Celebrity moms who make action movies

By Bryanne Salazar 5:57am PDT, Aug 1, 2018

On Aug. 3, 2018, actress, producer and mother-of-two Mila Kunis teams up with "Saturday Night Live" comedian Kate McKinnon in the wildly funny action flick "The Spy Who Dumped Me." The film about two best friends who get caught up in an international mystery caper is Mila's newest movie since 2017's "Bad Moms Christmas." Since becoming a first-time mother in 2014, the talented actress has stuck to making just one film a year as she continues to voice Meg on "Family Guy" so that she can enjoy more time with her kids and husband, Ashton Kutcher. In honor of her new movie, Wonderwall.com is taking a look at more Hollywood leading ladies who've made action flicks after welcoming children. Keep reading for more…

Another bad a– mama in Hollywood is Jennifer Garner, who, before becoming a mom of three, was the star of an action-packed TV series, "Alias," as well as the superhero movie "Elektra." On Sept. 7, 2018, Jen will star in the action-thriller "Peppermint," which tells the story of a mom who's out for revenge after her family is brutally murdered.

In 2014 — the same year British actress Emily Blunt gave birth to her first child — she starred in the action flick "The Edge of Tomorrow" opposite Tom Cruise. The next year, she returned to the big screen in yet another action role as FBI agent Kate Macer in "Sicario." Then in 2016 — the year Emily and husband John Krasinski welcomed their second child — she played Queen Freya in the action-adventure "The Huntsman: Winter's War," proving motherhood was no obstacle in her high-octane film career.

In 2003, mom-of-two Jada Pinkett Smith starred in not one but two epic action films — "The Matrix Reloaded" and "The Matrix Revolutions" — as Niobe, the supremely awesome captain and member of the resistance. While Jada, who's been married to Will Smith since 1997, has starred in numerous films since then, she hasn't had another juicy action role… yet. Rumor has it that in 2019, Jada will star alongside Morgan Freeman and Gerard Butler in the action-thriller "Angel Has Fallen."

Oscar-winning actress, producer and mom-of-two Charlize Theron has starred in numerous action films since becoming a mother in 2011. The South African star has taken on meaty roles post-motherhood in action movies like "Mad Max: Fury Road," "The Huntsman: Winter's War," "Atomic Blonde" (seen here), "The Fate of the Furious" and, most recently, in 2018's "Gringo." Even more exciting is the news that Charlize will be reprising her role as MI6 agent Lorraine Broughton in "Atomic Blonde 2."

Gal Gadot was already a mom of one when she landed the superhero role of a lifetime in 2017's action-packed "Wonder Woman" and "Justice League." Plus she was pregnant with her second daughter when she did reshoots for "Wonder Woman." The actress and former member of the Israeli Defense Forces — who also once starred in the "Fast and Furious" film franchise — has four more action films in the works including 2019's "Wonder Woman 1984."

Before Angelina Jolie met and fell in love with Brad Pitt on the set of their 2005 spy-action film "Mr. & Mrs. Smith," she'd already become a mother with the adoption of son Maddox in 2002. Daughter Zahara joined the family the same year the film came out, and Angie gave birth to daughter Shiloh in 2006. Many years and three more kids later, Angelina tackled four more action flicks including "Wanted," "Salt" and "Maleficent." In 2020, Angie's returning to the big screen in the action-packed fantasy sequel "Maleficent 2."

After actress Angela Bassett became a mom to fraternal twins in 2006, she continued to heat up the big screen in numerous action films including "Green Lantern," "This Means War," "London Has Fallen" and, most recently, the blockbuster superhero hit "Black Panther" (seen here). In July 2018, Angela returned to the franchise action-thriller "Mission: Impossible – Fallout," which she'll follow with a role in the December 2018 sci-fi action-adventure movie "Bumblebee."

In 2014, Scarlett Johansson welcomed daughter Rose Dauriac into the world and debuted two new action flicks — Marvel's "Captain America: Winter Soldier" and the sci-fi adventure "Lucy." Since then, she's gone on to star in four more action films including 2018's "Avengers: Infinity War" (seen here), in which she reprised her role as Natasha Romanoff, aka Black Widow. Along with a 2019 "Avengers" sequel, ScarJo will also star in a Black Widow standalone movie in the coming years.

Actress and mom-of-two Bryce Dallas Howard has been parenting since 2007 while also starring in several major action films including the superhero adventure "Spider-Man 3," "Terminator Salvation" and 2015's epic dinosaur adventure "Jurassic World." In 2018, Bryce returned to the big screen with the action-packed sequel "Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom" alongside Chris Pratt (seen here). In 2021, the duo will reprise their roles for "Jurassic World 3."

Former "Lost" star Evangeline Lilly became a mom in 2011 but continued to slay on-screen in action flicks like "Real Steel" and 2015's "Ant-Man" (seen here). After welcoming her second child in 2015, Evangeline wasted no time getting in shape to begin filming the superhero action-adventure sequel "Ant-Man and the Wasp," which debuted in theaters in 2018. She's set to reprise her Wasp role in the next "Avengers" sequel due in theaters in 2019.

