Nanny McPhee star Eliza Bennett, 32, shocks fans by revealing she’s welcomed a baby girl after secret pregnancy

As star of the hit film Nanny McPhee, she was among the unruly children who needed discipline from Dame Emma Thompson’s character.

And now Eliza Bennett has a baby of her own.

The 32-year-old actress shocked fans on Tuesday when she revealed she had welcomed a baby girl with husband James Charlton after keeping her pregnancy a secret.

Eliza, who also starred in Inkheart and the Dynasty reboot, posted to Instagram a montage of videos documenting her pregnancy journey.

She revealed her birth was ‘not ideal’ and resulted in an emergency caesarean section, but it was worth it for her ‘soft and cute’ baby – whose name she has not revealed.

Eliza wrote: ‘I’ve been a bit quieter here this year for a few reasons, but mainly because I’ve been cuddling a bit. Surprise!!’

As star of the hit film Nanny McPhee, she was among the unruly children who needed discipline from the character of Dame Emma Thompson (back right with Zinnia Barnes, Sam Honywood, Thomas Sangster, Holly Gibbs, Jennifer Rae Daykin and Raphael Coleman)

She continued, “I didn’t feel the pull to share my pregnancy or birth on social media, but as the end of the year approaches, I put together this video and felt the urge to share.

‘It’s a perfect little snippet of some precious moments from 2024.

‘It’s a wild thing to have a child. In some ways pregnancy and birth can seem almost mundane, so many women are having babies, so many women I love have had babies.

‘And then I did it myself. And boy, will I never look at these women the same way. I couldn’t believe how hard it was, how difficult it is.

‘My birth was not my ideal situation; the forty-hour labor and the emergency caesarean section left me in shock for a while. It was difficult. The hardest thing I’ve ever done.

“And now I’m not sure I’ll ever get over the fact that women do this all the time, this primal physical sacrifice of their bodies. Truly amazing what women are capable of.

“Anyway, that was a long, convoluted way of saying I had a baby, and here’s an adorable video. She really is so soft and cute and I’m a big fan.’

Eliza is best known for her role as Tora in the 2005 hit Nanny McPhee.

Eliza, who also starred in Inkheart and the Dynasty reboot, took to Instagram to post a montage of videos documenting her pregnancy journey

She revealed her birth was ‘not ideal’ and resulted in an emergency caesarean section, but it was worth it for her ‘soft and cute’ baby – whose name she has not revealed

The film stars Emma Thompson as the titular character, a nanny hired by widower Cedric Brown (Colin Firth) to care for his seven rambunctious children, who have chased away all previous nannies.

Nanny McPhee is taunted by Simon (Thomas Sangster) and his siblings and uses mystical powers to instill discipline.

In 2010, a sequel called Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang was released.

Earlier this year, Eliza starred in the Hallmark movie An American in Austen.

She played Harriet, a Jane Austen enthusiast who wishes for a shooting star for her own Mr. Darcy and ends up in the universe in which Austen’s novel Pride and Prejudice is set.

On the role, she told The List: “When I told my friends I was doing a Hallmark movie, they were like, ‘A Christmas movie?’

“And I was like, ‘No, it’s not a Christmas movie,’ but I feel like they’re so iconic that it’s like an actor’s bucket list.”

She continued, “I didn’t feel the pull to share my pregnancy or birth on social media, but as the end of the year approaches, I put together this video and felt the urge to share.”

Eliza, pictured with husband James Charlton, mused: ‘It’s a wild thing to have a child… I couldn’t believe how hard it was, how difficult it is’