The Most Money Celebs Have Made By Selling Pictures Of Their Kids
Tabloids and magazines will pay serious bank for photos of celebrity children, especially if they can get an exclusive first look at an infant. Find out which Hollywood parents profited the most off their progeny. These jaw-dropping numbers may make you nauseous, so we suggest sitting down while reading this one.
Harlow Winter Kate Madden
People magazine placed a winning bid of $1 million in 2008 for photos of designer Nicole Richie and rocker Joel Madden's newborn daughter, Harlow Winter Kate Maddon. A source for Gawker said the photo shoot was likely "Nicole Richie's only paycheck for all of 2008." Not too shabby for The Simple Life star, right?
Max Liron Bratman
In February 2008, songstress Christina Aguilera graced the cover of People magazine with her newborn son, Max Liron Bratman, to the tune of $1.5 million, according to Forbes. While the bidding war originally started at $1 million, the singer was reportedly able to pit OK! magazine against People to up the ante. That price tag also included photos of the nursery and pics of Max with Aguilera and his father, music industry executive Jordan Bratman.
Honor Marie Warren
2008 was a big year for celebrity babies! Actress Jessica Alba and movie producer hubby Cash Warren sold the first photos of their daughter, Honor Marie Warren, to OK! magazine for a reported $1.5 million. "We put the money that the picture made into a bank account for Honor to do whatever she wants to do with," Alba told CNN's Showbiz Tonight. "It's her picture, it's her birth, and we didn't want it to be like a weird thing when we were walking out of the house for the first time." Selling their daughter's first photo shoot allowed their family to "control the experience," Alba said.
Dannielyn Hope Marshall Birkhead
One of the biggest celebrity scandals of 2007 was the undetermined paternity of model Anna Nicole Smith's daughter. The troubled starlet died from an overdose of prescription drugs in February of that year, leaving behind a baby girl with multiple potential fathers. In April 2007, DNA testing confirmed photographer Larry Birkhead is Dannielynn's dad. OK! magazine hopped on the rights to the father and daughter's first photos together, shelling out a reported $2 million for the exclusive. That issue reportedly sold 41 percent above average, according to the Huffington Post.
Pax Thien Jolie-Pitt
Actors Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie adopted Pax Thien Jolie-Pitt from an orphanage in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam in 2007. According to Finances Online, People paid $2 million for the rights to put Pax Thien—whose name means "peaceful sky"—and his momma on its April 2007 magazine cover. Papa Pitt was absent from the photos.
Levi Alves McConaughey
Little Levi Alves McConaughey, the firstborn of Brazilian model Camila Alves and Oscar-winning actor Matthew McConaughey, garnered a reported $3 million to appear on OK!'s August 2008 cover, according to Access Hollywood. Since then, the couple has had two additional children, but alas, the media cared far less about the second and third kids' photos. Younger siblings getting less attention—celebrities: they're just like us!
Maximilian David and Emme Maribel Muñiz
People magazine is willing to pay big bucks for those bundles of joy. In February 2008, singers Marc Anthony and Jennifer Lopez sold the exclusive rights to the first photos of their twins, Maximilian David and Emme Maribel Muñiz, for $6 million. The ensuing cover featured Lopez with her newborns. According to the The New York Times, those babies' photos doubled People's web traffic in the days following their publication.
Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt
In 2006, Jolie and Pitt sold the exclusive U.S. rights to the debut photos of their first biological child to People for $4.1 million and the exclusive U.K. rights to Hello! magazine for $3.5 million. We'll do the math for you: daughter Shiloh Nouvel Jolie Pitt made $7.6 million within the first few months of her life. The profits were donated to a foundation benefiting African children, because when your parents are Brangelina, philanthropy starts at birth.
Vivienne Marcheline and Knox Leon Jolie-Pitt
In August 2008, People bought the baby pics of Brangelina's biological twins, Vivienne Marcheline and Knox Leon Jolie-Pitt, for a whopping $14 million—that's $10 million more than the magazine paid for big sister Shiloh Jolie-Pitt two years prior. That purchase broke the record for most expensive celebrity baby photos. The family donated the full $14 million to the Jolie-Pitt charitable foundation, according to Today. While the chart-topping price made our eyes bug out a little, it's nice to see that star power being put to good work.