Reports were rife again that Angelina Jolie has finally delivered the twins, but according to French Daily Newspaper Nice-Matin, this time it's actually true.
Probably the most famous twins in the world, before they were even born, have finally arrived at the Lenval Hospital where Angelina Jolie checked into early in July, the Nice-Matin newspaper reported Sunday quoting her gynecologist.
The babies, a boy, Knox Leon, and a girl, Vivienne Marcheline, weighted around five pounds each and were born via caesarian section little before 8:00 p.m. on Saturday. Knox arrived first and Vivienne followed shortly.
Vivienne’s middle name was reportedly chosen to honor Angelina Jolie's French-Canadian mother, Marcheline Bertrand, who lost a battle with ovarian cancer last year. Knox was the middle of name of Brad Pitt’s maternal grandfather. In the meantime, lawyers for Jolie and Pitt were quick to snap up the Internet domain names KnoxLeon.com and VivienneMarcheline.com.
The French report, which also claimed the twin's first photograph was sold to a US paper for $11 million that will be given to a humanitarian cause, was confirmed by Michael Sussmann.
In a statement to People magazine, Sussmann said "The babies are doing well. The operation went just perfectly. Angelina is in very good spirits. Brad Pitt was at her side. He was there and all was well."
The new members of the Jolie-Pitt family are the fifth and sixth children joining the supercouple's three adopted kids Maddox, 6, Pax, 4, Zahara, 3, and biological daughter Shiloh, 2.
"The mother and father are very, very happy," Sussmann added. He also spoke about Brad Pitt.
"He was perfectly calm and everything went well,"
Sussmann said. "He was very happy ... The emotion was very strong for
him," the doctor added.
Jolie has spent the last two weeks at the French Riviera maternity clinic preparing for the birth. Pitt was spotted visiting Jolie after her hospitalization became public.
Last week, Sussmann held a press conference to announce reporters everything was going well and the babies were due "in the weeks to come."
The doctor now told the Associated Press that the cesarean pushed forward "for medical reasons" so that the babies could be born "in the best conditions." The actress is expected to remain hospitalized for several days.
The twins are Jolie and partner Brad Pitt’s fifth and sixth
children, siblings to their brood of four: Cambodian-born Maddox, 6; daughter
Zahara, 3, from Ethiopia;
Vietnamese-born Pax, 4, and biological daughter Shiloh, 2, born in Namibia.
Speculation regarding a certain expansion of Jolie’s waist
began long ago but it was only in late May, at the Cannes Film Festival, that
the 33-year-old confirmed she was expecting twins.
Last month, in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, she
confessed that finding out she was pregnant with twins had been a “shock.” Once
over the astonishment however, Jolie discovered that unlike other women who
complain of morning sickness, sore backs, mood swings, the dreaded inflation of
the silhouette and what not, she felt quite happy and comfortable being
pregnant. “As a woman you’re just so round and full,” she said.
Jolie, Pitt and their four children have been in France for
several weeks now. It has been speculated that they chose France in order
to honor Jolie’s late mother, actress Marcheline Bertrand.
The couple plans to spend a while in France,
considering they have signed a three-year lease on an estate in the French
Riviera. Entertainment news sources reported in May that the Jolie-Pitts
acquired a $60 million 1,000-acre estate called Chateau Miraval, located in a
tiny village called Brignol in the Var.
The property allegedly has 35 bedrooms, swimming pool, billiards
room, indoor pool, gyms, sauna and jacuzzi and a huge banquet hall. The castle
is reportedly very intimate, with a driveway three miles long. The place is
surrounded by forest on all sides and is close to Aix en Provence.
The Jolie-Pitts could very well organize play dates for
their children with the offspring of their very famous French Riviera area
neighbors, Bono and wife Ali Hewson and Johnny Depp and Vanessa Paradis.
Asked at one point whether her children would be learning
French, Jolie replied “it’s a second language in our home,” and that Maddox,
Pax, Zahara and Shiloh are already practicing.
Last week, the mayor of Nice, Christian Estrosi announced
that the twins will be honorary citizens of Nice, France
for the rest of their lives. They will also have the opportunity to apply for
French citizenship when they turn 18.
"That is for the citizens of Nice a very great honor
and a great satisfaction," mayor Estrosi said at the time.
Generally, being born in France
is not enough to confer citizenship, but according to the French Foreign
Ministry website, the twins will have the option of obtaining French
citizenship when they turn 18 as long as France has been their primary
residence for at least 5 years after age 11.
According to Usmagazine.com, the actress has already started
to receive visitors, with her brother, James Haven, being the first.
"There is a buzz at the clinic. The babies are resting,
as is Jolie. They haven't [been] crying yet, so it just feels very peaceful,"
an insider was quoted by the celebrity website as saying.
