Jay's daddy to a girl

New parents Jay Chou (above) and Hannah Quinlivan, who delivered their baby girl by caesarean section. PHOTOS: REUTERS, APPLE DAILY
New parents Jay Chou and Hannah Quinlivan (above), who delivered their baby girl by caesarean section. PHOTOS: REUTERS, APPLE DAILY

TAIPEI • Pop superstar Jay Chou and model Hannah Quinlivan have welcomed their first child, a daughter, their agents said on Monday night.

The confirmation came after rumours went around that Quinlivan, 21, had given birth to a preterm baby by caesarean section, said United Daily News.

Chou, 36, had been so secretive about the birth that even his long-time manager J.R. Yang, who lives in the same neighbourhood as him, did not know, said the report.

Called about the rumours, Mr Yang had said: "Good question. I have to check on this."

Afterwards, the star said through his manager: "We had a daughter. Hannah and I are very happy."

Mr Yang also said it was not a premature birth, but "a caesarean that had already been arranged", reported Apple Daily on Tuesday.

Chou declined to disclose the baby's birthday.

However, Apple Daily and China Times, quoting the singer's family and friends, said the baby girl had arrived on July 10, around the time Typhoon Chan-hom passed by Taiwan.

Quinlivan's agent said the baby was born on July 12, but later retracted the date, reported Apple Daily. The agent then said the model had actually given birth a few days ago, and been transferred to a confinement centre.

In Taiwan and Hong Kong, it is customary for a celebrity baby birth to be accompanied by astrologers' predictions in the media, a scenario Chou was presumably hoping to avoid by withholding the date and time of his daughter's birth.

Such stories got written anyway and one headline in China Times went: "Cancerian Girl Will Be Glued To Dad".

Chou has asked to take two weeks off to dedicate his time to his wife and daughter, his manager said.

The star has to tape episodes of the talent show The Voice Of China, on which he is a judge this season, but only for short stints. He resumes touring in September.

Yang said Chou wanted to post a photo of his child on social media, but had a change of heart, reported Apple Daily. The manager said it would be up to the singer to share his news.

There have been no updates on the birth on Chou's social media accounts.

Quinlivan has changed her Facebook profile picture to that of a foreign little girl, though.

The couple dated for four years before they held their wedding in England in January.

In the most recent post on his Weibo page, Chou shared a photo of himself and Quinlivan in Yilan, north-east Taiwan, on July 5.

He said they were celebrating their wedding anniversary, thus revealing that they had been legally married since July last year.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on July 15, 2015, with the headline Jay's daddy to a girl. Subscribe