AUSTRALIAN actress Nicole Kidman has given birth to a girl.
The baby was born today in Nashville, Kidman`s husband Keith Urban told fans on his web site.
"Earlier this morning, Nic gave birth to our beautiful baby girl, Sunday Rose Kidman Urban.
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"We want to thank everybody that has kept us in their thoughts and prayers," said Urban, the New Zealand-born Grammy- and ARIA-winning country music singer.
"We feel very blessed and grateful that we can share this joy with you today," he said.
It is the couple`s first child together. Oscar-winner Kidman, who was born in Hawaii but raised in Australia, has two adopted children from her marriage to actor Tom Cruise.
Kidman, who turned 41 in June, has struggled with miscarriages in the past. She has talked for years about her desire to give birth, particularly after her romantic harbourside wedding to Urban on June 25, 2006.
Urban by Kidman`s side
Urban`s publicist Paul Freundlich announced the birth just after midnight Australian eastern standard time today. Sunday weighed a healthy 6 pounds, 7 ounces (3.04 kilograms).
"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," Freundlich announced in a statement.
"Husband Keith was by Nicole`s side and mother and baby are very well."
Urban let the world know Kidman`s birth was imminent when he performed a concert in the couple`s adopted new hometown of Nashville on Saturday night. Kidman was backstage at the concert.
"I`m going to dedicate a song to my very, very, very, very, VERY pregnant wife!" Urban told the crowd of 50,000 before launching into his hit song, Better Half.
After the concert, Urban and Kidman waved to fans as they walked hand-in-hand to a waiting golf cart that whisked them away.
Family together
Her parents Janelle and Antony were in Nashville for the birth with Nicole`s sister Antonia. "The birth of Nicole and Keith`s daughter is such wonderful news and a beautiful addition to our family," Antonia told People.com.
"We`re all absolutely thrilled with the new arrival."
Fellow Oscar winner Meryl Streep, in Sydney to promote her film Mamma Mia!, said news of the birth was wonderful and gave her thumbs up to the parents` choice of name. "Sunday Rose - isn`t that lovely? I`m so happy for her," Streep said.
Last month Kidman revealed in a cover story for American Vogue how she burst into tears the first time she saw the image of Sunday on an ultrasound. "When I first saw the baby on the ultrasound, I started crying," Kidman told Vogue.
"I didn`t think I`d get to experience that in my lifetime. To feel life growing with you is something very, very special, and I`m going to embrace that completely."
Nesting
Nashville became an oasis for Kidman and Urban as the birth approached, although teams of paparazzi migrated to the city in recent weeks to capture the couple as they went about their daily routine with visits to local Starbucks, cafes and other hangouts.
There was speculation Kidman and Urban would follow the lead of her actress friend, Naomi Watts, and have the baby in Los Angeles after the couple bought a multi-million dollar mansion in the conservative west LA neighbourhood of Brentwood, just a few blocks away from Watts` home.
They instead chose Nashville. Kidman and Urban are living in a $4 million seven-bedroom home on rolling green fields outside Nashville while they build their dream estate on 14 hectares of prime land a few kilometres away.
Kidman said she discovered a green thumb in recent months in Nashville. "We have a farm there, and I have an organic vegetable garden," Kidman told Vogue.
"This is a path I`d not taken before. My mum`s always gardened. My sister gardens. And I`ve now conformed to the Kidman women`s hobby of gardening."
With Reuters and AAP.
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