Melanie Brown has spiced up her life with the arrival of a baby
girl.
A spokeswoman for the former Scary Spice confirmed that Brown
welcomed a "completely healthy" daughter early Tuesday in Santa
Monica. Brown drove herself to the hospital to give birth in a
delivery described as "straightforward and without
complication."
"Mother and baby are now resting. No name has been decided on as
yet, and she is purely known as Baby Brown," the rep said in a
statement.
"[Brown] is looking forward to catching up on some sleep. Both
mother and baby are expected to leave the hospital in the next few
days and are looking forward to going back home," the statement
continued.
Brown's mother, Andrea, and eight-year-old daughter, Phoenix, from
her prior marriage to Dutch dancer Jimmy Gulzar, were both present
for the delivery of the girl, whose demeanor was characterized as
calm and cheerful."
The newborn weighed in at 5 pounds, 4 ounces and was said to have a
"good head of hair."
What the infant does not have, on the other hand, is a willing
father figure.
While Brown, 31, has said there is "absolutely no question" that
ex-boyfriend Eddie Murphy is her baby's daddy, that hasn't stopped
Murphy from questioning his paternal role.
When a Dutch TV reporter asked him about Brown and her pregnancy in
December, Murphy told the interviewer not to "jump to
conclusions."
"You're being presumptuous, because we're not together anymore, and
we don't know whose child that is until it comes out and has a
blood test," Murphy said.
Following the interview, Brown issued a statement saying she was
"upset and distressed" by Murphy's comments.
"I was astonished what Eddie said. There is absolutely no question
that Eddie is the father.
"I have no idea why anybody would want to conduct themselves in
this kind of manner about such a personal matter in such a public
way."
Brown and Murphy began appearing together in public last summer,
after Murphy's divorce from his ex-wife Nicole Mitchell was
finalized in April.
In August, they vacationed together in Hawaii, accompanied by five
of Murphy's children and Phoenix.
Speculation that Brown was pregnant began in October, when a
telltale baby bump became evident. Around the same time, Murphy
apparently lost interest in the relationship and took up with his
current girlfriend, Tracey Edmonds, who is Babyface's
ex-wife.
In a recent interview with a Chicago radio station, Edmonds
shrugged off any drama surrounding Murphy's pending paternity
dispute with Brown.
"Without me getting too deep into it, they had a quick relationship
before I even got into that, before I got into a relationship with
Eddie," she said. "So that's, like, their business that's going
on.
"There'll be a paternity test, and if it's his then he'll be
responsible."
If the baby is revealed to be Murphy's daughter, she will be his
seventh child overall and will also share his birthdaythe
Dreamgirls star turned 46 on Tuesday.