A special choice! While reflecting on her connection with her daughter, Diane Kruger revealed the inspiration behind her child’s name — Nova Tennessee.
“I had her late in life at 42, and [fiancé Norman Reedus] had a child when he was much younger. Nova in Latin means new beginning, and a nova star keeps changing and is reborn,” Kruger, 45, who shares the 3-year-old with The Walking Dead alum, 53, told People on Wednesday, May 11. “And we love Tennessee and the Smoky Mountains, we do motorcycle trips there.”
The National Treasure actress explained that it was important for her to choose the perfect name. “I remember coming home crying because kids were making fun of my name,” she shared, adding that her mom chose the moniker based on the Roman goddess Diana. “It truly changed my life. And how I see myself today.”
The Germany native also admitted that she was surprised by “how much” she loves motherhood.
“I wanted to be a mom and I was sure I was going to like it, but just the magnitude of wanting to be there every second, not missing a thing,” Kruger noted. “So many things at my age, you’ve done a thousand times, but just seeing it through her eyes again. Whether it’s having ice cream for the first time or seeing snow for the first time there’s just something so refreshing and simple about that life as mother and daughter that I’ve just found magnificent.”
For the former model, her little one couldn’t have been born at a better time. “[Nova] was a surprise. I thought it wasn’t going to happen, and she came into my life when I was ready,” Kruger said. “I’m grateful that happened for me and our family. She’s changed my world and the way I look at everything.”
Kruger has previously opened up about choosing to grow her family later in life.
“I am so glad I did not have a kid at 30,” she told the Sunday Telegraph in January 2022. “I think I would have absolutely resented it for all the things that you have to give up because today I am happy to do so. I have been to every party, I have been to every country that I wanted to visit. So I’m 100 percent ready and willing to give my kid that attention.”
The Inglourious Basterds star praised Reedus for his “calm” nature when it comes to raising children. The actor is also the father of son Mingus, 22, with his ex Helena Christensen. “He teaches me a lot because he’s done it before,” Kruger told Porter Edit in January 2019. “There’s definitely something to be said for being with someone who is doing it for the second time.”
Kruger and Reedus originally met on the set of Sky in 2016. The couple sparked romance rumors after the Troy star’s split from Joshua Jackson following 10 years of dating. Jackson, 43, for his part, moved on with Jodie Turner-Smith in 2018 and they welcomed a daughter two years later.
