NAOMI Campbell has become a mother at the age of 50, surprising fans around the world.
The supermodel shared a picture of her newborn daughter yesterday and wrote: “A beautiful little blessing has chosen me to be her mother.
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“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.”
The famous face tagged her mum Valerie Morris-Campbell in the post but didn't reveal any other details.
However, Naomi is said to be living in New York with a secret boyfriend, who she will raise the baby with.
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Friends said they believe that Naomi used a surrogate.
And This Morning's Dr Zoe told The Sun it's "extremely rare" for a woman of 50 years old to fall pregnant naturally.
So, after years of wild partying, ending up in trouble with the police, and dating various men, why is it now that Naomi wanted to settle down?
Looking for Mr Right
Naomi was apparently very keen to have children with her long-term boyfriend, Russian businessman Vladislav Doronin, who she dated from 2008 to 2013.
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A friend told the Mail: "She was devastated not to have a baby with Doronin and he was her great love, but he didn't want to commit, so in a way this is no surprise.
"She has talked a lot about having children, and feeling very maternal, but did say that it just was not going to happen for her."
Following that relationship, Naomi regularly spoke of her desire to have a baby - with or without a partner - and once said “science” can help her to have one at any age.
She said in 2014: “I do want to have children, whether I have a man or not. I will have it on my own.”
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Three years later, speaking to ES Magazine, Naomi said: “I think about having children all the time.
"But now with the way science is I think I can do it when I want.”
She also explained how she didn't want to be a single parent, continuing: "I do want a father figure. I think it's important.
"It's the way I feel today, sitting here talking to you."
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Recently she dated rapper Skepta and had a fling with former One Direction star Liam Payne in 2019.
But it seems her new secret boyfriend may be the father figure she was looking for.
Always been maternal
According to pals, Naomi was inspired to have a baby relatively late in life by fellow supermodel, and good friend, Iman, now 65.
She had her daughter Lexi in 2000 aged 45, after tying the knot with music legend David Bowie.
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But Naomi has always been maternal, and always knew she wanted children.
In 2018, she said: "I'd love to have kids. I don't discount anything in life. I love kids and always will.
"When I'm around children, I become a child myself. That's the little girl I don't ever want to lose."
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Naomi has undertaken charitable work in orphanages for more than a decade, and says it gives her a maternal feeling when she's there.
A friend said: "She has always been very maternal and always cries when she visits orphanages.
"She has close ties to one in Kenya, where they called a baby Naomi after her.
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"But she said at the time: 'I will be in this child's life for ever but I am not going to adopt her'.
"She is a religious person and always said that it wasn't God's will for her and that she accepted that a baby was not in her path.
"Obviously she has changed her mind."
Her 'chosen family'
Despite not having children of her own until now, Naomi has more than a dozen godchildren, to whom she is close.
She calls these youngsters who she mentors her "children", and refers to them as her "chosen family".
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They include actress Ryan Destiny, and model Adut Akech, who calls her "Mama".
Another one is the son of Kweku Mandela, Nelson Mandela's grandson.
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In March last year, she shared pictures of herself bottle feeding him and taking him for a walk in New York.
And in 2019 she revealed she felt so happy with these children that she wasn't ready for any of her own.
She said: “Not yet – I’ll see what the universe brings me. For now, what the universe has delivered is very much in the spirit of a ‘chosen family’.”
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What may have changed her mind is the tragic death of her godson Harry Bryant - son of model Stephanie Seymour - in January.
Losing him left Naomi devastated and a friend said: "I know that she was very deeply in grief for him earlier this year."
Lockdown thinking time
The recent Covid pandemic is also said to have given Naomi some valuable thinking time.
A source close to the star told The Sun: “Naomi has really mellowed in the past year and is in a wonderful place in life.
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“She has been living in America with her boyfriend and is really happy. It finally felt like the perfect time to become a mother and she is over the moon.
“The first lockdown allowed her to stop and take stock of the important things and she decided now was the time to properly look into starting a family.
“She recently told her team that she no longer wanted to work at weekends and has been prioritising the things in her life that make her happy.”
A difficult past
Naomi's new life as a mum comes after a wild few years, which saw her go to rehab for drug and alcohol abuse, be convicted of assault, and even get a prison sentence.
In 1998, she was accused of beating her assistant Georgina Galanis in a fit of rage while they were in Toronto to shoot the film Prisoner Of Love.
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A Canadian judge discharged her without a criminal record for the offence, saying she had "learned her lesson and demonstrated her remorse".
But the next year, she went to rehab for substance abuse.
Naomi later explained: "I took on my s**t and learned from it. "
In 2006, housekeeper Ana Scolavino needed four stitches after being hit in the head by a BlackBerry phone the model threw at her.
Naomi pleaded guilty to assault and was ordered to complete community service and anger management classes.
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In 2008, she was ejected from a BA flight following a dispute over baggage.
She pleaded guilty to assaulting a police officer, disorderly conduct and using threatening words or behaviour.
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In August 2009, Naomi was convicted of assault by a Sicilian court for scratching a paparazzo's eye.
The model was given a six-month suspended prison sentence.
Peace at last
The following year, in an interview with Oprah Winfrey, Naomi broke down and spoke about her fractured relationship with her mum.
Talking about her outbursts, she said she regretted her violent actions.
She said: "I feel remorseful. I feel ashamed. I feel for them. [I think,] 'What have I done to them?' If I've hurt them.
"I think it comes from a deeper place than that with me. It comes from another type of emotional disorder, because it's not just, 'I don't get what I want. I throw.
"It comes from, I think, an abandonment issue, and it comes from also just trying to build up a family around me that's not my immediate family. And if I feel a mistrust, then I really just...all my cards go down."
Naomi didn't know her dad and was brought up mainly by her grandmother.
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She confessed she'd felt "abandoned" by her mother, who'd worked as a dancer when she was a child.
Her mum apologised to her, saying: "I just wanted to give her the best life.
"I wanted the best for her as she is my princess.
The covid pandemic has been 'a time of reflection' for iconic model Naomi CampbellMore on Naomi Campbell
"I do feel that I abandoned her."
They are good friends now and Miss Campbell says she has found peace at last.
It seems now really has been the perfect time for Naomi to become a mum - and we're sure she'll be an amazing one!
