Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt denied Wednesday that wedding bells are in the
air, saying they want to concentrate for now on their newborn daughter and
Jolie's two adopted children.
Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie
appear Wednesday for the first time since their daughter's birth.
[AFP] |
"There is nothing in the air. The focus is
the kids, and we are obviously extremely committed to the children and as
parents together," Jolie told a news conference for local journalists at a hotel
in the Namibian coastal town of Swakopmund. "So that kind of says it for us, and
to have a ceremony on top of it is nothing."
It was the movie star couple's first public appearance since Shiloh Nouvel
Jolie-Pitt was born May 27 at a private clinic in Walvis Bay. Delivered by
Caesarean section, the baby weighed 7 pounds (3.15 kilograms) and was said to be
in good health. She was not present at the press conference.
Pitt and Jolie sold rights to images of Shiloh Nouvel through Getty Images
photo agency, saying proceeds would be donated to a charity, not yet named.
People magazine paid a reported US$4 million for the right to release the
pictures in North America, while Hello! obtained British rights.
Pitt and Jolie thanked the government and its people for the privacy they
have enjoyed since arriving in the southwest African nation in April.
"We were afforded a peace here that we could not have at home," Pitt said.
"It means very much to us, just getting to spend quality time together, to do
the things normal families would do."
Jolie, relaxed and smiling in a long black dress, said the couple had sought
a place where they could spend some special time with her two adopted children
-- 16-month-old Zahara, from Ethiopia, and 4-year-old Maddox, from Cambodia --
before the birth. Both children had their surnames legally changed to Jolie-Pitt
after Pitt announced his intention to adopt them as well.
"We both had traveled to Africa and loved this part of the world," she said.
"On top of that, we received amazing health care," Pitt added. "We had
absolute top notch medical assistance from the operation crew to the nurses and
pediatricians. We couldn't have received anything better in the States."
The couple said they plan to leave Namibia in the next few days, but did not
specify a date.
"We are very proud that our daughter was born here, and we leave with fond
memories and definitely hungry to return," Pitt said.
Jolie, 30, is a frequent visitor to Africa and serves as goodwill ambassador
for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees.
Namibian officials put tight security around the celebrity couple's hotel and
the hospital where their daughter was born, setting up large green barriers on
the beach to shield them from photographers and refusing to grant visas to
foreign journalists unless they had written permission from Jolie and Pitt to
cover the birth.
Deputy Environment and Tourism Minister Leon Jooste warned local journalists
before Wednesday's briefing not to ask any "offensive" questions. Foreign
reporters were barred from the press conference, which was attended by Namibian
First Lady Penexupifo Pohamba and other officials.
Jolie and Pitt were first linked romantically shortly after appearing
together in the 2005 movie "Mr. and Mrs. Smith."
Pitt, 42, and actress Jennifer Aniston divorced last year.
Jolie, who won an Oscar for her supporting role in 1999's "Girl,
Interrupted," is divorced from Billy Bob Thornton and Jonny Lee
Miller.
