Ayumi Hamasaki gives birth to second child at 42

Japanese singer Ayumi Hamasaki is now a mother of two. She announced last weekend that she has given birth to her second child.

The queen of J-pop announced on her official website on Saturday night (May 1) that she has “added an important family member in spring”, and believed that she “can bring happiness to my children”.

She did not state the gender of the baby or reveal who the father was.

On Sunday (May 2), however, she posted on Instagram a photo of a person in a cap with the caption: “I’m back”.

Hamasaki, 42, sprang a surprise last October when she said that she was pregnant with her second child.

In January 2020, she dropped a bombshell by announcing that she had given birth to a son in November 2019.

Hamasaki was previously married to Austrian actor and model Manuel Schwarz between 2011 and 2012, and American medical student Tyson Bodkin from 2013 to 2016.

She has been romantically linked to backup dancer Shunpei Araki, 22, since 2018, but has never confirmed the relationship.

However, they have been seen together several times, leading to speculation that he is the father of her children.

Hamasaki released her latest song, 23rd Monster, in April to mark her 23rd anniversary in show business. She made her debut in 1998 with the single Poker Face and went on to become one of the best-selling Japanese solo artistes of all time.

She revealed in 2017 that she was grappling with hearing loss after saying in 2008 she had lost all hearing in her left ear.

South Korean actress Choi Ji-woo has given birth to her first child on Saturday (May 16), according to her agency YG Entertainment.

YG Entertainment said in a statement that the actress, who turns 45 in June, gave birth to her daughter at a hospital in Seoul. Mother and child are both fine.

The statement did not mention details like the baby’s name and weight.

Earlier this month, Choi, who shot to fame after starring in the romantic TV serial Winter Sonata (2002) with Bae Yong-joon, had posted on her fan club website a handwritten letter and recent photo of herself with a baby bump.

She wrote that she has found a greater respect for all mothers since her pregnancy, especially as she got pregnant at an older age and during the coronavirus pandemic. She also hopes to be a role model for women who become mothers later in life.

Known for her roles in many TV series, including Stairway To Heaven (2003) and Temptation (2014), Choi surprised her fans in March 2018 when she announced her marriage to her boyfriend, who is nine years younger than her and the owner of an information technology firm.

Her agency did not say when Choi would return to acting. Earlier this year, the actress made a cameo, playing herself meeting a North Korean fan in the popular series Crash Landing On You.

The 41-year-old actress and model gave birth to son earlier this year in January. This is her second child with Chinese rock musician Wang Feng after tying the knot in 2015. She gave birth to her first child, Wang Xingxing, in December 2015.

Read Next

These celebrity couples are major #relationshipgoals

Iconic Korean actress Lee Young-ae gave birth to twins 9 years ago when she was 40. She’s known for her appearances in thriller film Sympathy for Lady Vengeance and historical television series Saimdang, Memoir of Colours.

This 65-year-old Taiwanese actress was the talk of the town decades ago when she starred in numerous films and television shows such as Love Massacre (1981) and Peking Opera Blues (1986).

In 1994, she married Chinese businessman Michael Ying and gave birth to her first child at 42 years of age. She became pregnant again in 2001 and gave birth to her second daughter at 47.

She’s pictured here with her second daughter at at formal dinner.

Fann Wong, 44, gave birth to her first child, baby Zed, in 2014.

Also read: I Tried Making Fann Wong’s Fudge Loaf Cake and WOW

Halle Berry became pregnant for the first time at 41 years old and gave birth to her daughter, Nahla.

Singer Gwen Stefani gave birth to her third son at 45, in 2014.

Movie star Eva Mendes, 41, and Canadian boyfriend Ryan Gosling welcomed their first child in September 2015.

In 2002, at the age of 41, Hollywood actress Julianne Moore gave birth to her second child, a daughter.

Uma Thurman gave birth to her third child, a daughter, when she was 42 in 2012.

Actress Salma Hayek told Oprah she waited until she was 41 to have her daughter in order to “relax into being a mother.”

Tina Fey welcomed her second child almost a decade ago in 2011, with husband Jeff Richmond, when she was 41.

Game of Thrones star Lena Heady was 42 when she gave birth to her second child in July 2015.

The iconic singer welcomed two bundles of joy at 42, when she gave birth to twins after multiple IVF sessions.

Oscar-winning actress Nicole Kidman gave birth to her daughter at age 40 in 2008, in what she described as a “roller coaster ride with fertility”.

Singer Mariah Carey gave birth to twins at age 40, after a 47-week-long pregnancy. Her then-husband Nick Cannon celebrated by giving her a US$12,000 pink diamond and sapphire necklace, engraved with the twins’ names.

Not much is known about famously private Meryl Streep’s personal life, but it is known that she gave birth to her fourth child in 1991, when she was 41.

Doctors told actress Susan Sarandon she’d never have children due to a medical condition, but she gave birth to two sons when she was 42 and 45.

Before she adopted her son David in 2006, Madonna gave birth to her first child at age 41, together with her (then) husband Guy Ritchie.

A portion of this article was originally published on The Straits Times and AsiaOne.

Read Next

34 Mother’s Day gift ideas any mum would love

5 ways to celebrate Mother's Day this May

How to look as good as celeb mums like Fann Wong and Joanne Peh