Mom welcomes first child at 46 after 14-year fertility struggle

Julie Mintz, a Los Angeles singer, spent nearly 14 years navigating fertility treatments, medical complications, and setbacks before becoming a mother this May at age 46.

Julie Mintz was 33 years old when she decided to freeze her eggs, believing it would simply be a precaution. She had no idea this choice would eventually become her only path to motherhood.

Now 47, Mintz welcomed her daughter, Ophelia Laurette, this past May, born through surrogacy using an egg frozen over a decade ago. The journey was neither simple nor smooth, filled with unexpected medical obstacles and emotional challenges.

Mintz, known for her music career and close collaboration with musician Moby, initially froze 28 eggs as an insurance policy, given the challenges of dating in Los Angeles. At the time, she was hopeful she’d never need them.

“I just knew that I really wanted to be a mom,” Mintz told PEOPLE. “I thought, ‘I am sure I’ll never have to use them, hopefully.'”

An unexpected series of setbacks

By the age of 39, still single, Mintz considered freezing more eggs but was advised against it by her doctor, who assured her 28 eggs were more than sufficient. It was advice she now calls her “first error” in the process, given the challenges that followed.

After meeting her partner, Stephen, at 41, the couple faced a new setback. Both discovered they carried Wilson disease, a rare genetic disorder, requiring specialized genetic testing that led to months of delays.

At 44, Mintz faced a devastating realization—half of her eggs were thawed incorrectly, and none survived. Thankfully, she had preserved the other half separately. From those remaining eggs, only one viable embryo was produced.

Mintz initially hoped to carry her own child, but surgery complications, including broken surgical instruments and subsequent discoveries of additional health conditions, forced doctors to recommend against pregnancy altogether.

“I felt like if you were reading [this], you’d be like, ‘This girl has to be making this up,'” Mintz said.

Hope through surrogacy

Determined not to give up, Mintz underwent nine additional egg retrievals from ages 44 to 46, each unsuccessful. Ultimately, her single viable embryo from 2011 became her only hope.

At age 46, Mintz finally matched with a surrogate she lovingly calls “a unicorn.” In September 2024, while Mintz was on tour in Europe, she received the long-awaited call—her surrogate was pregnant.

“I threw my arms up in the air and then Moby threw his arms up,” Mintz shared. “I think that he knew what it meant.”

Welcoming baby Ophelia

Ophelia Laurette was born on May 18, a day Mintz describes as “the ultimate gift.” Mintz personally cut her daughter’s umbilical cord, a symbolic moment after nearly a decade and a half of waiting and uncertainty.

Now, Mintz is using her story to support others experiencing fertility challenges, launching the Midsummer Dream Grant to help individuals and couples facing similar struggles.

“I’m really proud of myself for having the forethought to freeze my eggs,” Mintz reflected. “Ultimately, Ophelia came from my one 33-year-old egg that survived, and if I hadn’t done that, I would not have been able to have her.”

Mintz’s journey reminds others facing fertility challenges of the power of perseverance and preparation, even in the face of extraordinary odds.