Jessica Alba on 1/26/08. Credit: L. Gallo / WENN
The higher up you are on the celebrity pecking order and the more babies you have, the more money the photos will fetch from the glossies. Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are said to be commanding at least $16 million for the first photos of their twins, due sometime this month. Matthew McConaughey just signed a $3 million deal with OK! Magazine for pictures of his newborn son, Levi, and Jamie Lynn Spears got around $1 million from OK! for the exclusive story of her pregnancy at 16 and the first photos of the baby.

Jessica Alba’s baby pictures fetched a respectable $1.5 million from OK! The photos were taken this week, according to TMZ, and should come out soon:

TMZ has learned Honor Marie Warren, celebuspawn of Jessica Alba and hubby Cash Warren, is now $1.5 million richer thanks to OK! Magazine.

We’re hearing the two-part deal consists of pictures of the baby now, and one other “event” — Christmas, Thanksgiving, vacation, etc. Our spy said Jessica initially turned down the offers of several weekly mags, not wanting to sell, but eventually caved.

Two-month-old Honor, we’re told, is just “adorable” and the pictures, taken this week, are “so cute.”

[From TMZ]

Celebrities who seem to have made the conscious decision not to sell photos of their children include Naomi Watts, Halle Berry, and Salma Hayek. In fact not even the paparazzi have photographed Halle’s four month old Nahla. Watts willingly showed her then-newborn, Alexander, to photographers trailing her last summer. Salma Hayek released a lovely posed photo with baby Valentina, taken by the Associated Press with no pricetag associated with it that I could tell.

On our post about the whopping $16 million bidding price for the first Brangelina twin photos, commenter Anastasia mentioned that Brad and Angelina are probably trying to do what they think is best for their children by controlling the photos and keeping the paparazzi partially at bay. She said “If they don’t do this, the paps will be practically killing people to get pictures of these babies and will probably no doubt endanger people for real to get the pics, because they can fetch a high price.”

That’s definitely true for the Brangelina twins, and maybe for the other celebrity babies as well. Alba lives in LA and she’s followed everywhere, so it could be a real concern for her.

Still it seems so much more noble just to stay at home with the little one and not bother with all the press. Save the photos and stories for your friends and family. I want to see the stars’ baby photos though, and I love to read the stories. If the celebrities want the publicity they may as well cash in.

Nicole Kidman on 5/19/08. Credit: WENN
Nicole Kidman revealed in an interview last year that she had a miscarriage right around the time that Tom Cruise filed for divorce in 2001. She said that she also suffered an ectopic pregnancy early in their marriage in 1990 and that “It was incredibly traumatic for me.” Kidman and Cruise adopted Isabella, now 15, and Connor, 13, after her first failed pregnancy.

Both Kidman, 41, and Cruise, 46, have found new partners and have biological children with them. Cruise has daughter Suri, 3, with his third wife Katie Holmes, 29, and Kidman just had her first baby with country singer and second husband, Keith Urban, 40.

Sunday Rose Kidman Urban was born Monday morning in Nicole and Keith’s hometown of Nashville, Tennessee. As a congratulatory gesture Cruise sent Kidman enough flowers to fill a whole room:

Tom Cruise sent his ex-wife and new mommy Nicole Kidman a “room full of flowers.”

Kidman and husband Keith Urban welcomed their first child, Sunday Rose Kidman Urban on July 7.

“She has had hundreds of bouquets of flowers from well-wishers,” ” a source told the UK’s Daily Mirror, noting that “Tom was one of the first people to get in touch and he sent her enough flowers to fill a room.”

[From The NY Daily News]

The originating paper is the Daily Mirror, so this could be completely made up. It does sound like something Cruise would do and it’s a nice gesture. Katie Holmes is also said to have sent Nicole a gift. She supposedly had a high end baby gift basket made up and sent to Nicole from Neiman Marcus ahead of the birth.

You can’t help but think that Nicole would rather Tom and Katie send over her children Isabella and Connor to meet their new baby sister. By most accounts the teens are not allowed to see much of their mother Nicole, who doesn’t follow their Scientology belief system or lifestyle. You hardly ever see the children photographed with Nicole and she has spoken longingly about them in interviews. When Oprah asked Tom Cruise on that massive special about him if Kidman got to see her kids, Cruise looked uncomfortable and didn’t directly answer the question. He just said “We share custody whenever. Whenever. That’s what it is.”

