Naomi Campbell has announced she's now a mother-of-two in an adorable post on Instagram. 'My little darling, know that you are cherished beyond measure and surrounded by love from the moment you graced us with your presence,' the 53-year-old model shared in the caption. 'A True Gift from God.'
It comes just over two years after announcing the birth of her first child in may 2021, later posing on the cover of British Vogue with her baby in her arms. At the time, she officially introduced her infant to the world and made a point to state clearly to the magazine: ‘She wasn’t adopted – she’s my child.’
Of all the eloquent and interesting things that Campbell discussed in her interview about her career and motherhood, this is the one quote that was re-printed across numerous media outlets. ‘Naomi Campbell baby’ and ‘Naomi Campbell pregnant,’ quickly became breakout search terms on Google—all because Campbell was 51 years old at the time and as she never made a pregnancy known to the public, the world quickly jumped to the assumption that her child must be adopted. The same goes for this time around with her second child, Google Trends currently awash with search terms like 'Naomi Campbell surrogate' and 'Did Naomi Campbell have a baby biologically?' as well as 'Naomi Campbell pregnant photos'.
‘I can count on one hand the number of people who knew that I was having her,’ Campbell told Vogue of her first child. ‘But she is the biggest blessing I could ever imagine. It's the best thing I've ever done… I’m lucky to have her and I know that,’ she said.
Having a child later in life is, of course, going to provoke some interest. The New York Times reported previously that after the age of 44, the likelihood of spontaneous pregnancy is close to zero. That being said, Campbell still doesn’t owe anybody an explanation of how she conceived her daughter.
Tabloid turned Campbell’s pregnancy into an immaculate conception mystery that’s supposedly in need of solving: ‘How DID Naomi Campbell welcome a daughter at 50? After model said her baby was “not adopted”,’ one headline screeched.
Campbell previously told the Evening Standard in 2017: ‘I think about having children all the time. But now with the way science is I think I can do it when I want,’ and, evidently, she has. Yet it’s important to remember that, as intriguing as that science is, women’s bodies (even if they’re celebrities’) are deeply personal.
Until Campbell decides she wanted to publicise her conception methods, if she ever does, then she’s allowed the space to leave those questions unanswered. There shouldn’t be a spectacle made of outing a new mother for the way she chose to start a family, as if it’s a conniving masterplan that deserves an ‘ah ha!’ pop culture moment.
Campbell has been forced to face endless criticism about her age and question after question about whether she used a surrogate, who the father is, and if she used her own eggs. But Naomi Campbell’s daughter is Naomi Campbell’s daughter, and should be accepted as such, no matter how she came into being. So, why does it really matter?
Despite the furore surrounding her own child, it’s novel and necessary to see Campbell still championing women having children later in life: ‘I’m telling them all, do it!’ the model said of her older friends. ‘Don’t hesitate!’
Eventually, when she feels ready and in her own words, Campbell has revealed she will share her experience and knowledge of becoming a mother at 50 in a book she plans to write. Until then, she should be allowed to focus on what really matters right now: her daughter. ‘Everything I do, I do for her—that’s it,’ she said. ‘It’s so completely selfless, isn’t it?’
[No, It Isn't Selfish To Have A Baby Later In Life](http://No, It Isn't Selfish To Have A Baby Later In Life)