Filed under 'Mary-Louise Parker'

First thirty was the new twenty, and now apparently forty is the new thirty! More and more celebrity moms are giving birth after turning forty. Older moms making recent headlines are Kelly Preston, 47, who just announced her pregnancy saying, "this is a miracle, and we feel blessed;" and Celine Dion, 42, who also just announced after a "physically and emotionally exhausting" year, that she is pregnant with twins.

These two 40+ moms-to-be are in great company. Click below to see 10 fit, fabulous and famous moms who had babies after 40!

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Weeds star Mary-Louise Parker, 45, and son, 5-year-old William Atticus, enjoyed a Thanksgiving walk through Washington Square in New York City yesterday (November 26) when they bumped into actor Alec Baldwin, 51.

Mary-Louise, clutching a branch and some leaves, and Alec recognized each other and stopped to chat before heading their separate ways.

The Fried Green Tomatoes actress is also mom to 3-year-old Caroline “Ash” Aberash Parker, whom she adopted from Ethiopia in September 2007. Willam’s dad is Mary-Louise’s ex-partner, Billy Crudup.

Recently the happy mom-of-two told PEOPLE that she’s learned a lot from her two children:

They really put you in touch on how little you know and how little you are capable of and much you are capable of. They are very humbling, children. I am more patient now. I've become much more patient.

Alec has a 14-year-old daughter, Ireland, with ex-wife Kim Basinger.

Thanks to Mary-Louise Parker’s perfect portrayal, her character Nancy Botwin on the Showtime hit Weeds has joined a select group of television’s most memorable moms. The self-absorbed pot-selling widow is a far cry from June Cleaver, of course. And she’s certainly a far cry from Mary-Louise herself, who tells Chatelaine magazine that her most important role these days is that of a doting mom to her two kids William, 5, and Caroline “Ash,” 2.

Reflecting on her own South Carolina childhood, the actress says, “My childhood wasn’t fun. My parents are amazing; I just didn’t come along at a time when there was joy.”

Now a single mom – she split from William’s dad, actor Billy Crudup, while pregnant and adopted Ash in 2007 – Mary-Louise seems set on filling her family with as much fun as she can. Case in point: She spent the morning of the interview building cardboard castles with the kids and then roasting marshmallows in the fireplace of their New York home, and arrived to meet the reporter covered in shiny, colorful stickers courtesy of her son.

“When I left today, he kissed my hand on both sides and made me promise not to take them off,” she explains.

At 45 years old, Mary-Louise is still a relative newbie to motherhood. Though she always knew she wanted kids, she's the first to admit that she wasn’t cut out to be a young mom, saying, “My early twenties? Forget it. That girl shouldn’t have had a child. She shouldn’t have even had her own mailbox.”

Though she seems a natural now, like most moms Mary-Louise says there is always room for improvement: “I have my little family,” she muses. “It’s not perfect. I wish it were more perfect. I always want everyone to have a good time.”

Looking back, Weeds star Mary-Louise Parker says she regrets going nude in the show's season finale. "I knew it was going to be on the Internet: ‘Mary Louise shows off her big nipples,' she says. The 44-year-old single mom to kids William and Caroline talks to More magazine about aging, dating, and the scene that got everybody talking.

On splitting with Billy Crudup while 7 months pregnant: “I’ve never commented on the situation, and I won’t because it’s not fair to my son. Who wins? No child can benefit in that situation. Your love for your child should eclipse any other feelings you have for another person.”

On dating as a single mom: “Some men are daunted by it, some are really attracted. I had someone ask, ‘Does this mean we can’t go out anytime we want?’ And I said, ‘Yes, that’s exactly what it means. It means you come fourth, ’cause it’s my kids, my job, my family.’ I don’t ever want to come first to anyone. It’s too much pressure.”

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