Older mums

Nicole Kidman is finally expecting her first biological child at the age of 40, after years of heartache. Nicole suffered two miscarriages, a tough divorce from Tom Cruise (with whom she has two adopted children, Connor and Isabella), various ups and down in her love life (she was rumoured to be engaged to Lenny Kravitw when her divorce from Cruise was finalised) and a spell of singledom, before finally marrying country singer Keith Urban…who then hit the bottle. Nicole stuck by her gorgeous hubby as he went through rehab and then began fertility treatment. Their baby is due early this summer. 

Another star whose perseverance paid off is Halle Berry. The Hollywood beauty, who has been in a relationship with model Gabriel Aubry for three years, made no secret of the fact she was getting more than a bit broody: she told soFeminine in 2007 that becoming a mum is "what I want most in the world," and made a vow to get pregnant before she was 40. After 34 (yes, 34!) negative tests, Halle thought she was dreaming when the 35th came up positive. The 41-year-old gave birth to little Nahla Ariela in March. 

Actress, producer and director Salma Hayek gave birth to a daughter in September 2007. The 41-year-old is engaged to French businessman François-Henri Pinault, CEO of PPR, who own Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent (think of the freebies Salma must get!). The couple named their baby girl Valentina Paloma - how cute?!

Desperate Housewife Marcia Cross underwent IVF soon after her wedding to stockbroker Tom Mahoney. She was put on precautionary bedrest just three months into her pregnancy, but carried on filming nonetheless (she had her bedroom decorated to resemble Bree's!). Marcia gave birth to twin daughters Eden and Savannah just before her 45th birthday.