Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie has given birth to twins, the hospital where she was staying in southern France said today.

Oscar winner Jolie, 33, had the twins by caesarean section yesterday evening at the Lenval hospital in Nice, said spokeswoman Nadine Bauer.

The girl has been named Vivienne Marcheline and the boy Knox Leon. Both babies weighed around 2.27 kg.

"The parents and the babies are in excellent health. Everything is fine," Ms Jolie's doctor, Michel Sussmann said. He said the c-section had been planned for a long time but the date was brought forward "for medical reasons".

Marcheline was the name of Ms Jolie's mother, also an actress, who died of cancer last year. Marcheline Bertrand raised Jolie and her brother, James Haven, after divorcing their father, actor Jon Voight, when Jolie was a toddler.

United States (US) representatives for the couple could not immediately be reached for comment, but Dr Sussmann told People magazine that Ms Jolie's partner Brad Pitt was at her side.

A handful of photographers and camera crews waited outside the building today morning hoping for a glimpse of family and friends arriving to congratulate the parents.

Ms Jolie and Mr Pitt, 44, already have four children - Maddox, Pax, Zahara and Shiloh.

The A-list celebrity couple, known in the media as "Brangelina", moved into a 17th century villa in Provence, France, earlier this year, with paparazzi descending on the village of Correns when news of their arrival leaked out.

Ms Jolie, star of current hit movie Wanted, and Mr Pitt, of Ocean's Eleven fame, went public with their relationship after they acted together in the 2005 film Mr and Mrs Smith.

Ms Jolie confirmed she was expecting twins during an interview at the Cannes film festival in May. Later that month Pitt's manager was forced to deny a television report that Ms Jolie had given birth.

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