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Donna Freydkin has spent 10-plus years interviewing celebrities for major publications, and has written for a variety of outlets such as USA Today, Allure, Yahoo! and CNN covering topics such as films, family and favorite meals.
Hilary Swank, 52, Is Pregnant With Her Third Baby: ‘Things Happen in Their Time’
The actor, due in December, wanted children earlier. Now she says motherhood comes with more patience
2-minute read
Hilary Swank, seen here on April 22, 2026, just announced that she’s pregnant with her third baby at age 52.
Stefanie Keenan/Getty Images for EWG
Key takeaways
- Hilary Swank and husband Philip Schneider are expecting a younger sibling for twins Aya and Ohm, 3.
- Swank froze her eggs at 37 and became a mother at 48, but says she would have welcomed children earlier.
- U.S. births to women 50 and older increased more than eightfold between 1997 and 2024, but remain rare.
Hilary Swank, 52, is expecting her third child, she shared in a video on Instagram featuring her husband, Philip Schneider, and their twins, Aya and Ohm, 3.
The family danced in the dark with glow sticks. On Swank’s bump: a tiny, glowing baby.
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“A lot of people have been asking what project I’m doing next, this one releases in December,” Swank wrote in the Oct. 14 post.
When a commenter told her the news gave her hope of becoming a mother, Swank offered encouragement.
“I always go by the adage, things happen in their time, not ours, and that has always been the case for me,” she wrote. “But of course trusting that, for me, has always been the hardest part. Wishing you unwavering trust and abundant beauty on your journey!”
Swank remains best known for her Oscar-winning performances in Boys Don’t Cry and Million Dollar Baby.
‘I would have had kids earlier’
Swank has been candid about the years before she became a mother. She froze her eggs at 37, she told Women’s Health in an interview published in April 2025.
“I would have had kids earlier. I’m not saying I actively waited until 47,” she said. “But that was a magical time in my life, when it all culminated. It was the right time for a myriad of reasons.”
Freezing her eggs gave her some breathing room, she said, while acknowledging that it offered no guarantee of a baby.
“Thankfully, I had that ability to freeze eggs for later,” she said. “It takes some of the pressure off.”
Births after 50 are up, but still rare
Swank’s pregnancy comes as births to women 50 and older have grown over the past generation. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics counted 1,188 in 2024, compared with 144 in 1997, more than eight times as many.
That is a long-term increase, not a sudden surge. The 2024 number of 1,188 changed very little from 2023, when the total was 1,217. And birth counts don’t necessarily correlate to a woman’s chances of getting pregnant.
Later in life pregnancy
What is it like to have a baby after 45? In AARP’s The Girlfriend, women share the joy, exhaustion and judgment that came with becoming mothers later in life.
Doctors begin considering age-related pregnancy risks well before 50. The term “advanced maternal age” applies to someone who will be 35 or older at their expected delivery date, Johns Hopkins Medicine explains. It is the preferred term for what was once called “geriatric pregnancy,” according to the Cleveland Clinic.
Swank has spoken about what becoming a mother later gave her.
“I’m a very different parent than I would’ve been, even in my early 40s,” she told Women’s Health. “I’m much more patient. I’m much more understanding. I am much more, I think, interested in a different way than I would’ve been. I’m really interested in their brains. I’m fascinated about what makes them tick. And I have my career that’s already established, so I’m not divided. I’m able to really sink in and be present with them and be a hands-on parent.”
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