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Jennifer Hawkins Opens Up About Fertility Struggles And Life With Baby Frankie

The model-mogul and her five-month-old daughter are our new cover stars.

By Marie Claire

March 31 2020

The below is a preview of our May cover story with Jennifer Hawkins. Read the full interview and see the shoot in our new issue, on sale Thursday April 2.

Resplendent in a rose-pink Prada gown, Jennifer Hawkins is working the camera. For the model – who shot to stardom as Miss Universe in 2004, going on to become the face of Myer, the host of Australia’s Next Model and now a successful entrepreneur – today is a particularly special shoot: the first with her baby girl, Frankie. She holds the five-month-old close to her chest, then lifts her lovingly to the ceiling, gazing into her eyes.

After experiencing a miscarriage and then being diagnosed with Stage 4 endometriosis, Hawkins says she feels “overwhelming gratitude” every time she looks at Frankie. “There were moments when I honestly thought that I might not be able to have a baby,” she shares. “It was really difficult to even think that and I was scared to say it out loud.”

Image: Steven Chee/Marie Claire

Her two-year struggle to conceive, she says, was a period of immense personal growth. Now she’s in state of bliss and cherishing every day with Frankie. “It’s the best thing I’ve ever done. I feel more content than I’ve ever been,” says Hawkins. “There’s so much love flowing through my body.”

Love: it's exactly what we all need right now (not to mention compassion, kindness and some of those baby cuddles!). Hawkins agrees: “I want Frankie to have a strong voice and be her own grounded woman, but I also want to teach her to be humble and kind along the way, because you feel better when you treat people better.”