Whenever is just about never for Kidman. But she has a new baby of her own now, and a bunch of flowers that are going to get thrown out in less than a week.

Brad and Angelina on 1/27/08 when her pregnancy was just a rumor. Credit: PRPhotos
In the $6 million deal with People Magazine for the first photos of her rarefied twins, Jennifer Lopez reportedly stipulated that People never refer to her as “J. Lo” again.

The first photos of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s twins could fetch nearly three times the amount paid for J.Lo’s babies Max and Emme. And like Lopez, Brad and Angelina also have a moniker they’d like to shed in the deal. TMZ claims that bidding for the first photos of the fifth and sixth editions to the Brangelina clan has reached the astronomical price of $16 million. Angelina doesn’t want to put up with the blended name for her relationship any more and is throwing that into whichever contract she signs. She supposedly hates the nickname “Brangelina” and will strike it forevermore from the magazine that buys the rights to those coveted first photos:

A source in the know tells TMZ that one of the conditions of getting the J-P twins’ first pictures is that the winning mag is forbidden from using “Brangelina.” Multiple sources tell us the couple hates the moniker — but no one more than Angelina.

BTW — the bidding is now at $16 million. Take that Levi Alves McConaughey.

[From TMZ]

$16 million for photos of babies who are going to be stalked and photographed for the rest of their lives? At least it will probably all go to charity. It hardly seems worth it for the magazine it if you think about how much the babies are going to change in a few months. It’s also doubtful that whichever magazine(s) they’re featured in will sell well enough to justify that exorbitant amount. The glossies are said to be shelling out insane amounts of cash for baby and wedding photos in order to forge valuable relationships with the celebrities, not to necessarily recoup their investment in one issue.

I always thought Brangelina had a nice kind of ring to it and am surprised that it bugs Angelina so much. It’s fallen out of fashion recently, but we occasionally rely on it to write titles that are short enough to fit on our homepage. It’s kind of amusing that the name pisses Angelina off and now I want to use it more. It’s like a dumb nickname for the prom queen that seems benign but bugs the sh*t out of her. Of course you’re going to use it to refer to her behind her back whenever possible.

I’ve decided that my long-term financial plan is to either be famous or marry someone famous, and then pop out as many kids as I can so I can sell their photos to OK! and In Touch for a couple million each. I won’t act or sing or anything once I have the kids. I’ll just use childbirth as a way to make a lot of money. Sure my plan is fraught with holes, but I think it’s still the most solid thing I’ve come up with in months. And considering how much money celebs are raking in for their newborns, why wouldn’t this be a good idea?

Matthew McConaughey’s lil’ bundle of joy will be making Matt a big bundle of jack.

Our spies tell us OK! mag will shell out $3 mil for the first pics of young Levi, who was just born Monday night. And that’s not all — we’re told that the deal includes baby’s first Christmas as well.

We also hear OK! gets first right to the pics of the wedding if Matt and Cam get married — though they’ll have to pay extra for those snaps.

[From TMZ]

OK! also had the exclusive first comments from Matthew about Levi’s birth, along with an explanation of the baby’s name.

Pre-selling baby’s first Christmas is pretty masterful. Doesn’t that sound like a cute ornament to put on the tree? There can be the traditional carriage ornament for baby’s first big holiday, and then another one shaped like a dollar bill that says “Baby’s First $500,000 in the bank.” How sweet. TMZ doesn’t make any mention of what Matt and longtime girlfriend Camila Alves plan on doing with the cash. Hopefully they’ll either donate it to a charity or put it away for baby Levi.

I’m still wondering what celebs like Jennifer Lopez, Nicole Richie, and Christina Aguilera did with their hefty baby photo millions. Unlike a lot of other celebs, I haven’t heard any mention of the money going to good deeds, which makes me think it’s probably going into luxury real estate or handbags.

Photo Credits: Matthew and Camila are shown going to a party in Malibu on June 29th in the header photo. Below are the two at a Houston Dodgers/Los Angeles Astros baseball game in LA on Mother’s Day. Images thanks to Splash.

