Hilary Swank, 52, responds to backlash over claims she's 'too old' to be pregnant

The pregnancy of actress Hilary Swank appears to have disturbed a portion of the public.

Just this week, the double Oscar-winner - she clinched Best Actress prizes for her performances in 1999's Boys Don't Cry and 2004's Million Dollar Baby - announced that she and her husband Philip Schneider were expecting their third child together, after welcoming twins Aya and Ohm three years ago.

Although their news delighted many, it's always the naysayers who react the loudest, and in a preview clip from Swank's upcoming appearance on The Drew Barrymore Show, the 52-year-old reflects on society's warped standards for women.

In the episode, which is due to air next week, Swank tells the host: "There's a lot of backlash women get for having children older but not men, which is interesting".

Barrymore echoed her guest's sentiment by pointing out how men 'have babies in their, like, 80s, and that's not a euphemism or a joke'.

One such later-in-life father is none other than Al Pacino, whose girlfriend at the time Noor Alfallah birthed his son Roman when the Hollywood legend was 83.

"You had kids in your 40s, and people weren't always gracious about it," added the 50 First Dates star.

Swank, who's also known for working with director Christopher Nolan on 2002's underrated Insomnia and Showtime's psychological drama Yellowjackets, then revealed how one lady had approached her on the street to bark, 'How dare you? You're too old'.

This woman contextualised her criticism by telling Swank that her dad was her 'favourite person' and that he'd passed away when she was in her 20s.

"I related to it because my dad also passed, but he was one of my favourite people on earth," she said. "I thought to myself, 'Well, I would rather be born and have that person that was my favourite person and experience that than not at all."

This comes after Swank discussed her delayed motherhood with PEOPLE earlier in the year.

"It just worked out that I had babies this much later in life," she explained to the publication.

"It wasn't that I didn't want them earlier. There were a lot of things that kept that from happening, and so I can really take time to be with them."

According to her, it was always the intention to one day become a mother, but there was never a formalised plan to reach this ambition as high-profile work took priority.

"I knew I wanted kids someday, but I wasn't planning what that would look like. I know it's so different for everyone, but for me, if I had had a kid in my 20s or my 30s, I think I'd be a much different parent than I am now.

"I feel like I have that more kind of ability to really give them my attention in a way that I wouldn't have as much at that point because it would've been pulled between the two in a very distinct way," Swank added.

"In my career being so established, I have the ability to kind of step in and step out when I choose, and that is just such a blessing."