Actress, mom-of-three and all-around bad a– Zoe Saldana endured a grueling filming schedule while pregnant with her first two children, twins Cy and Bowie Perego-Saldana, in 2014. In addition to shooting the superhero action-adventure blockbuster "Guardians of the Galaxy" (seen here) early in her pregnancy, she was also filming the TV miniseries "Rosemary's Baby" and lending her voice to the animated adventure "The Book of Life." Zoe went on to star in more action flicks including "Star Trek: Beyond" and "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2." Zoe has said she was almost written out of one of her projects and was given a hard time for requesting on-site childcare, explaining that the studio told her, "Nope, we don't pay for nannies." In 2018, Zoe reprised her role as Gamora in the superhero action-adventure blockbuster "Avengers: Infinity War" and started production on the first of four upcoming "Avatar" sequels, the first of which will arrive in theaters in 2020.

Swedish actress Rebecca Ferguson, who's best known for her roles in action films like 2014's "Hercules" and the "Mission: Impossible" franchise, became a mom in 2007 but didn't let it stop her from kicking but on the big screen. In 2018, Rebecca gave birth to her second child and returned as spy Ilsa Faust in the high-octane sequel "Mission: Impossible – Fallout." And yes, she was pregnant during the latter part of filming, which makes her intensely physical performance that much more impressive.

Neve Campbell, who rose to fame in the '90s on the series "Party of Five," gave birth to her and partner JJ Field's first child, Caspian, in 2012. The couple adopted their second child in 2018. After starring in several TV movies and series including "House of Cards," Neve tried her hand at action-packed fare in the 2018 summer blockbuster "Skyscraper" co-starring Dwayne Johnson. The movie, about a father who will stop at nothing to save his family, is Neve's first foray into the world of action films, but hopefully not her last.

Sandra Bullock became a mother in 2010 when she adopted her first child, son Louis Bardo. The Oscar winner, who rose to fame as an action star in films like "Speed" and "The Net," has continued her on-screen domination with action films like 2013's "The Heat" (co-starring Melissa McCarthy, seen here) and "Gravity."

Australian actress and mom-of-four Cate Blanchet has numerous action films under her belt, proving moms can seriously bring the heat on the big screen. Since welcoming her first child to the world in 2001, Cate's starred in several action flicks including 2010's "Robin Hood" and 2017's "Thor: Ragnarok" (seen here).

The same year actress and mom-of-three Uma Thurman welcomed her first child into the world, she starred in the 1998 action-adventure movie "The Avengers," a film about two intelligence agents who work together to stop a madman from destroying the world (it's unrelated to the Marvel Cinematic Universe). While she's known for having made many great movies during her illustrious career, Uma's most notorious role is undoubtedly as The Bride in the Quentin Tarantino action-thrillers "Kill Bill: Vol. 1" and "Kill Bill: Vol. 2" (seen here). In those films, Uma's character seeks revenge on the assassins who betrayed her after she left their team.

Oscar-winning actress and mom-of-two Julianne Moore welcomed her first child in 1997, the same year she starred in the action-adventure movie "The Lost World: Jurassic Park." Ten years later, Julianne returned to the big screen in another action flick, "Next," which was about a magician from Las Vegas with the power to predict the future. More action films followed including the 2014 fast-paced thriller "Non-Stop" with Liam Neeson and the 2017 spy-drama "Kingsman: The Golden Circle," in which she played Poppy, a drug kingpin (queenpin?) and criminal mastermind (seen here). Although Julianne has numerous movies lined up for 2018 and beyond, none, as of yet, are action films.

Paula Patton became a mom in 2010 and just one year later was kicking butt on the big screen in the action-thriller "Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol" (seen here). In 2013, she once again slayed in the shoot-'em-up action-comedy "2 Guns" alongside Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg. Paula's most recent action flick was the 2016 fantasy-adventure "Warcraft: The Beginning" in which she played the interspecies warrior Garona.

Oscar-nominated actress and mom-of-two Melissa McCarthy might be known for her comedy roles, but she's no stranger to action flicks. Seen here in 2016's "Ghostbusters" (alongside Chris Hemsworth), Melissa — who became a mom back in 2007 — proved that nail-biting action scenes can go hand-in-hand with non-stop laughter. Other action films Melissa's starred in include 2013's "The Heat" with Sandra Bullock and the 2015 crime-comedy "Spy" co-starring Jude Law, Jason Statham and Rose Byrne.

Although it's been a while since Liv Tyler, an actress and mom of three, starred in any action flicks, we can't forget her 2008 role as Betty Ross in the superhero action-adventure movie "The Incredible Hulk" alongside Edward Norton (seen here). Liv, who became a first-time mom in 2004, wouldn't return to an action movie until 2010's "Super," which centers around a regular guy who transforms himself into a flailing superhero.

"Empire" star Taraji P. Henson has been a mom longer than she's been an actress. Since her career began in 1997, Taraji's starred in several action flicks including 2005's "Brothers" and 2018's "Proud Mary" (seen here) in which she played the titular assassin-turned-savior.

The same year Swedish actress Malin Akerman became a mom, she starred in the 2013 high-speed action-thriller "The Numbers Station" alongside John Cusack. Her next action flick wouldn't come until 2018 when she played Claire Wyden, the evil head of Energyne, in the sci-fi adventure "Rampage" (seen here) co-starring Dwayne Johnson.