Hilary Swank says having twins later in life lets her be 'more present' as a parent
Hilary Swank says becoming a mother in her late 40s has allowed her to be more present, grounded and emotionally prepared for raising her twins.
Hilary Swank says a benefit to having her twins later in life is that she gets to be more "present" in their lives.
The 51-year-old actress welcomed a son and daughter with her husband Philip Schneider in April 2023, at the age of 48, after freezing her eggs a decade earlier.
The Million Dollar Baby admits she would have probably been an entirely "different parent" if she had become a mom during the height of her acting career.
She told PEOPLE: "It just worked out that I had babies this much later in life.
"It wasn't that I didn't want them earlier. There were a lot of things that kept that from happening, and so I can really take time to be with them."
She continued: "I feel like I get a lot of Mother's Days other than actual Mother's Day because of being able to be so present with them."
Hilary had always seen children in her future.
She explained: "I knew I wanted kids someday, but I wasn't planning what that would look like.
"I know it's so different for everyone, but for me, if I had had a kid in my 20s or my 30s, I think I'd be a much different parent than I am now."
Hilary is grateful that she has the flexibility to "step in and out" of work to care for her twins.
She said: "I feel like I have that more kind of ability to really give them my attention in a way that I wouldn't have as much at that point because it would've been pulled between the two in a very distinct way.
"In my career being so established, I have the ability to kind of step in and step out when I choose, and that is just such a blessing."
Hilary says she was able to do much of the emotional and psychological work on herself before becoming a parent.
She said: "I've done a lot of work on myself.
"One of the things that I feel is important about being your best parenting self is having done that work, so you break any cycles that you don't want to impart on your children, and I've done a lot of that work over time, so I didn't have to do a lot of catch up with that."
She added that she still puts in the work, stressing that she’s not perfect but now has the tools to handle challenges as they come.
Hilary said: "I still do my work. Don't get me wrong.
"I'm certainly not a perfect human being. But, I have the tools in which to deal with those things at hand rather than having to go search for them while I'm in the middle of it."
Sharing one thing her children have taught her, she said: "One of the things that I've always tried and aimed for as a goal is to be in the moment, and it's much harder than one would think.
"My kids have really taught me [that].
"First of all, there's no one more in the moment than them, right?
"They're just that perfect reminder of that, and that I don't want to lose sight of that."
