Katie Holmes gives birth to Cruise's baby

Ten months after her whirlwind engagement to movie star Tom Cruise, actress Katie Holmes gave birth on Tuesday to the couple's first child, a girl they named Suri, their spokesman said.

Mother and daughter, who weighed in at 3.4 kilograms and measured 51 centimetres at birth, were both "doing well," Cruise's publicist, Paul Bloch, said in a statement.

The name Suri has its origins in Hebrew, meaning "princess," or Persian, meaning "red rose," the statement said.

The birth of Cruise's first biological child came in the midst of a promotional campaign for his upcoming film "Mission: Impossible III," which is due in theatres next month.

The 43-year-old three-time Oscar nominee has two older children that he adopted during his marriage to actress Nicole Kidman 13-year-old Isabella and 11-year-old Connor.

Cruise said last week that his bride-to-be, who was raised as a Roman Catholic, had joined him as a follower of Scientology. But he insisted that Holmes, 27, was free to take painkillers and "make as much noise" as necessary during the birth.

News of the birth followed a whirlwind Hollywood romance that ranked as one of the most high-profile celebrity courtships in recent memory.

The couple began dating last April. But the early days of their romance date to Cruise's manic, couch-hopping profession of love for Holmes on "The Oprah Winfrey Show."

Source:China Daily