Former gallery boss Dame Julia Peyton-Jones becomes first-time mum at the age of 64
She stepped down as the head of Serpentine Galleries last year - and now has a baby daughter called Pia, according to reports
THE former director of a popular London art gallery has welcomed her first baby at the age of 64, according to reports.
Dame Julia Peyton-Jones stepped down as the co-director of Serpertine Galleries, in Hyde Park, last year - and is now believed to have become a first-time mum.
Earlier today, thereported that Dame Julia has given birth to a daughter called Pia.
The London paper quoted her friend and financier Robin Saunders, who said: "This is the most exciting news!
"Julia will be a wonderful mother and role model for her daughter. I wish her happiness with Pia."
Who is Dame Julia Peyton-Jones?
- Dame Julia began her career as a painter, and studied at the Royal College of Art in the 1970s.
- She then worked as a lecturer at Edinburgh College of Art, before becoming a curator at the Hayward Gallery in 1988.
- Dame Julia joined Serpetine as a director in 1991, and stayed in the same position for an impressive 25 years.
- During this time, she oversaw a huge renovation in 1998 - and the gallery's expansion into a second builing, the Serpentine Sackler Gallery, in 2013.
- World famous artists including Damien Hirst and Yoko Ono have showcased at the gallery under Dame Julia's leadership.
- While stars such as Sir Tom Jones, Sienna Miller, Naomi Campbell, Rita Ora, Ellie Goulding and Cressida Bonas attended her leaving party last summer.
Dame Julia is currently living on the West Coast of the United States, and is said to have told close friends that she wanted to start a family.
She became a Dame in the 2016 Birthday Honours List, at around the same time as she left Serpertine for good.
The UK's oldest mother is believed to be Sue Tollefsen, from Essex, who gave birth to her only child Freya when she was 57.
Sue gave birth in 2008 - and said she never meant to delaying having kids, but her dreams of starting a family of her own became sidetracked when she became a carer for her elderly mother.
Sue and her partner Nick eventually conceived on their third attempt at IVF.