Ashley Jensen

(The Ugly Betty related baby boom continues.)

People Magazine reports Jensen and actor husband Terence Beesley welcomed son Francis Jonathan Beesley.  The boy already has a nickname:  "Frankie Jack".  That would really roll off Jensen’s Scottish tongue – what a great name!

Jensen and Beesley did not know the gender of the baby, and it wasn’t accidentally, it was on purpose. 

"We thought there are so few surprises left in the world," Jensen, 40, explained. "We wanted to be surprised, so we don’t have the room painted pink or blue."

Jensen, since leaving Ugly Betty, has been starring in the Jenna Elfman CBS comedy Accidentally On Purpose.  She is going to be going back to work soon.

Congratulations Ashley and Terence, and welcome to the world, Frankie Jack!

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“The sooner the better,” she says.  “We’re definitely looking forward to having a playmate for her.”

She was recently at an event at NYC’s Double Tree Metropolitan Hotel, wheeling little Paloma around.  “I brought her out because I couldn’t get a babysitter,” she says.

Welcome to parenthood, Ana.    I can really relate to how she describes the baby’s effect on her:

“She just started smiling,” Ana says. “She’s like [smiles] ‘a-ha.’ And it’s like [theatrics] melt, melt, melt, melt. That’s her latest thing – smiling. It’s always in the morning, and it’s like she’s trying to laugh. It’s almost like she’s coughing – like a cat coughing up a hairball. It’s so cute.”

As I recall, the funniest baby faces usually meant it was about time for a diaper change.

Having Paloma has also enhanced her relationship with husband Noah Lebenzon.

“It’s incredible,” she says. “It’s so much deeper. Before, you’re together, but there’s never that sense of ‘til death do you part, right? When she came along, I was like ‘oh yeah, now I get ‘til death do you part.’ We are together forever. There’s no one I respect more as a man and as a dad. He’s surpassing my dreams. I’m really lucky. Today is the one day he couldn’t babysit. He’s been changing diapers, he’s been getting up in the middle of the night walking her around, he’s been so hands-on and he still manages to be like ‘baby, you look beautiful. My God, you’re so sexy, you’re so beautiful.’ I’m like ‘are you for real?’”

The baby has also kept Ana close to her on-screen son, Mark Indelicato.  “Mark and I are inseparable,” she says. “His mom has become my fairy godmother because she’s been helping me so much with the baby, too.”

Get to work, Noah!  We expect an announcement soon. 

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A representative for the actress tells People Magazine that she and her husband Terence Beesley are expecting their first child in the fall.

Speculation about Jensen’s pregnancy has been bouncing around the internet for a few weeks now (including some baby-bumpy photos).  We now have official confirmation!

As many have noted, this is a little bit of life imitating art, since Jensen’s Ugly Betty persona, Christina, gave birth to what turned out to be her own son (previously thought to be Wilhelmina’s) in episode 3.15, There’s No Place Like Mode.

Jensen is said to be “excited” about the pregnancy, but continues work on Accidentally. 

Just think, this child will have all sorts of playmates – Ana Ortiz’s daughter, Eric Mabius’ son, Rebecca Romijn’s twins.  If I were America Ferrera, I’d be a little nervous. 

Congratulations, Ashley and Terence!

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“This has been an amazing first week. She is so beautiful it is staggering”, she said, speaking of newborn daughter Paloma Louise Lebenzon.  (Hopefully we’ll have a picture soon!)

Ortiz tells a wonderful story about the generosity of co-star America Ferrera, her on-screen sister.  On Paloma’s birthday, once Ana, her husband Noah Lebenzon, and baby Paloma were alone, after all the friend and family had left she got a delivery to her room of three dozen freshly baked cookies and ice cold milk from Ferrera and her boyfriend, Ryan Piers Williams. 

“How she found a place to deliver freshly baked cookies at 11 p.m. on a Saturday is beyond me, but she did. How cool and thoughtful is that?”, Ana asks.

It’s wonderful to see the cast is still “family” – I think it adds to the on-screen chemistry.  This dynamic means that, even though Ferrera and Ortiz have completely different body types, and even more different accents, they are fully believable as sisters.

I hope Ana is getting her rest, because filming begins soon, and we hear she’s going to be fending off mobsters.  She’ll need all of her strength!

Image: Copyright © 2008 American Broadcasting Companies, Inc./ PATRICK HARBRON 

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They named the girl Paloma Louise (what a beautiful name!).  They waited till the birth to choose the name.  She weighed 7 pounds, 10 ounces.  The spokesperson says Ortiz has left the hospital and is now Back home in Broooklyn.

Ana recently told OK magazine that the first thing she’ll have to do with Paloma is introduce her to the family pets.  "I have to get the dog and the baby to know one another so that will be interesting," she explained.  

I can tell you from experience, that sometimes is easier said than done. 

About Paloma’s room:  “The nursery is beautiful and it’s all eco-friendly," explains Ana. "It was designed by a woman named Amanda Moore and she did an amazing job. It’s like this light blue wall and the accent colors are golden and orange and wood. It’s just fantastic.”

Ana thinks she’ll have no problem with work/home balance. 

“I’m excited. I’ve gotten so much support from the cast and so much support from the producers and my mother’s going to come with me to set and help out," she explains. "I couldn’t ask for a better husband, he’s willing to do whatever needs to be done. Everyone’s so excited to have the baby on set that if I even see the baby while I’m working I’ll be surprised.”

