twins, Aya and Ohm, at 48. Reflecting on her decision to become a mother later in life, she said in a 2023 interview that while she would have preferred to have children earlier, she did not actively delay pregnancy until age 47. She also cited advantages to parenting at an older age, including greater patience and the stability afforded by an established career.
Other celebrities have echoed similar experiences. Actress Anne Hathaway, 43, recently continued press commitments for multiple films while pregnant with her third child, humorously calling the pregnancy a “buzzer-beater” due to the increasing difficulty of conceiving later in life. Cameron Diaz, 53, who had her first child at 47 and recently welcomed her third, described the decision to start a family at an older age as “a real choice,” emphasizing the effort involved. Madonna adopted a child at age 50, and Naomi Campbell has also become a mother in her 50s.
Lauren Levinger, co-founder of Spread the Jelly, a digital magazine for mothers, commented that past generations often perceived motherhood in a binary framework—viewing certain ages as the only "proper" time for childbearing. “Seeing women who are choosing to have kids later, who’ve lived very full lives before they made the choice to bring a child into it, just highlights that there are so many ways to choose how to mother, which is an incredible cultural shift,” she said.
As reproductive technology advances and societal attitudes evolve, the landscape of motherhood continues to broaden, offering women more options and greater flexibility in balancing family, career, and personal goals.