Naomi Campbell welcomes her second child at age 53: ‘It’s never too late to become a mother’

Naomi Campbell has done it again. Two years ago, in May 2020, she announced that she had become a mother for the first time at the age of 50; now, at 53, she has welcomed her second child. The British model posted on her Instagram page—where she has over 15 million followers—that she now has a son.

“My little darling, know that you are cherished beyond measure and surrounded by love from the moment you graced us with your presence. A True Gift from God… Welcome Babyboy,” Campbell said in her post on Thursday, announcing the arrival of her new son. She accompanied the photo with the hashtag “mum of two.” Campbell ended her message by noting that “it’s never too late to become a mother.”

The photograph that accompanied the post appears to show Naomi Campbell with a baby in her arms. The model holds the little one’s hand, and, in turn, a third hand holds Campbell’s and the baby’s; the third hand appears to belong to Campbell’s three-year-old daughter. The model has shared very few images of her little girl and almost all of them are taken from behind or at a distance; Campbell has not revealed her daughter’s name, either.

In recent months, Campbell has been seen at various social events, such as the Cannes Film Festival, which she attended in mid-May; while there, she posed on the red carpet. And just over a week ago, she attended the Louis Vuitton men’s fashion show in Paris, the first one singer Pharrell Williams has presented as the French fashion house’s new designer. Campbell didn’t seem to be pregnant in any of the photos, nor has she mentioned anything about a new child.

As of now, the model has not provided any more details about the baby, nor did she share much after her first child was born. But a year after her daughter’s birth, Campbell explained her origins in a long interview in British Vogue magazine: “She wasn’t adopted – she’s my [biological] child.” Therefore, the logical conclusion is that Campbell’s daughter was born via surrogate. “I can count on one hand the number of people who knew that I was having her,” she acknowledged in that magazine interview. “But she is the biggest blessing I could ever imagine. It’s the best thing I’ve ever done.” The Londoner also let it slip that she was not ruling out the idea of having more children.

Campbell also commented that she had always known that she would be a mother one day and that having become a parent was “the biggest joy” she could imagine. “I’m lucky to have her and I know that.” On the question of age, which the interview touched on only tangentially, the article explained that the model “doesn’t even consider” the 50-year age difference between her daughter and herself, given “her endurance” and the fact that she only needs a few hours of sleep. Campbell herself even claimed that she encouraged all her older friends to have children: “I’m telling them all, do it! Don’t hesitate!”

For over 30 years, Naomi Campbell has been one of the most famous (and controversial) international faces of the fashion industry. Since she was discovered in Covent Garden, she has belonged to the great generation of 1990s models—Cindy Crawford, Claudia Schiffer, Christy Turlington, Linda Evangelista—with whom she still maintains strong friendships. Throughout her decades-long career, she has starred in scores of editorials and magazine covers, as well as campaigns for the world’s most important fashion brands, from Burberry to Valentino, Marc Jacobs, Fendi, Lanvin, Hugo Boss, Alexander McQueen, Givenchy... Campbell has also achieved major milestones for black women. In 1997, she was the first black woman to open a Prada fashion show; in 1998, she became the first black model to grace the cover of Vogue France; and at the end of 2019, she was the first black woman to be honored with an award that defined her career as a Fashion Icon, for her “incredible contribution to the fashion industry throughout her career as a supermodel, as well as through her global philanthropist work with charities and incredible fundraising efforts for a more diverse and equal future, especially in Africa.”

Campbell has dated numerous well-known men, including actors Robert De Niro, Sylvester Stallone and Leonardo DiCaprio (although their romance was never confirmed), singers Robbie Williams and Eric Clapton, boxer Mike Tyson, Spanish dancer Joaquín Cortés, Egyptian businessman Louis Camilleri and Russian tycoon Vladislav Doronin.

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