Woman, 46, Announces Pregnancy After Over a Decade of Trying
After 14 Years, Julie Mintz Welcomes Miracle Baby at 47
Planning for Motherhood
Julie Mintz always dreamed of being a mom. At 33, unsure when she’d meet the right partner, she froze 28 eggs as a backup. “I thought it would be a really good insurance policy,” she told PEOPLE. Though she hoped she’d never need them, she chose not to freeze more at 39—a decision she later regretted.
Obstacles and Heartbreak
Mintz met her partner, Stephen, at 41, but struggled to conceive due to PCOS. At 42, they turned to her frozen eggs. After a year of testing, they discovered they were both carriers of Wilson disease, delaying the process. The first batch of thawed eggs didn’t survive. “Thank God I only thawed half,” she said. The second batch produced just one viable embryo.
A Difficult Journey
Determined to carry the baby herself, Mintz underwent surgery for a uterine polyp—but complications, a clotting disorder, and an incompetent cervix made it impossible. “It felt like fiction,” she said. “Like, how could all of this happen to one person?” Over two years, she went through nine failed egg retrievals. “It was basically psychological torture.”
A Miracle Realized
At 46, Mintz found a surrogate she called “a unicorn.” The embryo transfer took place in September 2024 while she was on tour. “I threw my arms up in the air, and then Moby threw his arms up… I think he knew what it meant.” Baby Ophelia was born on May 18, 2025. Mintz cut the cord herself, calling it “the ultimate gift.”
