After 14 Years and Countless Setbacks, Julie Mintz Welcomes Her Miracle Baby at 47

When Julie Mintz froze her eggs at 33, she never imagined it would take 14 years—and a string of heartbreaking obstacles—before she’d meet her daughter.

This May, the 47-year-old Los Angeles-based singer finally welcomed baby Ophelia Laurette, conceived from one of the 28 eggs she froze in 2011.

Planning for the Future

Mintz always knew she wanted to become a mom. Living in a big city, where finding a partner can be tough, she decided freezing her eggs would be a smart backup plan.

“I thought it would be a really good insurance policy,” she told PEOPLE.

At first, she believed she’d never need to use them. But by 39, still single, she considered freezing more. Her doctor discouraged it, assuring her the original 28 eggs could yield two children. She also had a history of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome, so she skipped the second round—a choice she later called “the first error in my whole process.”

One Setback After Another

Mintz met her partner, Stephen, at 41. They tried to conceive naturally, but her PCOS made it difficult. At 42, she decided to use her frozen eggs.

After a full year of bloodwork and genetic testing, they discovered they were both carriers of Wilson disease, a rare condition that gave any embryo a 25% chance of being affected. Creating a custom genetic probe delayed the process further.

At 44, she thawed half of her frozen eggs—but none survived. “Thank God I only thawed half,” she said. The second batch yielded just one viable egg.

A Tough Road to Motherhood

Still determined to carry the pregnancy herself, Mintz underwent surgery to remove a uterine polyp. But the procedure failed due to a broken surgical tool. Doctors also discovered she had an incompetent cervix and a clotting disorder. They advised her against carrying a pregnancy.

“It felt like fiction,” she said. “Like, how could all of this happen to one person?”

Between ages 44 and 46, she went through nine more egg retrievals across the country. None resulted in a backup embryo. “It was basically psychological torture,” she recalled.

A New Hope—and a Joyful Moment

At 46, Mintz matched with a surrogate she calls “a unicorn.” After even more delays, the embryo transfer happened in September 2024—while Mintz was on tour in Europe.

At midnight, during rehearsals, her doctor called. She was pregnant. “I threw my arms up in the air, and then Moby threw his arms up… I think he knew what it meant.”

On May 18, 2025, baby Ophelia was born. Mintz cut the umbilical cord herself and called the experience “the ultimate gift.”

Helping Others Through the Journey

Inspired by her experience, Mintz created the Midsummer Dream Grant, a fund designed to help others struggling with infertility.

“One thing I’d tell my younger self,” she said, “is that I’m proud I had the foresight to freeze my eggs.”

Her miracle baby, Ophelia, came from just one egg frozen at age 33. “If I hadn’t done that, I wouldn’t have her.”