Sophie Turner glad for motherhood in her 20s, with no 'biological clock' fears

In a new interview, actress Sophie Turner — a mom of two at 29 years old — spoke about putting her career on hold to be a mother, and why she doesn't regret her decision.

Key Takeaways:

• In a new interview, actress Sophie Turner said she has enjoyed having children in her 20s and not having to worry about her "biological clock."

• When Turner unexpectedly got pregnant three years into her marriage to Joe Jonas at age 24, she briefly considered having an abortion, but said she knew she had to have her daughter.

• She gave birth to her second child at 26. Jonas and Turner eventually divorced and now co-parent their two daughters.

The Backstory:

Actress Sophie Turner has previously spoken about the shock she experienced when she first became pregnant at age 24, three years into her marriage to musician Joe Jonas. She said she even considered having an abortion after learning she was pregnant while on a retreat in Bali.

“It was my first day there and I was meeting my roommate for the first time,” she said. “Before we settled down to chat, I told her that I just needed to go and take a pregnancy test. I took the test and was like: ‘I’m pregnant, so nice to meet you!’”

At first, she said the idea of abortion had crossed her mind, but she worked through her fear with the help of some therapists.

"When you’re in your early 20s, life is so frivolous," she said. "At that point, I really didn’t know if I wanted to be a mother, but something changed in me that day. I just knew I had to have her.”

After giving birth to her older daughter, Willa, she said she knew she wanted to have another, having enjoyed motherhood so much. Within two years, she gave birth to another girl, who they named Delphine.

“It’s a real miracle to just watch them grow up in front of your eyes,” she said, adding that because she and Jonas traveled often, "I wanted Willa to have a sibling. I wanted them to have each other. They’re so much fun, total girlie girls and absolute rays of sunshine in my life.”

Turner and Jonas eventually went through a very public, acrimonious divorce, but were eventually able to come to an agreement on sharing custody. The two seemingly now co-parent amicably.

In a 2025 interview, Jonas publicly praised Turner. "I have a beautiful co-parenting relationship that I'm really grateful for,” he said. “Having an incredible mom, Sophie, for those girls is like a dream come true.”

The Details:

Turner recently spoke about career and motherhood in an interview with the Guardian.

Turner began acting on the show "Game of Thrones" at 14, and then went on to star in the X-Men franchise as Jean Grey. After being in the public eye from such a young age, she embraced the opportunity to step back and focus on her family for a few years.

“It’s really nice,” she said. “I’m not worrying about my biological clock and all that sort of stuff. [I]t just felt like the right break to focus on me, because I’d been a character for so long. Nesting and being at home was amazing."

Though Turner says choosing to walk away from her career to parent young children "stalled" her career slightly, it appears she is working as an actress again. "... [T]he flipside of it, and COVID didn’t help, was that this was a big break from the career. And I’ve had to try to rebuild, in a way. You don’t realise how important momentum is in a career, and I stalled it a bit.”

The Big Picture:

Turner did not specifically say that motherhood held her back from success, but many other celebrities have. Yet women do not have to choose between motherhood and career, even in Hollywood. Turner and several others are examples of this.

An emotional Renee Elise Goldsberry thanked her husband and children after winning a Tony award for her role as Angelica Schuyler in “Hamilton,” which she said proved that she could be a mother and still win.

Catherine Zeta-Jones was pregnant while filming her role as Velma Kelley for “Chicago,” for which she won an Oscar, and accepted the award at nine months pregnant.

Gal Gadot, now a box-office star, was also pregnant while filming "Wonder Woman."

The Bottom Line:

Women are often encouraged to put off motherhood to focus on their careers in their 20s. But as Turner pointed out, the biological reality doesn't necessarily match that plan. This has left many women dealing with infertility in later years as they attempt to have children through reproductive technologies, with no guarantee of success.

To be grateful to have avoided such a scenario shouldn't be controversial.