Gwyneth Paltrow gives birth to a girl

LONDON – Hollywood actress Gwyneth Paltrow has given birth to her first child, a daughter called Apple, a spokesman said on Saturday.

Paltrow (31) and her British husband Chris Martin (27) lead singer of the band Coldplay, said they were “ecstatic” after the baby was delivered on Friday following a long labour at a London hospital. “We are 900 miles over the moon,” the couple said in a statement released by Martin’s spokesman Murray Chalmers.”We would like to thank everyone at the hospital who have looked after us amazingly.”The couple named their first child Apple Blythe Alison Martin.She weighed 9 pounds, 11 ounces.”Both mother and baby are very well,” the statement added.Paltrow, who was once engaged to Brad Pitt and dated actor Ben Affleck, met Martin backstage at a Coldplay concert in 2002.The couple married in a secret ceremony in southern California last December.Friends say Martin proved a huge support for Paltrow after the sudden death in October 2002 of her father, film director Bruce Paltrow.Martin and the quartet Coldplay have enjoyed huge global success since their acclaimed debut album ‘Parachutes’ in 2000.They won a coveted Grammy Award for ‘Clocks’ in February.Paltrow won a best actress Oscar for the 1998 film ‘Shakespeare in Love’ and recently played the late poet Sylvia Plath.- Nampa-Reuters”We are 900 miles over the moon,” the couple said in a statement released by Martin’s spokesman Murray Chalmers.”We would like to thank everyone at the hospital who have looked after us amazingly.”The couple named their first child Apple Blythe Alison Martin.She weighed 9 pounds, 11 ounces.”Both mother and baby are very well,” the statement added.Paltrow, who was once engaged to Brad Pitt and dated actor Ben Affleck, met Martin backstage at a Coldplay concert in 2002.The couple married in a secret ceremony in southern California last December.Friends say Martin proved a huge support for Paltrow after the sudden death in October 2002 of her father, film director Bruce Paltrow.Martin and the quartet Coldplay have enjoyed huge global success since their acclaimed debut album ‘Parachutes’ in 2000.They won a coveted Grammy Award for ‘Clocks’ in February.Paltrow won a best actress Oscar for the 1998 film ‘Shakespeare in Love’ and recently played the late poet Sylvia Plath.- Nampa-Reuters