The Growing Trend of Unwed Celebrity Parents in Hollywood

Traditionally, babies follow marriage. At least that's the way it used to be. Nowadays, the U.S. is home to what has to be the largest number of unwed parents in American history. In Hollywood, this sequence has  also been reversed, so frequently that having children out of wedlock is no longer an issue that's regularly challenged. Celebrity couples often get pregnant just prior to marrying, and sometimes they have the child without exchanging vows at all. The most recent instance illustrating this involves a shining young starlet by the name of Natalie Portman. The star of "Black Swan" announced that she was pregnant with her co-star's baby prior to the Awards shows. She also beamed when showing off her engagement ring from her French choreographer fiancé, Benjamin Millepied. The pair made no secret of Portman's pregnancy coming before their plans to marry.

Another actress whose currently unwed and with child is Inception star Marion Cotillard. In January the 35-year-old announced that she and her French actor/director beau are expecting a baby in the Spring of 2011. Cotillard currently lives with Guillaume Canet, whom she's been dating for three years.

Examples of celebrities who have children out of wedlock are numerous.

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt are perhaps the most famous example since each are superstars in their own right. Hollywood's best looking couple has refused to marry while taking on the seemingly chaotic task of parenting six children. In defense of his decision not to marry, Pitt has said that he and Angelina will marry when everyone else in our country is granted the right to do so.

Halle Berry dated French supermodel Gabriel Aubrey for four years, their union resulting in the birth of daughter Nahla in 2008. The two recently had a nasty custody clash, though it appears they have since settled their issues. Berry and Aubrey lived together but never married.

E! reality star Kourtney Kardashian was the first of the three sisters to have a baby, and remains the only one so far. She and longtime beau Scott Disick are parents to 14-month-old

Mason, born on December 14th, 2009. The reality star couple has been together for more than four years and continue to appear head-over-heels for each other. Hints of a possible onscreen engagement have surfaced in the tabloids, though Kourtney and Scott have made it a point not to rush into marriage.

Michelle Williams had daughter Matilda with the late Heath Ledger in October of 2005. The two had met on the set of Brokeback Mountain in the summer of 2004. Ironically, Michelle and Heath acted as husband and wife in the movie. They lived together for the duration of their relationship, which unfortunately ended before Ledger's tragic passing in 2008.

At just 16 years old, Britney Spears' young sister Jamie Lynn got pregnant by her on-again off-again boyfriend Casey Aldridge. She had daughter Maddie in 2008, and since then have she and Aldridge have continued to make up and break up.

British actress Minnie Driver gave birth to son Henry in this year as well, though she has not publicly named the father.

There are also many cases of those just-married couples who had the baby before exchanging vows. The most relevant example of this is Orlando Bloom's quickie marriage to supermodel Miranda Kerr. The gorgeous duo announced their engagement in June, and in August of 2010 Kerr revealed to Vogue that she was four months along. Bloom married his Victoria's Secret model wife in July, and the two welcomed son Flynn in January of this year.When celebrities have children out of wedlock, it is a potential problem for those who look up to them and see their behavior as a model for their own. Everyday people do not have the same resources as the stars, and raising a child while trying to go to school or work a full-time job is definitely not an easy task. When girls like Ashlee Simpson or Jessica Alba tote their babies around, females reading these magazines might think they look cool and happy as busy but fashionable moms. The truth is, these celebs probably are happy. However their circumstances are not realistic to the rest of the world, and so the challenges of raising a baby out of wedlock are misconstrued.