Taylor Hill/WireImage
- Annie Leibovitz, 76, says being an older mom comes with its own set of challenges.
- The photographer says her three daughters urge her to prioritize her health so she can live a longer life.
- Beyond parenting, Leibovitz says she enjoys growing older because it lets her slow down.
Annie Leibovitz, 76, says she has worries about being an older mom.
In an appearance on Wednesday’s episode of the “Wiser Than Me with Julia Louis-Dreyfus” podcast, the famous photographer spoke about the realities of becoming a parent later in life.
Leibovitz recalled a moment in her late 40s when she suddenly realized she didn’t want to miss out on motherhood.
“You know, what happened was I was seeing my doctor, and I was just crying. I said, I realized it was my late forties. And I said, I just can’t believe I’d let this time go by. And I haven’t done this, and I haven’t had children,” she told host Julia Louis-Dreyfus.
Leibovitz said her longtime partner, author Susan Sontag, who died in 2004, “wasn’t interested in children.”
“And I would talk about it every now and then, and she was not interested. Besides, we didn’t really have that kind of relationship. We had two separate apartments,” Leibovitz said. “We had our own world, but we really supported each other tremendously.”
However, Leibovitz’s doctor told her she still had that option. “So he said to me, ‘You can do it.’ I said, ‘Really?’ And I did it,” Leibovitz said, adding that she has three daughters who are now in their twenties.
Having kids later in life has made her more aware of the realities of parenting as an older mom, she said.
“Still, I mean, if I’m having any issue now about being older, is that I decided to have them older. And my older daughter gets mad at me if I don’t take care of myself. ‘Mommy, I want you to live longer.’ And you worry about that,” Leibovitz said.
However, she says she wants to continue focusing on her career and give her daughters space rather than hovering over them.
“And not necessarily being so smothering and so close, because I just knew I was an older mom, and I knew they were going to have to deal with me leaving earlier than possibly being around,” Leibovitz said, adding that part of the reason for having more than one child was so they would have each other.
But beyond parenting, Leibovitz says aging has been something that she has come to genuinely appreciate.
“I just love getting older. You kind of know what you’re doing. It doesn’t mean what you’re doing is good or better or whatever. It’s still hard work, but you kind of know what you’re doing, and there’s something really nice about that,” she said.
She doesn’t have to rush through everything anymore, she added.
“And then things, I think, naturally are slowing down, kind of after running around like crazy, starting when I was very young. And so it’s nice to kind of slow down a little bit,” Leibovitz said.
Leibovitz isn’t the only one who has spoken about having children later in life.
In May 2024, Eva Mendes said it was a good thing she waited til she was 40 to have kids.
“In my 20s, I shouldn’t have even been around a child. I was foul-mouthed and smoking. I definitely could not have raised kids in any other era of my life but now,” Mendes told People.
Speaking to Business Insider in September 2024, Hilary Swank said she’s happy to be an older mom. Swank gave birth to twins at age 48.
“I’m in a place where I just have a lot more patience and a lot more grace to give, not just my children, but others around me,” she said. “I can give them so much more than I could have at that point.”