Jamie Lynn Spears appears with little Maddie in the next issue of OK! Magazine. It includes the kind of glowing “everything’s great” interview that also includes some details about her day to day life with the baby. OK! reports that Jamie Lynn had a natural birth and didn’t have a c-section as some outlets reported. It also sounds like she nurses her baby, but she only hints at that. I’m only going on what the website has, though, and it’s possible there is more concrete information in the print version.

Around here, everyone has the same focus,” Jamie Lynn tells OK!. “The focus is family, and that’s a good way to live.”

The 17-year-old actress opens up to OK! about everything — from taking parenting classes to life inside the new home she shares with Maddie and boyfriend Casey Aldridge, to her first experience with labor pains.

“They’d told me it would be an eight- to 12-hour labor, and I was ready to have the baby in three to four hours,” Jamie Lynn tells OK!. “I had a perfect pregnancy and a perfect delivery. I was very blessed.”

While the former Zoey 101 star and her fiancé have not yet set a date for their wedding, the couple remains closer than ever. Jamie Lynn, who tells OK! that while her labor was induced, she gave birth naturally and without complications, says that Casey was the one person she wanted in the delivery room with her.

“Once I got in there, my doctor was just so calm and so good it was not bad at all,” she says. “I was just talking to Casey. And you know what’s so weird? I was asking him if he was okay. He was like, ‘Yeah.’ We were both so excited.”

A baby nursery is set up for little Maddie at the other end of the house, but for now her proud parents like having her next to them at night, so she sleeps in a bassinet in the same room as Jamie Lynn and Casey.

“She is very good,” says Jamie Lynn. “She’ll feed every two or three hours. When she wakes up in the middle of the night, I’ll feed her and she goes right back to sleep. There’s no screaming and crying.”

The proud mama continues, “We get up in the morning, and she gets her little bath. Then I get my bath. We have a routine, and I love routines. I’ve worked one out with her, and we’re happy going about our little life.”

[From OK! Magazine]

The baby sure is cute and Jamie seems like a devoted and caring young mother. She’s only 17 but she manages to sound mature in the interview and like she did her best to prepare for motherhood. It’s a great idea to have the baby sleep in the same room with you and we did that when my son was born. We got a lot more sleep than having him in another room.

This week’s National Enquirer reports that Jamie Lynn wasn’t happy with her mom’s deal with OK! for the first photos of Maddie. Lynne made the reported $1 million deal with OK! back when they shockingly announced then 16-year-old Jamie Lynn’s pregnancy in the magazine. Jamie Lynn is said to want to keep Maddie out of the spotlight because she wants to avoid the media circus that surrounds her sister, Britney, and her two sons. It was too late to back out at this point, though, so she did her best with the interview and photo shoot. Jamie Lynn and Lynne are also said to be fighting because Lynne plans to return to LA soon to help Britney.

Now that OK! Magazine has the exclusive first story that Matthew McConaughey and Camila Alves have named their first child Levi, I think there’s little doubt that we can look forward to seeing the baby’s debut in the pages of OK!.

I figured Matt might name his kid after some moderately obscure God of leisure, but no, he named him after the world’s most famous brand of jeans. They have a biblical explanation for choosing the name, though, and Matt explains that Levi is another name for the apostle Matthew, and that his son was born at a very significant time. Alves is Levi’s middle name, and he will not have a hyphenated last name.

Explaining how they came up with the name for their baby boy, Matthew tells OK!, “Levi was another name for the apostle Matthew in The Bible. They were, in fact, two names for the same person.

“Our son was born at 6:22 pm, and this particular time represents my favorite verse in the book of Matthew in The Bible: ‘If thy eye be single, thy whole body will be full of light.’”

Baby Levi’s middle name is taken directly from his mother Camila’s last name. “We wanted to incorporate her family name,” explains the proud new father.

To all the well-wishers and fans, Matthew and Camila have also released the following statement:

“We welcome Levi Alves McConaughey into this wonderful life and look forward to living in it with him. In the mean time and all times, just keep livin’.”
—Matthew David McConaughey and Camila Maria Saraiva de Araujo Alves

[From OK! Magazine]

Camila’s full name is so regal-sounding. I love those multiple South American names, like in a Gabriel García Marquéz novel.

