US actress Hilary Swank pregnant with third child at 52, shares heartfelt message for women hoping to become mums

Oscar-winning actress Hilary Swank, 52, is expecting her third child with husband Philip Schneider, three years after welcoming their twins. — AFP file pic

By Malay Mail

First Published: Friday, 16 Oct 2026 3:31 PM MYT

LOS ANGELES, Oct 16 — Hilary Swank is preparing to become a mother for the third time at 52, just three years after welcoming twins — and the Oscar-winning actress has offered a touching message of hope to women who fear their chance at motherhood may have passed.

The Million Dollar Baby star revealed her pregnancy in a playful Instagram video on Wednesday, announcing that she and husband Philip Schneider are expecting another addition to their family in December.

Swank, who became a first-time mother at 48, already shares three-year-old twins, daughter Aya and son Ohm, with the entrepreneur.

But rather than make a conventional pregnancy announcement, the two-time Academy Award winner enlisted her family for a glow-in-the-dark dance routine.

Set to Canadian rock band Bachman-Turner Overdrive’s 1974 hit You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet, the video showed Schneider and the couple’s twins dancing in the dark with glow sticks attached to their bodies.

Swank then joined the fun, turning to reveal a tiny glowing stick figure positioned over her growing baby bump.

“A lot of people have been asking what project I’m doing next, this one releases in December,” she cheekily captioned the clip.

The announcement quickly attracted congratulations from fans and celebrity friends, including actress Michelle Monaghan and filmmaker Deon Taylor.

But it was one particularly emotional response from a follower that prompted Swank to reflect on her own journey to motherhood.

“At 39, I’m still single and childless,” the woman wrote beneath the Instagram post.

“You are literally giving me hope that the life I want could still happen for me. Congratulations to you and your beautiful family.”

Swank took the time to respond personally, offering words of encouragement about trusting life’s timing.

“It can. I always go by the adage, things happen in their time, not ours, and that has always been the case for me. But of course trusting that, for me, has always been the hardest part. Wishing you unwavering trust and abundant beauty on your journey.”

The exchange struck a particularly personal note given Swank’s own experience of becoming a parent later in life.

The actress was 48 when she welcomed Aya and Ohm in April 2023, marking her first experience of motherhood.

She had previously taken steps to preserve her fertility, revealing in an April 2025 interview with Women’s Health that she froze her eggs at 37 and used them to become pregnant with her twins a decade later.

Her latest pregnancy marks another milestone for the actress, who married Schneider in 2018.

Swank is among Hollywood’s most acclaimed performers, having won the Best Actress Oscar twice — for Boys Don’t Cry (1999) and Million Dollar Baby (2004).