The 26-year-old stunner posed for candid snaps with her bub in a Sydney café and the shots were uploaded onto Instagram by the model’s pal, Amy Finlayson.
“Naia – little face of our future,” Amy wrote under a shot of Ward cuddling the tiny tot over her shoulder. Another image shows a clearly overjoyed Gemma cradling Naia and smiling tenderly.
The media-shy beauty gave birth in Hawaii late last year and the arrival was a surprise for many who weren’t even aware the Perth-born glamazon was expecting.
The baby news was broken by Ward’s model friend Nicole Trunfio, who posted a photo of the new mum breastfeeding with the caption: “Congratulations to my beautiful incredible friend @glouisew and her man @lettsy2106 for welcoming this little angel into the world!!!!”
Possibly in a bid to secure the new mum’s privacy, Trunfio’s Instagram image was removed shortly after being posted. The baby is the first for both Ward and her partner, fellow Aussie model David Letts.
Gemma Ward on the cover of Vogue
Gemma, who is the youngest model to grace the cover of Vogue, has shunned the spotlight since the death of her then-boyfriend, Heath Ledger. The pair, who reportedly started dating in 2007, were still in a relationship at the time of Ledger’s death in 2008 from an accidental drug overdose in New York.
“There was no one like him – and no one will ever be like him,” a heartbroken Ward told the Herald Sun after Ledger’s passing. “I’m just so grateful I got to meet him and get as close as I did with him.”
In recent years Ward has chosen to focus on her acting career and gave a critically acclaimed performance in Aussie flick, The Black Balloon and featured in big budget film, The Great Gatsby. Some have also speculated that her baby’s name, Naia, meaning water nymph according to ancient Greek mythology, was inspired by her bit part as a mermaid in the 2011 blockbuster Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.
Gemma Ward in the film, the Great Gatsby
For now though, it seems all plans to return to acting and modelling are being put on the backburner as Gemma enjoys her time as a new mum.
