Angelina Jolie gives birth to Brad Pitt's twins

Actress Angelina Jolie has given birth to her partner Brad Pitt's twins, her French doctor has said .

After weeks of speculation – and one false alarm – the babies have arrived.

Jolie checked in to the maternity unit at the Lenval Hospital in Nice, near the South of France home she shares with partner Brad Pitt on July 1

Jolie made her last public appearance at the Cannes Film Festival in May, when she appeared heavily pregnant. Her co-star Jack Black claimed the babies were due in August.

A bidding way is already under way for the first pictures of the twins, with reports that the eventual price could top $20 million.

The Hollywood couple would likely donate any money to charity, as they did for pictures of their daughter, Shiloh, in 2006.

Earlier this month they announced a $1 million donation to help child victims of the war in Iraq.

Jolie and Pitt moved to the South of France several months ago and have made their home in the hamlet of Correns, in the Provence region.

In addition to Shiloh, the couple have three adopted children: Maddox, six, Pax, four, and Zahara, three.

At the end of May, rumours swept the internet that Jolie had given birth, with reports even naming the twins as Isla Marcheline and Amelie Jane.

US television proramme Entertainment Tonight claimed that a source inside the delivery room had confirmed the story – but it later turned out to be a hoax.