Brigitte Nielsen: Actress and model announces fifth pregnancy at 54

Nielsen is expecting a baby with her husband Mattia Dessi

Sabrina Barr
Thursday 31 May 2018 17:53 BST
Comments
Brigitte Nielson gave birth at 54 – you would think this was something to celebrate
Brigitte Nielson gave birth at 54 – you would think this was something to celebrate (Getty Images)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Actress and model Brigitte Nielsen, who starred in films including Rocky IV and Beverly Hills Cop II, has announced that she’s expecting her fifth child - at the age of 54.

Nielsen released photos on Instagram to accompany the announcement that shows the expectant mother cradling her baby bump.

While she has received a rush of congratulations from many of her 103,000 followers on the social media platform, others have expressed their disapproval over Nielsen having a baby in her 50s.

One individual described her as “selfish”, while another wrote that having a baby at her age was "cruel".

However, the majority of comments have been very supportive of the Danish actress.

“Beautiful! This baby will be so loved! Ah, these negative comments. Some know nothing but hate. Really,” one person said.

Another wrote that her own mother had given birth to her at 53 years old, describing Nielsen’s news as “a wonderful thing.”

“You give inspiration for me and my husband to be able to have a child at my age of 45. Because we want our family to grow,” one woman commented.

“Lots of love and a beautiful safe delivery.”

Nielsen has four sons, the first of which was born in 1984 with her first husband Kasper Winding.

She had her second son with her former fiancé Mark Gastineau in 1989 and had two sons with her fourth husband Raoul Meyer in 1993 and 1995.

According to the Royal Berkshire Hospital, an expectant mother is twice as likely to undergo a caesarean when giving birth if over the age of 40.

The average age of mothers giving birth in England and Wales increased marginally from 30.3 years old to 30.4 years old from 2015 to 2016, as stated by the Office for National Statistics.

There’s been a recent discussion online about the use of the term “c-section”, with some mothers preferring for it to be referred to as a “belly birth”.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in