Clooney ‘recovering’ from thrill of becoming father of twins at 56
GEORGE CLOONEY has become a first-time father at the age of 56, after his wife Amal gave birth to twins.
A spokesman for the couple yesterday confirmed the birth of a girl and a boy, saying the Clooneys had named them Ella and Alexander.
In a statement, a representative said: “This morning Amal and George welcomed Ella and Alexander Clooney into their lives.
“Ella, Alexander and Amal are all healthy, happy and doing fine.”
He added: “George is sedated and should recover in a few days.”
With the birth imminent, Clooney had declined an invitation to accept a humanitarian award in Armenia last week. “I really would have been [in Armenia] but if I came there and my wife had twins while I was there, I could never come home,” he said in an acceptance video.
Once Hollywood’s most eligible bachelor, Clooney has previously spoken about his delight in becoming a father, saying: “I didn’t know that we’d have kids. I was very happy that we were going to get married, and then [children] seemed like the next step.” The couple’s Grade Ii-listed home in Sonning, Berks, has recently undergone drastic renovations, including the construction of a 12-seater cinema and an artificial-turf tennis court.
People, the US magazine, claimed that the couple were visited by their friend Barack Obama, the former US president, at the end of May, while he was in England. The news that Clooney was to become a father was finally confirmed after much speculation earlier this year by his friend, the fellow actor Matt Damon, who told a talk show he was so thrilled for the high-profile couple that he “almost started crying” when he found out.
Damon disclosed that Clooney told him the news while they were filming, and that his wife Amal, 39, was about eight weeks pregnant at the time.
“I’m like, ‘Are you out of your mind? Don’t tell anybody else, don’t tell anybody else, I mean, don’t you know the 12-week rule?’ Of course he doesn’t,” Damon said.
Damon praised Mrs Clooney, an international human rights lawyer, calling her “a remarkable woman” and saying that Clooney had “hit the jackpot”.
He added the couple were “going to be awesome parents – those kids are lucky”.
It is understood that the new Clooney family of four will make their main home in the UK, where Mrs Clooney works.