The first top ten list of influential under-fives – the toddlers whose parents’ combined fame may mean they one day eclipse mum and dad in the spotlight in earning power and notoriety
Topping Forbes‘ first-ever look at which Hollywood babies have the most effect on pop culture is the button-nosed offspring of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, Shiloh.
Forbes tallied the children’s web presence, press coverage and commercial value over the course of the year to formulate their list, with the help of polling firm E-Poll Market Research.
Shiloh, one, as the only biological child of Brangelina, appeared in more than 2,000 articles.
In second place was Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes’ one-year-old daughter Suri who – having appeared at weddings, on yachts and in Europe – has nearly rivalled Lindsay Lohan for magazine mentions.
Forbes have two-year-old Zahara Jolie-Pitt third ranking and their other child, four-year-old Pax, who’s remained in the public eye since his high-profile adoption earlier this year, comes in fifth. (Six-year-old Maddox was too old to qualify for the list.)
And how could tabloid favourite Britney Spears’ children escape the list? Not surprisingly, Sean Preston Federline takes forth spot due to the focus that has been on his troubled mother this year.
Tiger Woods baby Sam Alexis Woods managed to secure sixth spot ahead of Madonna’s adopted son David Banda.
The founder of a celebrity baby website said our fascination with these mute munchkins comes down to the universal nature of parenting.
"We can’t really identify with the lives celebrities lead and the luxuries they have," Danielle Friedland of celebrity-babies.com told Forbes.
"But what we can identify with is their parenting and their love for their children."
Sarah Ivens, editor in chief of OK! Magazine told Forbes: "We’re now as fascinated by the fact that Suri has taken off to Paris and Berlin in little Burberry outfits as we are by what Scarlett Johansson is wearing."
Of course, when it comes to tabloid interest, not all star kiddies are created equal. And while it often breaks down by their parent’s popularity, sometimes a child can actually boost a mom or dad’s appeal.
Ivens says these mini-style icons can even improve their parent’s status, citing Suri as the resuscitator of Cruise’s career.
Selling exclusive first photos has become an increasingly popular means for star parents to control the media.
Pitt and Jolie reportedly banked $4.1 million from People magazine for the first shots of Shiloh.
Larry Birkhead reportedly scored $2 million from OK! magazine for exclusive first photos of seventh-place getter, his daughter Dannielynn.
Full list:
1. Shiloh Jolie-Pitt
2. Suri Cruise
3. Zahara Jolie-Pitt
4. Sean Preston Federline
5. Pax Jolie-Pitt
6. Sam Alexis Woods
7. (tie) David Banda and Dannielynn Birkhead
9. (tie) Romeo Beckham and Cruz Beckham
Via: news.com
