LA, Dec 04: Oscar-winning actress Gwyneth Paltrow is expecting a baby next summer with her rocker boyfriend, Chris Martin, representatives for the couple said on Wednesday. "Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin are pleased to confirm that they are expecting their first child next summer," Steven Huvane, a spokesman for the willowy 31-year-old film star said in a brief statement.
A spokeswoman for Martin, 26-year-old singer for the British rock band Coldplay, also confirmed that Paltrow was expecting. She declined to say if the couple planned to marry -- a question that served as fodder for gossip columns on both sides of the Atlantic even before the pregnancy was known.
In a recent interview with the BBC, Paltrow said she would like to get married, though she stopped short of saying that Martin was her intended.

The "Shakespeare in Love" star -- a close friend of pop star Madonna who was once engaged to Hollywood heartthrob Brad Pitt and dated actor Ben Affleck -- met Martin backstage at a Coldplay concert in 2002.

The couple has been romantically linked for over a year, spending much of that time in London, though they have mostly shied away from discussing the relationship in the media.
Paltrow, the daughter of film director Bruce Paltrow and actress Blythe Danner, first attracted notice for her performance in the 1996 film "Emma." She won the 1999 Academy Award for best actress for "Shakespeare in Love."
Bureau Report