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Angelina Jolie doing well ahead of birth - doctor

(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-07-04 15:06

NICE, France -- Pregnant Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie is doing well in a French Riviera hospital and is expected to give birth to twins in "the coming weeks," her doctor said on Wednesday.

In this May 15, 2008 file photo, US actors Brad Pitt (L) and Angelina Jolie arrive for the premiere of the film 'Kung Fu Panda,' during the 61st International film festival in Cannes, France. [Agencies]

Doctor Michel Sussmann gave few details away during a brief news conference, declining to reveal the sex of the expected babies or give a clear indication of the likely birth date.

"What she needs now is simple surveillance by monitoring to ensure the good health of her babies in the weeks to come," Sussmann told reporters at the Lenval hospital in the southern French city of Nice.

Jolie, 33, arrived at the hospital on Sunday by helicopter and has a suite of rooms reserved for her and her partner Brad Pitt, which have been sealed off by bodyguards.

"Mrs. Angelina Jolie and ... Mr. Brad Pitt, told me to let you know that she is doing just fine at the moment," Sussmann said.

"She is a patient like any other ... very simple and for whom I have a great deal of respect," he added.

Jolie and Pitt, 44, already have four children, three of them adopted and the fourth, Shiloh, their biological daughter born in Namibia in 2006.

After months of speculation surrounding her pregnancy, Jolie finally confirmed she was expecting twins in an interview at the Cannes film festival in May.

Asked when the twins might arrive, the doctor said: "I cannot give you a date. Let's say that the birth will take place in the coming weeks." He added that it was too soon to say the babies might be premature.

Jodie and Pitt moved into a 17th century villa in Provence earlier this year, with paparazzi descending on the village of Correns when news of the couple's arrival leaked out.

Jolie, star of current hit movie "Wanted," and Pitt, of "Ocean's Eleven" fame, went public with their relationship after co-starring in the 2005 film "Mr. & Mrs. Smith."

One US celebrity magazine has said Jolie is pregnant with two girls while a rival publication had it as a boy and girl. A British tabloid published the supposed names of the yet-to-be-born children.