The Mature Mothers Club: Celebs Who Gave Birth After 35

Becoming a first-time mother can be a thrilling, yet daunting experience at any age. These 15 celebrities waited until they were established in their careers and a little more mature and wise before having their first child. Welcome to the 35-plus mothers club.

Before finding love with her current fiancé Olivier Martinez, Halle Berry has a string of failed relationships. After two divorces, the Academy award winner didn’t let her single status deter her from becoming a mother. Her dreams were finally answered when she and then boyfriend Gabriel Aubry welcomed their daughter Nahla into the world in March 2008. Berry was 41 at the time of her daughter’s birth. The two have since broken up and are currently embattled in a narsty custody battle that has played out in the courts and the media.

Actress Nicole Kidman was a mother two times over before giving birth to her daughter Sunday Rose. The “Eyes Wide Shut” actress and her ex-husband Tom Cruise adopted their two children Isabella and Connor during the course of their marriage. Since their split, Kidman remarried and gave birth for the first time at the age of 40. Kidman and husband country singer Keith Urban had another daughter Faith Margaret a few years later via surrogacy.

Über diva Mariah Carey suffered a few miscarriages while trying to conceive but whatever Mariah wants, Mariah gets. After a series of hormone therapy treatments to boost fertility, Mariah and her husband Nick Cannon announced they were expecting not one but two babies. In April of 2011, the Cannons welcomed daughter Monroe and son Morocco when Mariah was 42 years old.

Former litigator and current television host and legal commentator, Nancy Grace waited later in life to become a mother. After establishing her career, Grace married David Linch in April 2007. Shortly after their nuptials, it was announced that the happy couple was expecting twins. Grace has been mum on whether or not she underwent fertility treatments, but Lucy Elizabeth and John David were welcomed into the world in November 2007 when Grace was 42 years old. She has said she hopes her story inspires other people who wait later in life to start a family. “Tell women out there that there is hope,” she said.

In 2007, Salma Hayek shocked the world when she announced she was engaged to billionaire fiancé François Henri Pinault and pregnant with their first child together. The happy couple welcomed Valentina Paloma Pinault into the world but shortly afterward they announced their split. Two years later, Hayek and Pinault patched things up and tied the knot. Hayek encourages women not to succumb to the pressure of having a baby before they’re ready. “Motherhood is not for everyone,” said Hayek. “It is for me, but there’s no reason women should feel rushed to have a child.”

Struggling with infertility issues is no easy task. After becoming a first-time mom at the age of 40, Brooke Shields decided to share her struggles. Her book “Down Came The Rain” focuses on her long journey and the obstacles she had to overcome to become pregnant. She also opens up about suffering from postpartum depression after her first child. The “Suddenly Susan” star is also the spokesperson for Fertility Lifelines, a free educational resource that provides vital information and gives support for people with fertility issues. Brooke gave birth to her second child at 42.

Stacy Ann Ferguson, better known to the world as Fergie, has lived a fairy tale life as of late. In addition to being a member of one of the biggest and most successful groups ever, the Black Eyed Peas singer is happily married to handsome actor Josh Dumahel. As if life couldn’t get any better, last week 37-year-old Fergie took to her twitter page to announce she and her hubby are pregnant with their first child.

Actress Susan Sarandon is known for her roles in “Bull Durham” and “Thelma & Louise” but she is also known for her political and social activism. After one failed marriage, Academy award winner Sarandon settled down with partner and actor Tim Robbins, a man who shared many of the same political views and values. Sarandon give birth to her first child Jack Henry at the age of 42. Three years later, she welcomed another son, Miles Guthrie. Although Sarandon and Robbins were one of the few Hollywood couples that stayed together for years without getting married, Robbins and Sarandon called in quits after two decades.

Former “Desperate Housewives” star Marcia Cross desperately wanted to be a wife and mother. The red headed actress received her part of her wish in 2006 when she married Tom Mahoney. To help the other half of her wish come true, she immediately began in vitro treatments and less than a year later 44-year-old Cross and Mahoney became parents twice over with the birth of Eden and Savannah.

After dating for three years, Penelope Cruz tied the knot with fellow actor Javier Bardem. Present at the wedding in his wife’s womb was their first child. Five months later, the 36-year-old actress gave birth to Leonardo Encinas. Proving that the first birth was no fluke, Cruz and her husband Bardem recently revealed they are expecting another child.

Jennifer Lopez is an international superstar. The actress, singer, dancer and clothing designer somehow managed to squeeze in mommy duties into her hectic schedule. After rekindling the flame with fellow entertainer Marc Anthony, the two tied the knot and a 38-year-old La Lopez gave birth to twins Maximilian David and Emmett Maribel in February 2008. Ever the businesswoman, the twins were introduced to the world on the cover of People magazine in exchange for a cool $6 million. Thought the couple has since split, they remain friends in order to co-parent the twins.

No doubt singer Gwen Stefani was so happy to be with child, she announced her pregnancy during a Fort Lauderdale, FL performance in December 2005 by asking her fans to “sing so loud that the baby hears it!” Thirty-seven-year-old Stefani and her husband Gavin Rossdale welcomed son Kingston James into their lives the following May. Two years later, the couple’s family grew by one more with the birth of their second child together, Zuma Nestor. Rossdale has a 22-year-old child from a previous relationship.

On “30 Rock,” Jane Krakowski played a narcissistic actress who would never admit her age but in real life the actress is proud to reveal she welcomed her first child at the age of 42. In April of 2011, Krakowski and fiancé Robert Godley welcomed son Bennett Robert. “Bennett is an amazing, healthy sweet boy, and we are both just crazy in love with him,” said Krakowski. The former “Ally McBeal” actress gave birth in the same hospital as Beyonce but said she did not receive the same royal treatment.

After a successful 10-year run on the hit television show “Friends,” Courtney Cox and husband David Arquette welcomed their first child together. Cox’s fellow “Friends” star and friend in real life Jennifer Aniston is the godmother to her daughter Coco. Cox and Arquette divorced after more than 10 years of marriage but remain close friends and continue to be business partners.

For six-and-a-half seasons, Jane Kaczmarek played bossy mother to five boys on “Malcolm In the Middle” but the actress waited until she was in her 40’s to start her own brood. Kaczmarek gave birth to her first child at the age of 42 but she wasn’t done yet. Over the course of five years, she had two more children with husband and actor Bradley Whitford. However after 17 years of marriage, the couple split.