Tabloid favourite Angelina Jolie pregnant

Angelina Jolie, a tabloid favourite for her secretive relationship with fellow actor Brad Pitt, is pregnant with the couple's first child together.

Cindy Guagenti, Pitt's publicist, confirmed the report to the Associated Press Wednesday afternoon. People magazine broke the news in an article posted early Wednesday morning, saying it had confirmed the news with representatives of both Jolie, 30, and Pitt, 42.

While a host of celebrity and entertainment publications have speculated for months about the nature of their relationship and for weeks about a possible pregnancy, the People article quotes Jolie sharing news of her pregnancy to a friend in the Dominican Republic, where she is filming The Good Shepherd with Matt Damon and continuing her charity work.

The newest issue of the weekly title hits newsstands Friday and features on its cover Jolie exiting a plane with her adopted son Maddox. The photos show the athletic and svelte star of films like Girl, Interrupted, Tomb Raider and Mr. and Mrs. Smith with a rounded belly.

There has been a tabloid frenzysurrounding the couple since they began filming 2005's action movie Mr. and Mrs. Smith, in which they play a married couple. When Pitt ended his marriage to actress Jennifer Aniston months after the completion of the film, many speculated that a romance with Jolie was to blame. The fallout from the Pitt-Aniston breakup and the purported Pitt-Jolie relationship played out on duelling magazine covers.

In recent months, Pitt and Jolie two of Hollywood's most high profile actors have been more openly spending time together around the world.Last fall, Jolie and her two adopted children stayed in Alberta while Pitt filmed the upcoming film The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford.

Later, in November, Pitt accompanied Jolie on a tour of quake-devastated regions of Pakistan, where she wascarrying outher duties as a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations.

Recently,Pitt's spokesperson announced the actorhad begun the process of adopting Jolie's children: son Maddox, whom Jolie adopted from Cambodia, and daughter Zahara,whom she adopted from Ethiopia. It was also revealed that Jolie filed an application to change her children's surnames to Jolie-Pitt.