In today's issue
Return of the mummy
There's JLo's pregnancy, Meg Ryan's adoption and Madonna's best celebrity mum tag. Motherhood remains a pregnant issue in Hollywood in the new year, finds Anil Pillai.
- Anil Pillai, Staff Reporter
- Published: 00:00 January 25, 2006
There's JLo's pregnancy, Meg Ryan's adoption and Madonna's best celebrity mum tag. Motherhood remains a pregnant issue in Hollywood in the new year, finds Anil Pillai.
Celebrities make news and these days celebrity mums make bigger news.
Celebrity motherhood seems to be the flavour of the month - the hotly'debated, watched-for news that's filling reams and reams of newspaper and magazine pages around the world.
From pregnancy rumours to adoption, delivering twins to featuring in best mum polls, lullaby CDs to books on motherhood, they are being featured everywhere.
A toddler in tow is an accessory du jour.
Angelina Jolie carrying Maddox on her hip while on trips abroad or Lourdes holding mama Madonna's hand while shopping, all are prominently displayed in the magazines.
It's no kidding then that the global market for infant and toddler products has grown 10 per cent in the last three years to $40 billion (Dh147 billion), according to Planet Retail, a London consulting firm.
If you take my suggestion it's a good time to invest in companies dealing in baby gear.
But don't blame me if the baby boom doesn't last like all things in celebrity sphere.
So, let's see what's keeping the newsprints rolling this week.
Pregnant news
Well, Jennifer Lopez aka JLo, who was widely rumoured to be pregnant last year, has surfaced again this year with some pregnant news!
Grapevine has it that Lopez and hubby Marc Anthony have been doing "tons" of baby shopping.
Whatever the reasons, the National Ledger quotes a source as saying that Marc "was at Fred Segal [on Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles last week and bought a Guys Infant Gear diaper bag for $120 (Dh441)."
So? Well, the source seemed pretty confident: "He said something that made it pretty clear that it wasn't a gift - that he intended to use it - but I don't want to repeat it or he'll know who talked to you."
We wish JLo the best. At last, her tries seem to be bearing fruit.
Ryan mum again
Move over Angelina Jolie. It's Meg Ryan's turn to become mum again.
If reports are to be believed, the 44-year-old actress has adopted a Chinese baby.
According to OK! magazine, "The consulate will formalise the adoption and grant Meg's new daughter a visa and a social security number.
They will probably be flying back to the US immediately after the process is complete."
That makes her the mum of two children. Ryan has a 13'year'old son, Jack, from her marriage to Dennis Quaid. They divorced in 2001.
According to reports, Jack is fully supporting Ryan in this endeavour.
Thumbs up Madge
Mum Madonna too has something to smile about. The Material Girl seems to be having a dream run.
After a successful album release last year, Madonna has got full credits as a mum too.
According to a survey, she has been declared the best celebrity mum who combines both career and motherhood very well.
Living TV asked about 3,000 working parents online about the UK's attitude towards maternity leave, childcare issues and new parent prejudices in the work place.
More than a third of parents voted her as a mum who has maintained a balance between her work and is seriously devoted to her children.
Jools Oliver came in second and Jordan third as best celebrity mums.
Kate Moss had to be content with the bottom position thanks to her issue over drugs making most news.
Meanwhile, Jordan who recently delivered a son, Junior, with husband Peter Andre, has this advice for new mums.
"Having kids is no excuse for letting yourself go. The first thing you should do after giving birth is go to the hairdressers. A new hairdo makes anyone feel better," she said, according to femalefirst.co.uk.
Bollywood mum
If Hollywood has its fair share of mum stories, Bollywood too cannot be far away.
Former Bollywood actress Karishma Kapoor, now a mum, launched Shefali Tsabary's debut book It's A Mom! at the India Habitat Centre in Delhi recently.
Kapoor was glad with the book on the real side of motherhood and promised to recommend it to her friends.
Tsabary, a PhD in clinical psychology from the US, who has a 3-year-old daughter, had this to say, according to The Indian Express, "When I was pregnant I thought it would be brilliant. And it was, but it was also completely different from the rosy picture people have of motherhood."
It's my view that the book would sell, after all a celebrity mum endorsed it!
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