When 47-year-old Kelly Preston announced her pregnancy recently saying, “this is a miracle” the world gasped in collective shock. Almost simultaneously another announcement came from Celine Dion, 42, that she is pregnant with twins after a “physically and emotionally exhausting” year.

More and more celebs are becoming moms after four decades on earth, something almost unheard of before. In our cover story this week we feature some famous women who went into labour after 40.

Monica Belluci Italian beauty Monica Bellucci (45) and her husband Vincent Cassel just welcomed their second daughter, Leonie, on May 20. The actor also has a daughter, Deva. Bellucci has previously spoken about how she is glad to be an older mother.

The star, who has been chosen by various magazines as one of the 100 Sexiest Stars in film history, said: “I wouldn’t want to be 20 again for anything. I am much happier now than when I was younger. You have to discover who you are, who you are going to be, there are so many insecurities. Today, I know the things that I need, the things that I can live without.”

The Matrix Reloaded star bared her bump for the second time for Italian Vanity Fair magazine cover.

Halle Berry Academy Award winning actor Halle Berry gave birth to her daughter, Nahla two years ago at the age of 42. Nahla’s father is Berry’s ex-boyfriend, model Gabriel Aubrey, with whom she narrowly avoided a custody dispute.

With regard to becoming a mother Berry has this to say: “When I saw I was pregnant ... I was so happy. I thought I knew love before, but I never knew anything like this.”

By all accounts the stunning beauty seems to be a fully involved parent. She has also admitted that she is keen to have more kids, but is afraid she’s too old. She insists that at her age she can only try and leave the rest to nature, reports contactmusic.com.

The 44-year-old, who ranks among one of the highest paid actors, recently topped the Askmen.com poll as the world’s sexiest mom.

Kelly Preston A couple of months ago actor Kelly Preston and John Travolta announced “a new addition to our family.” They had lost their son, Jett (16), after he suffered a seizure in January 2009.

Preston’s mother Carlson has admitted that her daughter’s “surprise” pregnancy would help the couple to heal and get over their grief. Preston is shrugging off pregnancy complications due to her age but Travolta is said to be nervous about his wife’s pregnancy. “Now that Kelly’s pregnant, she and John keep thinking about the risks involved with a late-in-life pregnancy,” an insider told American tabloid the National Enquirer. “They feel they’re in a race against time.”

Preston and Travolta, who have been married for 19 years, are also parents to daughter Ella Bleu, 10.

Marcia Cross Marcia Cross, who starred in the popular American sitcom Desperate Housewives, seemed to have been postponing motherhood till she established herself in her career. Now she is mother of twin girls Savannah and Eden, but the journey has not been tough.

When Cross married stockbroker Tom Mahoney in 2006, the newlyweds reportedly skipped their honeymoon to begin fertility treatment. They tried in-vitro after wedding. “It’s very, very difficult to get pregnant in your 40s,” she has admitted. “It’s costly and tough on your body and your relationship.“

Cross, who gave birth to her twins in 2007, said: “I wish that I’d had my girls in my 30s. Then I could be around longer for them. But they’re an incentive for me to stay healthy, take care of myself, and live as long as possible.“

Geena Davis Geena Davis and her husband, neurosurgeon Reza Jarrahy started a family together when Davis was 46. She gave birth to their daughter Alizeh, and two years later she delivered twin sons, Kian and Kaiis.

Davis, who won an Oscar in 1988 for her role in The Accidental Tourist — has kept her acting work to a minimum, preferring to devote herself to family. Davis, a former model and champion archer says that after accomplishing so much she was now living the life she always wanted.

“I’m a much better mother than I would have been in my 30s,” the 54-year-old has said. “I’ve learned how to fully give myself to another person. But I don’t have as much energy as I would like. My kids love to play chase and I’m always like, ‘Ugh, can’t we draw?’”

Holly Hunter The Academy award winning actor Holly Hunter, was 47 when she gave birth to twin boys with British actor Gordon MacDonald in 2006.

After being complimented on how great she looks after giving birth to twin boys Holly responded: “I can only thank my mother for that. I was blessed with the genes that I have. So I have my mother and my father to thank, I guess.”

Hunter, who voiced the role of the mother Helen Parr (also known as Elastigirl) in the hit animated movie The Incredibles, won an Oscar for her role as the mute musician in 1993’s The Piano. She also received Oscar nominations for her roles in Broadcast News, The Firm and Thirteen.

In a 2009 interview, Hunter stated to TV Guide that she does not discuss the children with media.

Jane Seymour Jane Seymour is best known for her Emmy-award winning role as Dr. Quinn: Medicine Woman. She is also an author, designer, activist and dancer. The former Bond girl (Live and Let Die) became a mom of twins in 1995, but complications almost cost the actor her life.

Seymour is married to director James Keach, whose son Kalen, from a previous marriage, also lives with them and Jane remains close to Jenny Flynn, 15, her ex-stepdaughter via David Flynn. She had already had two very healthy pregnancies earlier in her life, and was trying in early 40s to have in-vitro to have a baby.

Based on her experience she wrote the book about Remarkable Changes: Turning Life’s Challenges into Opportunities so that people could see that “ideally you embark upon this earlier in your life rather than later and although it is possible, there are risks attached.”

Céline Dion Canadian pop queen Céline Dion, 42, is pregnant with twins after a long struggle to conceive with in-vitro fertilisation and less than a year after having a tragic miscarriage.

“She was hoping for one baby and the news that we are having two is a double blessing,” said her husband René Angelil, 68.

Dion’s efforts included travelling from her Florida home to New York for months of treatments. It has been learnt that the five-time Grammy winning entertainer also underwent acupuncture with a Montreal based specialist to bolster her chances of conception. Their first child, aged 9, is also the result of in-vitro fertilisation.

Her husband also has three other children from two previous marriages. According to reports Dion, whose concert tour ended in March, took time off this spring to concentrate on becoming a mother again.

Cherie Blair Cherie and Tony Blair have spoken of their shock and surprise at discovering they were expecting their fourth child in 2000, when they were 44 and 45 respectively.

At that time the couple already had two sons, Euan, 15, and Nicky, 14 and a daughter, Kathryn, 11. Cherie was aware that having a baby later in life increased her health risks — the chances of miscarrying, suffering high blood pressure and premature labour are higher, so is the possibility of having a child with Down’s syndrome. But other than a few early bouts of morning sickness while travelling in South Africa with her husband, Cherie went on to have a happy and uneventful pregnancy. The response to her pregnancy was overwhelmingly warm as Leo Blair was the first baby born to a serving British prime minister in 150 years.