Considering that Matt has an older brother who named his kid “Miller Lyte” in a warped tribute to his favorite brand of beer, Levi isn’t that bad a choice. It’s like Matt figured he may as well honor his jeans as well as the bible. Because kids bring an element of the sacred to everyday life.

Congratulations to Matthew David McConaughey and Camila Maria Saraiva de Araujo Alves on their new arrival, Levi Alves McConaughey.

Some of you have expressed skepticism about the name “Sunday” for a girl. Although it’s a bit unconventional, I think it’s a lovely and perfectly acceptable name. There are a couple of stories speculating why Nicole and Keith picked the name Sunday Rose Kidman Urban for their baby daughter, born yesterday. US Weekly spoke with a baby name expert, and MSNBC’s The Scoop has some insider information about their possible inspirations for the name:

The Scoop: Keith had a song named “Sunday,” and it has the dual meaning of church day for Christians, a subtle dig at Nicole’s bad experience with Scientology:

What was the couple thinking? One Kidman source said that before the birth, Urban penned a song titled “Sunday” about his little miracle-to-be. “(Urban and Kidman) knew the sex of the baby beforehand, and once Keith wrote the song, they thought it was the perfect name for their baby,” said the Kidman source. “They really didn’t know she’d almost be born on Sunday.”

Another source said the name is her last jab at Scientology. “Nicole is a Catholic, and Sunday was an important religious day for her until she was involved in Scientology,” said the source. “She’s still bitter about her experience with Scientology and the fact her baby’s name could be perceived as one last jab doesn’t exactly upset her.”

[From MSNBC’s The Scoop]

US Weekly: African tribes used to name babies by the day of the week, and Nicole and Keith had a vacation in the “Witsundays” island chain near her hometown

“Sunday is one of the next generation of word names,” explains Satran. “But it also harkens back to the ancient tradition of day-naming as practiced by many African tribes and originally brought to America by the early slaves.”

Other famous day names? Actress Tuesday Weld, the character Wednesday Addams and Robinson Crusoe’s Friday.

“Some modern parents like Sunday because of its spiritual element, which connects to such other starbaby names as Angelina and Brad’s son Pax and pop names like Nevaeh,” Satran adds.

Sunday emulates Suri because both “unusual first names begin with Su and have two syllables,” says Satran.

The name also represents Whitsundays, an island chain off the coast of Queensland, Australia – where Kidman and Urban celebrated her 40th birthday – and it is a day of prayer in Kidman’s Catholic religion.

Satran says Rose is the “starbaby middle name of the decade.”

[From US Weekly]

And commenter “Rio” mentioned one meaning for “Sunday” that both articles missed, the saying “Sunday’s child is full of grace” from the children’s nursery rhyme. Being born on a Monday and with such attractive parents, Sunday should also be “fair of face,” as the song goes.

As far as celebrity baby names go, this is a pretty good choice when pitted against Sunday’s small peers and some of their eccentric names. We’ll have to see what Matthew McConaughey and his girlfriend name their newborn son, born on the same day as Sunday. I have a feeling it will have a spiritual meaning, and hopefully Camila will make sure it’s not too stigmatizing a name for the little one.

Update: People Magazine reports that Nicole’s father suggested the name after an artist’s muse he read about named “Sunday Reed”. Nicole and Keith visited an exhibition by Reed’s late partner, one of Australia’s leading modern artists, earlier this year:

The beautiful baby girl, who was born on July 7 in Nashville to parents Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban, is named after early 20th-century artist’s muse Sunday Reed, PEOPLE has confirmed. Her middle name, Rose, is a nod to Urban’s late grandmother Rose.

“I have read a bit about Sunday Reed and her husband John – she was a key mover and shaker in the arts around the beginning of the century,” Kidman’s father Antony told Australian newspaper The Daily Telegraph. “The name Sunday struck me as being a nice name for a woman, so my wife and I mentioned it.”

The paper reports that in January, Kidman and Urban visited an exhibition by artist Sidney Nolan, who had a longtime relationship with Reed who became his muse.

