Naomi Campbell, 50, Welcomes Her First Child

At the age of 50, and 31 years into her career, Naomi Campbell has made her dreams of motherhood a reality. On Tuesday morning, the supermodel posted a photo of herself cradling the teeny feet of a baby in florals, with a caption explaining that the infant is indeed her own. “A beautiful little blessing has chosen me to be her mother,” she wrote. “So honoured to have this gentle soul in my life there are no words to describe the lifelong bond that I now share with you my angel. There is no greater love.”

Congratulations quickly poured in from peers like fellow super Mariacarla Boscono, actor Debi Mazar, and designers Diane von Furstenberg, Riccardo Tisci, Marc Jacobs, and Donatella Versace, who commented “Naomi, today I go from being sista to auntie!!” (Infant-sized gifts from the latter group are no doubt on their way.)

The news shouldn’t come as a surprise to fans of the supermodel, YouTube talk show host, and activist. “I think about having children all the time,” Campbell told the Evening Standard magazine back in 2017, noting that she has long financially supported dozens of orphans under 17 who live in Kenya. “But now, with the way science is, I think I can do it when I want.” At the time, Campbell was unsure if she would prefer to adopt or have a baby herself, but on the topic of single parenthood, she seemed to have made up her mind. “I do want a father figure,” Campbell said. “I think it’s important.”

That does not, Campbell clarified, have to do with the fact that she’s never had a biological father figure herself. She has, on the other hand, found father figures in the industry over the course of her 31-year career: The super regards the late former South African president Nelson Mandela as her “granddad” and the late legendary couturier Azzedine Alaïa as her “papa.”