Claire Danes said she burst into tears after learning she was pregnant with her third child at the age of 44.
The actress, now 46, recalled that upon learning the big news, she called her OBGYN in “convulsive tears.”
“It was a pure, like, meltdown,” she told Amy Poehler on Tuesday’s episode of the “Good Hang with Amy Poehler” podcast.
“None of this was by design,” she continued. “I didn’t know it was physically possible. I was 44.”
Claire Danes admitted she had a “meltdown” when she found out she was pregnant at 44 years old. Good Hang with Amy Poehler/YouTube
The actress said she burst into tears when she found out the news, during her appearance on the “Good Hang with Amy Poehler” podcast. Good Hang with Amy Poehler/YouTube
The “Homeland” alum gave birth to a baby girl in 2023.
Danes noted that her children with husband Hugh Dancy — sons Cyrus, 13, Rowan, 7, and her daughter, now 2 — have a five-year age gap between them.
“Rowan was very hard-earned. I had to do two rounds of IVF,” she shared.
Danes spoke about her unexpected third pregnancy back in November 2025 on the “SmartLess” podcast. admitting she was “terrified.”
Danes’ third pregnancy was unplanned. Getty Images for SAG-AFTRA Foundation
Danes and her husband, Hugh Dancy, welcomed their baby girl in 2023. GC Images
“I was so old when that happened,” she said, but adding that it all turned out OK.
Still, she said she felt “shame.”
“Like I was naughty. I’d been caught fornicating past the point I was meant to,” she explained. “It was weird, and it was like I found an edge that I hadn’t been quite conscious of.”
“I was going outside of the parameters a little bit,” she continued. “That was wild.”
They are also parents to sons Cyrus, 13, and Rowan, 7. Penske Media via Getty Images
The two have been married since 2009 Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue
She previously dated actor Billy Crudup. Patrick McMullan via Getty Images
Danes and Dancy, 50, have been married since September 2009.
She previously dated Billy Crudup, and the two are still on friendly terms more than 20 years after their infamous 2003 cheating scandal involving a then-pregnant Mary-Louise Parker.
Danes and Crudup — who’s now married to Naomi Watts — were spotted smiling and sharing a hug at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts Gala in April 2025.