Julia Stiles Secretly Welcomed a Baby in 2023

Julia Stiles is a mom of three! The 10 Things I Hate About You star, 43, revealed in a new interview with The New York Times that she secretly welcomed her third child with husband Preston Cook in 2023.

“I’m kind of like a bundle of emotions, because I have a 5-month-old baby and I went into directing my first movie,” she told the outlet while promoting her directorial debut, Wish You Were Here.Stiles did not share further details about her bundle of joy, such as the sex or name, saying of the secrecy surrounding the birth, “I didn’t really talk about it.”

The Save the Last Dance actress, who directed and co-wrote the screenplay for Wish You Were Here with Renée Carlino, which Kelsey Grammer, Jennifer Grey and Stiles’ younger sister Jane Stiles, said that following the birth of her third baby, she is “running on fumes in terms of sleep. But I feel more energized than I ever have.”

Stiles and Cook met in 2014 on set of Stiles’ thriller film Go With Me. They sparked romance that same year, going on to tie the knot in September 2017. They share two sons together, the couple welcoming their oldest, 6-year-old Strummer, just a month after exchanging vows. When she announced their marriage, Stiles shared a photo of Cook’s hand resting on her baby bump, hilariously writing, “Who doesn’t love a shotgun wedding?” They went on to welcome their second child, Arlo, now 2, in January 2022.

“I think that actually being a mom is really great training for being a director,” Stiles said of motherhood. “You have to think 10 steps ahead but also be in the present moment. You have to be good at time management. You have to be sensitive to people’s needs and guide them, but also hold a boundary.”

While Stiles had not previously announced she was expecting another baby, some fans began to speculate a little one was on the way for the couple in spring 2023, per Entertainment Tonight. However, Stiles never publicly commented on the rumors, which seemed to be squashed during her December 2023 appearance on Saturday Night Live. During the show, which saw her reprise her role from Save the Last Dance in a sketch with cast member Chloe Fineman, Stiles wore a leotard and did not have a baby bump.