Biggest celebrity family news of 2013

The royal baby hath arrived! This was the one of the biggest news items of the decade, let alone of 2013. The beloved Duke and Duchess of Cambridge welcomed the future king, Prince George Alexander Louis of Cambridge, on July 22. The world was crazy-glued to the telly as news of Kate's labour spread across the world, and ooohed and ahhhed when William and Kate — in her polka-dot Jenny Packham dress — showed off their gorgeous bundle of joy to the members of the media who'd been camping out for hours. It was amazing!

Then we awaited the royal baby's name, the first official photos, the royal christening... It's been a royal year, indeed. 

Click on for more of the top 10 celebrity family news stories of 2013! >>>> 

May 13, 2013: Angelina Jolie releases a shocking op-ed in the New York Times. "I wanted to write this to tell other women that the decision to have a mastectomy was not easy," the Oscar-winning actress writes. "But it is one I am very happy that I made. My chances of developing breast cancer have dropped from 87 percent to under 5 percent. I can tell my children that they don't need to fear they will lose me to breast cancer."

In this stunning piece, Angelina announced bravely and openly that she had just completed a series of surgeries — a preventive double mastectomy — to reduce her risk of breast cancer, since she has a "faulty" BRCA1 gene, and her mother passed away of ovarian cancer.

Read more: Angelina Jolie has had a double mastectomy>

Move over Prince George! Well..., maybe not. But, if Kim Kardashian and Kanye West had their way, their new baby girl would be queen of the universe. Whether you wanted to hear about it or not, the birth of their baby was, indeed, a main event back in June.

But the biggest news of all was the baby's name: After rumour upon rumour flew with this name and that name for Kimye's baby (remember we thought it was "Kaidence Donda West"?), we finally learned her name was North West, aka "Nori." Alas, the jokes are still flying among the mainstream...

Read more: Celebrity baby names: Meanings and origins>

'Twas the year of Ben Affleck, and all through awards season, Ben scored Best Picture (Oscars), Best Director (Critics Choice Awards) and more — for his beloved movie-baby, Argo. THEN, more Ben news: The dad of three will be the next Batman in Batman vs. Superman. People were up in arms about the casting, but I have faith! Do you?

Read more: Oscar fashions 2013: Celebrity parents who rocked the red carpet>

Oscar winner Reese Witherspoon shocked us all when she and her husband, Jim Toth, were arrested back in April — Reese for "disorderly conduct," and Jim for driving under the influence. Though this may have marred her hitherto squeaky-clean image for a time, the mom of three is busy as ever filming back-to-back flicks.

Read more: Reese Witherspoon: Maternity-clothes roundup!>

Uh-ohhh, another celebrity scandal. X Factor's Simon Cowell made headlines when his girlfriend, aka the not-quite-divorced wife one of his close friends, became pregnant with his child. This will be the first child for the 54-year-old music mogul.

Read more: Scandalous? Celebrity parents who are causing a stir>

And speaking of older dads... Lots of new dads over 50 this year! Back in February, news broke that Steve Martin had become a first-time dad at age 67!

In January, Elton John and David Furnish welcomed their second child at ages 65 and 50, respectively. In August, Alec Baldwin welcomed a baby girl at age 55. And, this just in, Bruce Willis is expecting his fifth child at age 58.

Read more: First-time celebrity dads over 40>

New parents (and beloved actors) Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard finally tied the knot after years of waiting until Proposition 8 was overturned in California and the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) was lifted, June 26. That very day, Kristen proposed to Dax on Twitter: “@daxshepard1 will you marry me? Xo #marriageequality #loveislove.”

They got married quietly in a simple ceremony at the Beverly Hills County Clerk’s office, October 17. Kristen confirmed the happy news a day later, tweeting, "Wife coffee tastes way better than regular coffee in the morning :) @daxshepard1."

Read more: Celebrity parents: Baby before marriage>

#Sadface... So many celebrity-parent splits this year:

- Bethenny Frankel and Jason Hoppy: Split> (Jan. 3)
- Diane Lane and Josh Brolin: Split> (Feb. 22)
- Michelle Williams and Jason Segal: Split> (Feb. 27)
- Johnny Depp & Vanessa Paradis: Split>  (June 19)
- Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones: Separating> (Aug. 28)
- Bruce and Kris Jenner: Split> (Oct. 9)
- Orlando Bloom and Miranda Kerr: Split> (Oct. 25)
- Taye Diggs and Idina Menzel: Split> (Dec. 12)

Oscar winner Halle Berry made headlines in April when she announced she was preggers with her second child at age 46. The news became controversial when Halle suggested the baby was conceived naturally — a reality many thought was unlikely. "This has been the biggest surprise of my life, to tell you the truth,” she told CNN. “I thought I was kind of past the point where this could be a reality for me. So it’s been a big surprise and the most wonderful."

Also pregnant over 40 this year: Gwen Stefani is pregnant with her third at age 44, and celebrity stylist/designer Rachel Zoe is pregnant with her second at 42. 

Read more: 40 and pregnant: Celebrities we love>

Celebrity mom of the year: Kate Middleton>
The votes are in! Your favourite celebrity mom of 2013 is… the Duchess of Cambridge! Here’s why we love her — PLUS, this year’s runners-up.