[From People.com]

Matthew McConaughey’s son and Nicole Kidman’s daughter, Sunday, share the same Monday birthday of 7/7/08. Matthew and his girlfriend, Brazilian model Camila Alves, welcomed a baby boy at 6:22 p.m. in LA yesterday, reports People Magazine. McConaughey’s rep confirmed the birth, and said the newborn weighed 7 lbs., 4 oz. There is no word yet as to the baby’s name.

In recent interviews McConaughey spoke candidly about looking forward to being a father and having an active role in his child’s life. He called fatherhood his next journey, saying “to be the architect of a little creature’s life is my next big adventure and I can’t wait for it to begin.” When asked what he’s looking forward to he said “every single day” and that he’ll definitely be changing diapers. Matthew seems like he’ll be an attentive and enthusiastic dad.

Congratulations to Camila and Matthew and best wishes for a wonderful life with their new addition.

Update: OK! Magazine had this exclusive statement from Matthew McConaughey. Do you think that means they’ve already negotiated a deal for the photos?

“A healthy baby boy was born,” Matthew tells OK! in an exclusive statement. “Camila and I were side by side the entire time. We are both tired and elated, and are so happy to have created the greatest miracle in the world — Having a child and making a family. Now comes the greatest adventure — raising one, together.”

[From OK!]

Update 2: The baby’s name is Levi Alves McConaughey. Here’s a story with more details on why Matt chose the name.

Photo Credits: Matthew and Camila are shown going to a party in Malibu on 6/29/08, thanks to Splash News.

Some celebrities seem pregnant forever, some try to hide their pregnancy as long as possible and keep their due date is a mystery, and others don’t seem pregnant at all despite all their efforts to let us know. Nicole Kidman, whose mother hinted to the Australian press that she was due in July, gave birth to a baby girl in Nashville this morning. Nicole didn’t seem to show much and I would have guessed she had at least a month or two more to go.

There are no other details from People.com, except an insider quote that Nicole’s “never been happier and healthier.”

Over the weekend Nicole’s husband, Keith Urban, told concertgoers in Nashville that he wanted to dedicate his song “Better Half” to his “very, very, very, very, VERY pregnant wife.”

Congratulations to Nicole and Keith and we hope mother and baby are doing well. These two seem like the type to pose for photos with their newborn and I bet we’ll be seeing that spread in a month or two.

Update: People has provided more details in their story. The baby is called Sunday Rose Kidman Urban and weighed a healthy 6 lbs., 7.5 oz. Nicole’s spokesperson said “Husband Keith was by Nicole’s side, and mother and baby are very well.”

Though they haven’t even been born yet, the mayor of Nice, France is already bestowing quite a bit of praise on Brangelina’s upcoming double bundles of joy. He’s praised them quite a bit, and has announced that the children will be honorary citizens of Nice for the rest of their lives. They’ll also have the opportunity to apply for French citizenship when they turn 18.

They’ll always have Nice. Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt’s soon-to-be-born twins will always be considered honorary citizens of Nice, regardless of whether they opt to obtain French citizenship, the mayor of Nice said Friday.

“That is for the citizens of Nice a very great honor and a great satisfaction,” mayor Christian Estrosi said. “We are very happy for this choice of Mrs. Angelina Jolie and Mr. Brad Pitt and I want to say to them that I wish a lot of joy to them and the babies, and great success for all of their lives.”

The mayor affectionately called the twins “two little Nicois.”

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.

“All their lives they will be Nicois and all their life they will be able to come to Nice and we will receive them with great honor,” Estrosi said. He was waiting eagerly to extend his congratulations on behalf of all the city’s residents.

[From the Huffington Post]

That’s really sweet. Somehow the mayor sounds so into it, I imagine him giving his speech with little squeals of delight or something. Angelina is expected to give birth in the next couple of weeks, but no one can really narrow it down beyond that. With twins it’s very rare to go full term, but her doctor has said she has a ways to go.

Brad has been bringing their children to visit her – in batches, since there’s a lot of them. Between all of their traveling, it seems like the whole bunch of them would be better off getting some kind of all-encompassing citizenship. I realize that doesn’t exist, but – as with most things - I’m pretty sure everyone is willing to make an exception for the Brangelinas.

Here’s what I’m told is Brad Pitt looking through the window at Lenval hospital on July 2nd. Header of the couple at the Changeling premiere in Cannes on May 20th. Images thanks to WENN.