Brigitte Nielsen knows what you’re thinking. At age 60, she’s far too old to be a mom to a 5-year old.

“Half the world was saying that when I got pregnant at 55 — including my four older sons,” says Nielsen,

who gave birth to her daughter Frida, 5, when she was 55. (She’s also mom to four older sons, who range in age from 28-39.)

Brigitte Nielsen and daughter Frida. PHOTO: 

MONICA GUMM

“But first of all, there’s no such thing as ‘too old,’ ” she tells PEOPLE exclusively in this week’s issue.

“We don’t say that to men who have children in their 60s, 70s, even 80s!” She adds, “Look at Robert De Niro. He’s 79, and he has a 7-month-old.”

In fact, Nielsen would argue that her wisdom and age make her an awesome parent.

“You know how kids say grandmothers are the best? I feel like I have that mindset and emotion. I have the patience and that extra bit of love to give now, and I think it’s because I’m a grandmother’s age.”

She continues, “When I was a younger mom, I was often juggling being single, being on a plane, on a movie set. Now Frida comes first.” She adds that she’s surprisingly even less tired now than she was with her earlier kids.

Nielsen, who now lives in Marbella, Spain, with her Italian husband Mattia Dessi, 45 (they got together when she was 42 and he was 27), says she couldn’t be happier with how her life has shaped out, in every way. She no longer drinks or smokes, and has the freedom to devote her world to her daughter.

“I had a long time to prepare for Frida,” Nielsen says, noting that she and Dessi did IVF for 13 years before it worked.

“The doctor warned me to be realistic about my chances. He told me I had a two and a half percent chance of getting pregnant, so when it finally happened, it was just amazing. And then there was fear, because I was such high-risk, being 54.”

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It turned out she didn’t need to worry. “It was the easiest pregnancy I ever had,” she says. “Maybe because I had done it four times before, and my priorities had shifted. It was a deep, deep desire within me and a choice.”

She adds, “But with Frida I could have been pregnant for another year. When I finally gave birth, it was all so easy and brilliant.”

For exclusive photos and more on Brigitte Nielsen’s story, pick up this week’s issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Monday.