Jolie leaves hospital after giving birth

Sat Jul 19, 2008 10:08pm BST

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NICE, France (Reuters) - Angelina Jolie has left the French hospital where she gave birth to twins last week, the hospital said on Saturday.

"Mrs Angelina Jolie left the clinic Santa Maria of Foundation Lenval early in the morning, on July 19. The mother and her babies are doing very well," the Lenval hospital in the southern French city of Nice said in a statement on its website.

Oscar winner Jolie, 33, gave birth to twins Vivienne Marcheline and Knox Leon last week, with actor Brad Pitt, the children's father, by her side.

Jolie slipped out of the hospital unseen by the crowd of reporters, cameramen and photographers camped outside on the fashionable Promenade des Anglais waterfront drive in Nice since she gave birth last weekend.

The precautions reflected the obsessive media interest in Jolie and Pitt, one of Hollywood's most glamorous couples, dubbed "Brangelina" by the celebrity press.

The pair, who have rented a 17th century villa in Provence, reportedly sold picture rights for the babies to a U.S. publication for $11 million (5.5 billion pounds), which they will donate to charity.

They have four other children -- Maddox, Pax, Zahara and Shiloh.

(Reporting by Ben Gruber; writing by James Mackenzie; Editing by Jon Boyle)

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