NASHVILLE, Tenn. - No breathless speculation, hordes of paparazzi or trips to Africa or France for Oscar-winner Nicole Kidman, who quietly gave birth early Monday to her and husband Keith Urban's first child.
Perhaps tired from the labour or confused about time zones, they named the six-pound, 7 1/2 ounce girl Sunday (Sunday Rose Kidman Urban, to be exact).
The news of the birth in Nashville, where the Australian born and raised couple have a home, was announced by Urban's publicist Paul Freundlich in an email to the Associated Press.
"Nicole and Keith Urban are delighted to announce that Nicole Kidman gave birth to a baby girl on Monday morning, July 7, 2008, in the United States. Sunday Rose Kidman Urban weighed 6 pounds, 7 1/2 ounces. Husband Keith was by Nicole's side and mother and baby are very well.''
Urban also posted a message on his website.
"Earlier this morning Nic gave birth to our beautiful baby girl, Sunday Rose Kidman Urban,'' his message read.
"We want to thank everybody that has kept us in their thoughts and prayers. We feel very blessed and grateful that we can share this joy with all of you today.''
The baby is the first for Kidman and Urban, who married in June 2006. Kidman also has two adopted children, Isabella and Connor, from her marriage to Tom Cruise. Kidman recently told Vanity Fair that she had a miscarriage early on in her relationship with Cruise, leading them to adopt instead.
Cruise made headlines when he filed for divorce in February 2001 after 10 years of marriage, citing irreconcilable differences. The divorce was finalized later that year and in 2006 Cruise married Katie Holmes, after she gave birth to their first child, Suri.
Kidman, 41, won an Oscar for her role in the 2002 film "The Hours.'' Her latest project is a film about her native land called, appropriately enough, "Australia.'' Also starring Hugh Jackman, it's expected in theatres this fall and tells of a massive cattle drive across the Outback, just after the Pearl Harbor bombing during the Second World War.
Meanwhile, fatherhood seems to sitting reasonably well on the shoulders of Grammy-winner Urban, 40, who has had his share of publicity for the curse of many celebrities, substance abuse.
In a recent radio interview in Nashville, Kidman revealed that Urban had been getting hands-on preparation for the birth by attending Lamaze lessons, saying, "He doesn't know the name (of the classes), but he has been very good at it!''
And during a concert Saturday in Nashville, Urban said, "I'm going to dedicate a song to my very, very, very, very, very pregnant wife'' before singing his hit, "Better Half.''
