Robbie Williams, Brangelina and the Royals: How celebrities control their public image

There could be no bigger way to publish news about the birth of your baby than to send live tweet updates from the delivery room. This is exactly what singer Robbie Williams did knowing that the news would come out one way or another. It also gave his fans a sense of belonging as shown in his final tweet "Thank you for sharing the journey with us, we have been blessed with a beautiful baby boy".

The Royal couple also controled the spread of news when they preempted the palace watchers with the announcement that Kate Middleton was pregnant again. Just 14 months after the birth of Prince George, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge couldn't wait to publish their news through the "Clarence House" Twitter account, before another hospital visit due to morning sickness was leaked by the paparazzi.

Just like with Kate Middleton's wedding dress, everyone was keen to catch a sneak peak of Amal in hers. But before anyone else could get a glimpse, Amal agreed to do a dress fitting fashion shoot with "Vogue" and the dress designer himself. The happy couple chose magazines to publish the photos of their wedding and in this way selected what was revealed.

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie also chose celebrity magazines to publish photos of their special day before the paparazzi could get hold of any. After being together for nine years with six children, there was some speculation that they would soon tie the knot. By choosing a magazine, they could select the photos to be published and make the announcement on their own time and terms.

Instead of announcing her pregnancy in a gossip magazine and before any paparazzi could get their first shot, Blake Lively posted a picture of her baby bump on her website "Preserve". Keeping her news as press-free as possible, she even had her photo taken by her brother Eric Lively. Blake Lively was so private that the news not only became a shock to her fans, but also to the media.

Although the paparazzi already got snaps of music mogul Simon Cowell arriving at the hospital in New York for the birth of his son, they were just a little too late to get hold of a baby photo. Baby Eric Cowell was welcomed to the world on Twitter in a happy family photo. Cowell not only controlled what photo was posted, but he also squashed rumors that he would be a career focused father.

Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis seized the opportunity to make fun of the paparazzi by posting a series of photos on Ashton's website of puppies and babies and asked fans "Can you guess which one is ours, or does it really matter? All babies are cute". Cleverly the two actors gained complete control of the media and were able to keep the identity of the baby a secret a little longer.

When Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes got engaged the couple took matters into their own hands and announced their news on the same day of the engagement at a press conference in Paris before rumors kicked off. If that didn't leave the paparazzi speechless, then the fact that Tom was jumping for joy (literally) on TV host Oprah Winfrey's sofa, probably did.

Now, Kanye West and Kim Kardashian usually share everything. However on the day of their wedding, the couple decided to keep things hush-hush. Of course, the celebrity couple wouldn't miss the world for showcasing their day and did so on their "Keeping up with the Kardashians" show. When revealing the first photo of baby North, the news was also kept in the family on "The Kris Jenner's Show".

It is every paparazzi's or hacker's dream to get a nude photo of a celebrity, especially when it involves a pregnancy. Christina Aguilera did this willingly when she posed naked with her baby bump in "V magazine".