Mom After 40: They Did It!

01 of 14

HALLE BERRY

When she welcomed daughter Nahla at age 41, Berry's priorities changed completely. "I thought I knew love before, but I've never felt anything like this," she told Essence of her now 2-year-old girl. "I want to leave a legacy that she can be proud of."

02 of 14

SHERYL CROW

Though 53-year-old Crow adopted Wyatt, 8, when he was just 2 weeks old, he hasn't adjusted to her music-making quite yet. "I want to sing to him, but right now he's like, 'Mommy, no! All done! All done!' " she told PEOPLE. She also adopted her now 5-year-old son Levi in 2010.

03 of 14

NICOLE KIDMAN

Already mom to teens Bella and Connor (adopted with ex-husband Tom Cruise), Kidman gave birth for the first time to daughter Sunday, 1½, when she was 41. "It's almost like my heart is stretching … with emotion," she told Elle shortly afterward.

04 of 14

ANGELA BASSETT

After years of fertility struggles, Bassett, 57, turned to a surrogate to carry twins Bronwyn and Slater, 9. And following their arrival, she wasn't about to leave their sides. "There were so many offers to go to this party and that party," the actress told PEOPLE. "It was a lot more fun to sit and gaze at my two little stars."

05 of 14

KIM BASINGER

The notoriously private actress welcomed Ireland, now 20, when she was 41 (with ex Alec Baldwin). Though shielded from the public eye for most of her childhood, as a teen Ireland stepped out with Mom – and stunned onlookers with her striking beauty. She's since taken up a career in modeling.

06 of 14

MARCIA CROSS

Twins Eden and Savannah, 8, brought the Desperate Housewives star twice the joy when she birthed them at age 44. "I was more scared to have girls – probably from having been one," she told PEOPLE. "Now I'm just delighted. There's nothing closer than the female bond."

07 of 14

COURTNEY THORNE-SMITH

The former Melrose Place star, mom to Jacob, 7, told PEOPLE that motherhood at 40 was "everything everybody says it is and more. I never imagined I'd be so happy to announce that my husband and I are in love with the same man."

08 of 14

NANCY GRACE

Though she had difficulty conceiving, Grace welcomed healthy twins John and Lucy, now 8, at 48. "I can't believe they're mine and that this is my life," the CNN anchor told Good Housekeeping. "I just never believed this could happen to me."

09 of 14

SALMA HAYEK

"I feel like I was born to have this girl," Hayek told Glamour after welcoming Valentina, 8, at age 41. "I just feel so fortunate to be her mother … I will get to witness her transformation every day."

10 of 14

EDIE FALCO

After beating cancer in 2003, Falco adopted Anderson, now 10, and Macy, 7. "I'm just the happiest person," the Nurse Jackie star, 52, told PEOPLE. "I've got my kids, my friends. I can handle anything."

11 of 14

DIANE KEATON

In 1996 at age 50, the actress adopted daughter Dexter, now 20, followed by son Duke, 15, in 2001. "Before kids, if I worried, it was only about myself," Keaton told More. "But that's all you do is worry as a parent."

12 of 14

HELEN HUNT

Hunt was happy to step out of the spotlight after giving birth to Makena'lei, 11, when she was 40. "It was hard to find a part that was as interesting as watching her grow up," she said.

13 of 14

EMMA THOMPSON

Thompson endured several rounds of in vitro fertilization before welcoming daughter Gaia, now 15, at age 40 – and it was all worth it. "Even now, when things are bad I go back and I remember the birth process," the actress told U.K.'s Guardian. "It's like a well from which I draw strength.”

14 of 14

SANDRA BULLOCK

With the adoption of Louis, 3½ months, at age 45, the message of Bullock's Golden Globes acceptance speech has taken on new meaning. "A family is not just who you were born to, or what color you are," she said. "It's who's got your back."