Did you hear? Megan Fox had a baby boy… last month! In this celebrity-obsessed, paparazzi-riddled, instant-gratification digital era, managing to keep the birth of your first born under wraps for 20 days is both impressive and seemingly perverse. But Megan Fox and her husband Brian Austin Green are not the first celebrities to get all hush-hush about life's biggest moments. Here, a guide to the celebrity parents who dare to stay under the radar.
Wait, Megan Fox had her baby?
Yes. Noah Shannon Green was born on Sept. 27, but the press did not get wind of him until Oct. 17, when the Transformers actress announced the birth on her Facebook page, saying "I would like to release [this information] before others do" (and earning over 15,000 comments). Though the couple had earlier offered up a series of what clearly appeared to be baby bump photos, the couple never confirmed their pregnancy to the press. And Fox even abruptly ended an interview when asked indirectly if she was having a baby.
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But Fox isn't the first?
Nope. Drew Barrymore waited a whole five days before revealing the birth of her baby girl Olive on Sept. 26, after a pregnancy she never officially confirmed. And fellow Scream star Neve Campbell kept not only the birth of her first child under wraps, but also the name and gender, at least until she and her beau were spotted on a Los Angeles beach in August showering a newborn with kisses. It's an impressive level of stealth that should be marketed, says Jacqueline Burt at The Stir. "[Campbell] should start teaching a class to other preggers-in-public types. Call it: How to Keep Your Baby's Birth a Secret With Neve Campbell. Celeb moms-to-be would sign up in droves!"
Is the suppression of celeb baby names a broader trend, too?
Yes. True Blood's Anna Paquin and Stephen Moyer welcomed twins sometime in early September and we're still in the dark about their genders, let alone names. Sarah Michelle Gellar and Freddie Prinze Jr. haven't revealed the name of their new son, born in late September, and Uma Thurman only just shared the moniker of her 2-month-old daughter. Though, to be fair, the newborn has five Christian names (Rosaline Arusha Arkadina Altalune Florence, "known to family and friends as Luna") so it may have taken Thurman that long to sort through all the options.
What will we do without chatty celebs?
Don't worry, says Lindsay Cross at Mommyish. I predict no shortage of bare-all celebrities. For every Drew Barrymore or Megan Fox, there's a Jessica Simpson flaunting her nude belly on Elle or a Snooki "OMG! I'm Pregnant!" US Weekly cover. But something is definitely brewing. "Call me wildly optimistic," Cross says, "but I think this might be a new trend of Hollywood secrecy." And quite frankly, it's refreshing. "I'm happy that we're seeing the value of privacy from some of these celebrities."
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