In fact, the crew has already set up an on-set nursery for the baby girl in Ana’s dressing room. "There’s a basinet in there and a rocker. It’s hooked up. I’m so lucky!”

Congratulations Ana and Noah!

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Ugly Betty

Ortiz tells OK Magazine, “The bag is packed – mostly.  I need to get some toothbrushes.”

If she’s down to toothbrushes, I’d say Ana is just about ready.  Ortiz also talks about why she’s looking so buff, even at 9 months pregnant:

“Because they didn’t write [my pregnancy] into the show, it was kind of important to me to try to stay as much in shape as possible. It’s the first time I ever worked with a trainer because I didn’t know how far to push everything.”

Wow – like I’ve said before, Ana is made of stout stuff.  Pregnant, in the summer, and she’s working out with a trainer?  I don’t know about how it’s been in New York, but where I live it’s been one of the hottest summers I can remember.  I just can’t imagine being almost about to deliver and still working out daily with a trainer.

Apparently, the pregnancy interrupted Ortiz’s summer plans.  “I was actually gonna audition for [Broadway's' Chicago] and then I got pregnant,” she admitted, adding that she will “definitely” try out for the parts of Roxie or Thelma after she delivers.

Ana can REALLY sing – check this out – a song Ortiz recorded with Kyle Puccia a while back.

If there are any – er – developments, I’ll pass the news along (probably first on Twitter).

She could easily be Roxie or Thelma, if Ugly Betty and her new baby allow her time.

Good luck and blessings to Ana and husband Noah Lebenzon.

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"Before I found out I was having a girl I dreamt that I was having a girl," Ortiz, 38, told PEOPLE at the Point Honors gala in New York City. "I even dreamt what her name was, so I guess that name should be her real name."

If I’ve learned anything in life, it’s this: never, never ignore female intuition.  If I were Ana’s husband, Noah Lebenzon, I’d go with the flow and be glad that a name for his daughter came from the heavens.

In actuality, Ortiz says, "We have a short list, but when we see her, hopefully, one of those names will fit. I’m hoping at least for a Latina flavor to it. But we’ll see."

When the conversation turns to “losing her baby weight”, Ortiz mentions something that’s a little unrealistic, I think:

"I’m not going to lie," says Ortiz. "I’m immediately going to try to get back into shape. We start work [on Ugly Betty] two weeks after I give birth. The pregnancy was not written in the show, so I wish I could be cool and let nature take its course, but no, I’m definitely going to try to get into shape."

TWO WEEKS???

Yes, I know Ortiz is a health nut and already has a vigorous workout routine.  Yes, I remember Rebecca Romijn’s quick post-baby weight loss.  But, geez…

"They say breast-feeding helps, so I’m going to be doing that, but there is this thing called the belly bandit and apparently that is suppose to help, but I’m going to pull out all the stops”, Ortiz adds.

Just make sure you consult your doctor first, Ana.  Please?  Oh, and please talk to Salma Hayek about the breast-feeding/weight loss thing. 

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So, it must be about time for the baby shower.  And guess who’s hosting it?  Not America Ferrera.  Not new mom Rebecca Romijn.  Not Meade Mom Judith Light.  Oh, no doubt they’ll be there.  But this shindig is going to be hosted by Ugly Betty costume designer Patricia Field.

“She told me, ‘I’m going to throw you a baby shower,’ and I started crying,” the 38-year-old recently told OK Magazine.

“That’s how the whole show is — very much a family atmosphere!” The Ugly Betty cast and crew will be joining the celebration at Patricia’s loft for what Ana expects will be a “pretty awesome” affair.

“As long as I don’t have to play those corny games where they wrap me in toilet paper,” she says, “and I’m there with my friends and having a group of drunk people celebrating babies!”

Really?  Wrap the mother to be in toilet paper?  Is this the sort of thing they do a baby showers these days? 

Drunk people celebrating babies – now that’s something I can relate to!

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I just love this photo and Ana’s playfulness.  She’s absolutely gorgeous in white.  I honestly don’t know how comfortable she is in those shoes (I’ll guarantee you she won’t wear anything like that from the 7th month on).

I guess the timing just isn’t going to be right to include her pregnancy into the story line with Archie.  Ralph Macchio seems to have carved himself a place in the hearts of many Ugly Betty fans.

She mentioned recently at a popular social networking site that she’s having a girl.  Woohoo!  I have no doubt Ana will be a marvelous parent.

More on the awards themselves in a future post!

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Ortiz says, “They aren’t going to be writing it into the show, so I guess Hilda will be carrying a lot of boxes and standing behind her salon chair.”

This surprises me somewhat, but I guess it shouldn’t. The story lines for the end of Ugly Betty season 3 are either already written or on storyboards, I would imagine. A Hilda pregnancy would cause major upheaval in those story lines.

But, I think it would’ve been awesome. Think of it – let’s say Hilda turns up pregnant, and the father is Archie the councilman (Ralph Macchio’s character). The scandal! It’s so soapish – Gonzalez trying to save his career, and Hilda becoming NY tabloid fodder. Oh, well. Maybe it would be a little too much, even for Ugly Betty.

The show has had plenty of practice hiding baby bumps, with Rebecca Romijn’s pregnancy. They really had no choice in that one; her character doesn’t exactly have the plumbing to carry a child.

Michael Ausiello also mentions Hilda’s no-pregnancy in his Ausiello files post today.

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