Cameron Diaz on having a baby at 47: ‘You really have to work hard for it’

This is the decade that saw the face of first-time motherhood change. The number of first-time mamas under 30 is shrinking, while more and more women are becoming moms after 40.

Cameron Diaz is one of them. The actress and businesswoman, now 48, became a mom in January at the age of 47. In a new episode of Naomi Campbell’s YouTube series, No Filter, Diaz opens up about what it’s like to become a mom in your fourth decade.

“A lot of people do it the other way around… they get married [and] have a family in their youth,” says Diaz.”I’m kind of doing it in the second half of my life.”

This second half has been the happiest she’s ever felt, she explains, adding that life with daughter Raddix and husband Benji Madden feels like the “sweet spot” of her life story. But having a child at 47 is a different experience than having one at 27… and it does mean Diaz will be spending her 50s and 60s raising a child while some of her peers will be sending theirs off to college.

The first-time mama is taking it all in stride, telling Campbell with a laugh: “The only pressure for me now is I have to live to be, like, 107, you know? No pressure!”

She continues: “Having a family when you’re young…it’s like anything when you’re young: You do it. But when you’re my age and you decide to do it, it’s a real choice. You really have to work hard for it.”

Right now, raising her daughter (and working on her wine business) is what feels right for Diaz. She tells Campbell she doesn’t think she’s going back to acting. “I feel really resolved. I mean, I never say never to anything, first of all, but I feel really resolved,” she explains. “I haven’t made a movie since 2014. It’s been a long time, it’s been seven years or six years since I made a film. Girl, I am okay with that.”

Sometimes, what’s right for you in your 20s isn’t what’s right in your 40s. Cameron Diaz proves that, and she proves that the door to motherhood doesn’t close on your 40th birthday.

As for us, we’ve loved Cameron for years—and even more as she steps into this new role. Celebrating a new role of your own, mama? We think these gifts are great ways to celebrate.

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