The Oldest Celebs To Become Dads
In the age of social media and instant gratification, staying up-to-date on the lives of our favorite stars has never been easier. But it's seemingly no longer enough to know what Jennifer Aniston eats for lunch or where Kendall Jenner got her hair cut — our fascination means we also lust for details on our favorite celebrity's most intimate moments, including their reproductive habits. For example, Twitter exploded after it was revealed in January that Amal Clooney, wife of Oscar-winning actor George Clooney, is expecting twins. The 55-year-old former bachelor joins a special club of older male celebs becoming fathers, but you might be surprised to learn which of Clooney's cohorts are already longtime members of this exclusive group.
Mick Jagger
The Rolling Stones frontman, 73, became a dad for the eighth time in December 2016. His 30-year-old ballerina girlfriend, Melanie Hamrick, gave birth to a baby boy with the moniker Deveraux Octavian Basil Jagger. The iconic rocker is no stranger to fatherhood — or great-grandfatherhood, for that matter, a status he achieved back in 2014.
Though it was reported Jagger "made a last-minute dash across the Atlantic" to attend Deveraux's birth, an unnamed source told the New York Post the "Start Me Up" singer struggled with the news at first. "He hasn't responded to people sending him congratulations," the source said. "Family is extremely important to him, and he is unhappy at the thought that when he should be teaching his kid to play catch, he'll be 80 years old."
Charlie Chaplin
The English silent-film actor ties with Jagger for the prize of being the oldest new dad in Hollywood. Wife Oona O'Neil, whom Chaplin wed when she was just 18, delivered son Christopher James when The Gold Rush star was 73.
According to Mental Floss, the Tramp portrayer left a lasting legacy on American paternity laws when former paramour Joan Berry took him to court to prove he fathered her child. Though three doctors determined that blood tests showed he wasn't the dad, Berry continued to pursue the issue, forcing Chaplin to face two trials — the second of which concluded he did, indeed, father little Carol Ann. As a result, Chaplin was forced to pay child support and court fees, and later, the state of California passed legislation giving more weight to blood testing in paternity actions.
Rupert Murdoch
The media mogul's ex-wife, Wendi Deng, gave birth to daughter Chloe in 2003 when the Fox News chairman was 72 years old. The couple divorced in 2013, with Murdoch later marrying fourth wife Jerry Hall in March 2016, just one week before his 85th birthday. Four months later, the newlyweds celebrated Chloe's 13th birthday at Le Club 55 in St. Tropez — with Deng in tow.
George Lucas
Star Wars creator George Lucas and wife Mellody Hobson welcomed daughter Everest Hobson Lucas via surrogate in 2013. At the time, the famous director was 69 years old. Though Everest was Lucas' first biological child, the tyke has three older siblings who were adopted during her dad's first marriage to Marcia Lucas. The force appears to be strong with Lucas, despite his age — the Hollywood icon was photographed taking his daughter to Disneyland California Adventure Park in 2015. Perhaps they'll make a repeat trip to visit the Star Wars-themed lands?
Robert De Niro
The outspoken Oscar winner's impressive resume should probably include his ability to have children well into his 60s. At the age of 68, the Raging Bull actor fathered daughter Helen Grace with Grace Hightower, to whom he has been married since 1997. Helen Grace was born via surrogate in 2011, 24 years after the couple first met at Mr. Chow, an upscale Chinese restaurant in London. Whether Helen Grace will share her father's political views remains to be seen.
Steve Martin
Though most celebs on this list had multiple offspring, the It's Complicated actor and comedian experienced the joys of fatherhood for the very first time at the age of 67. Martin's wife, 45-year-old Anne Stringfield, delivered a baby girl in late 2012. Though the couple has never publicly announced their daughter's name, the funnyman joked about the possibilities on The Late Show With David Letterman a few months after her birth: "We've thought about the name quite a bit. Conquistador. What do you think? I didn't want to go with one of those Hollywood weird names. Conquistador is a statement."
Clint Eastwood
We can't stop wondering whether the Dirty Harry actor asked himself one question upon hearing the news his second wife, Dina Ruiz, was pregnant with his seventh child: "Do I feel lucky? Well, do I, punk?" We may never know the answer, but we do know the Oscar-winning director's daughter, Morgan, was born when her dad was the ripe old age of 66. It's probably a safe bet that Eastwood refers to his little girl as "mo chuisle," though.
Hugh Hefner
It's really no surprise the Playboy founder is the father of multiple children — the only question is, which of his many wives and girlfriends made the millionaire ladies' man a father for the fourth time at the age of 65? That distinction goes to former wife Kimberley Conrad, who gave birth to Hefner's son, Cooper, in 1991. The famous businessman celebrated his 90th birthday in 2016 with third wife Crystal Hefner by his side.
Fun fact: The current Mrs. Hefner is just five years older than her husband's youngest child.
Paul McCartney
In 2003, when the former Beatles crooner was 61, he fathered daughter Beatrice Milly with ex-wife Heather Mills. Beatrice—who was named after Mills' late mother and one of McCartney's aunts—came into the world with four older siblings courtesy of her dad's first marriage to Linda Eastman. Paul and Beatrice were photographed hand-in-hand during a 2013 trip to New York City. Which, awww!
Mel Gibson
The Braveheart actor-director was 61 when girlfriend Rosalind Ross gave birth to his ninth child in January 2017. Of little Lars Gerard Gibson's eight siblings, five— count 'em, five—are older than his mother. May-December romances are certainly a thing in Hollywood, huh?
George Clooney
Following his first marriage to actress Talia Balsam (which lasted from 1989 to 1993), Clooney famously said he'd never get married again, but that all changed when he met human rights lawyer Amal Alamuddin in 2013. The couple married in Venice in September 2016 and news of Alamuddin's pregnancy — she's reportedly carrying boy and girl twins — surfaced less than four months later. Women all over the world became green with jealousy when Clooney put an end to his bachelor ways, but it seems the Hollywood heartthrob has never been happier.
"We are really happy and really excited. It's going to be an adventure," Clooney said (via Us Weekly) in February 2017. "We've embraced it with arms wide open."
Jay Z
The husband to superstar Beyoncé Knowles-Carter is already a father to 5-year-old Blue Ivy, but a February 2017 pregnancy announcement to end all pregnancy announcements revealed that music's royal family will welcome two more little ones to their brood. At 47, Jay Z (whose legal name is Shawn Corey Carter) is certainly one of the younger papas on this list, but we simply couldn't leave him out, lest the Beehive seek retribution.