14 celebrities who became first-time dads after 50
Talia Lakritz
- Some celebrity dads have children later in life.
- Elton John, Anderson Cooper, and Andy Cohen had their children through surrogates.
James Earl Jones became a father at 51 to his son, Flynn.
Jones — who voiced the famous line "I am your father" to Luke Skywalker in "The Empire Strikes Back" — and his second wife, Cecilia Hart, who died of ovarian cancer in 2016, welcomed their son Flynn in 1982.
David Letterman became a dad when he was 56 years old.
Letterman's then-girlfriend Regina Lasko gave birth to their son, Harry, in 2003. Lasko and Letterman married in 2009.
He told the "Today" show's Willie Geist in 2019 that he feels "most secure" when he's with his son.
"People always say, 'Well you're not going to be the kid's best friend,'" Letterman said. "And I say, 'Screw that! Look at me. How much longer am I going to be around?' I want to be the best friend."
Chris Noth and his wife, Tara Wilson, welcomed their first child, Orion, together in 2008, when Noth was 53.
The couple now has two boys: Their second, Keats, was born in 2020, when Noth was 65.
Sir Elton John became a father with husband David Furnish at 63 via surrogate.
The couple has two children: Zachary Jackson Levon born in 2010, and Elijah Joseph Daniel born in 2013.
John told People that he wrote his 2019 memoir, "Me," for his sons.
"I wanted my boys to know what I was like and what happened, so that when I'm not here, they can read the book and read the truth," he said. "I just want them to understand what I was like when I went through the journey I had before I had them. How they made my life complete. How they've, you know, finished the circle. And that, you know, they were the last chapter in an incredible life."
Hugh Grant was 51 years old when he became a father in 2011.
Grant has a total of five children — two with his ex, Tinglan Hong, and three with his wife, Anna Elisabet Eberstein.
Steve Martin became a first-time father at 67 when his wife, Anne Stringfield, gave birth to their daughter in 2012.
"If I'd had a child earlier, I would have been a lousy father, because I would have misplaced my attention on my career," he told AARP in 2017.
When he was 54, Simon Cowell and girlfriend Lauren Silverman became parents to their son, Eric.
Eric was born on Valentine's Day in 2014.
"When you become a dad, something clicks in you," he told the Daily Mail in 2019. "It's all about them ... You become very protective and importantly, part of the reason I changed everything in my life."
Jeff Goldblum became a father at 62.
Goldblum shares two sons, Charlie Ocean (born in 2015) and River Joe (born in 2017), with wife Emilie Livingston.
"Weekend at Bernie's" actor Jonathan Silverman became a dad at 51 with his wife, Jennifer Finnigan, in 2017.
Silverman shared the news of his daughter Ella Jack's birth on Instagram.
"First we had each other. Then we had you. Now we have everything. Welcome to the world my sweet daughter," he wrote.
George Clooney welcomed twins Ella and Alexander with his wife, Amal, in 2017 at age 56.
Clooney told Hoda Kotb on "Today" that he didn't realize what his life had been missing before having kids.
"I wasn't looking at life, going, 'My life will be unfulfilled without children,'" he said. "I felt like I had a pretty full life. Then I met Amal and realized that my life had been pretty empty. And then when you throw these two kids in there, then suddenly you realize how incredibly empty it was."
At 54 years old, John Stamos became a dad to his son, Billy, with his wife, Caitlin McHugh.
Stamos named Billy, born in 2018, after his father.
Andy Cohen was 50 years old when his son, Benjamin Allen, was born in 2019 via surrogate.
Cohen named his son after his grandfather, Ben Allen.
"I'm in love. And speechless. And eternally grateful to an incredible surrogate. And I'm a dad. Wow," he wrote in an Instagram post announcing his son's birth.
Anderson Cooper welcomed his son, Wyatt Morgan, in 2020 at age 53.
"He is sweet and funny, happy and kind, and i love him more than I ever thought possible," Cooper wrote in an Instagram post on his son's first birthday in April.
Warren Beatty and Annette Bening had the first of their four children when Beatty was 54.
The couple met when Beatty cast Bening in his 1991 film "Bugsy," and they tied the knot in 1992, two months after their first child was born.
"That's the biggest thing that's ever happened to me — and their mother," Beatty told People about his children in 2016. "That's bigger than fame, and it came not a moment too soon."
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