The rumors are true: "Jersey Shore" star Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi is pregnant. Snooki confirmed her baby news with Us Weekly, and in a world where celebrity babies rule supreme, Snooki's pregnancy could net her millions of dollars, and might give her an opportunity to completely reinvent her party-girl image.
"Snooki can stand to make a boatload of money from her pregnancy," Dorothy Cascerceri, senior editor at In Touch Weekly, said before Snooki confirmed her pregnancy. "People are so interested in her that magazines will be willing to pay big bucks for the first interview about her pregnancy and months down the road, for her first interview as a new mom and the baby photos. She could make somewhere around a million dollars easily for this."
But her profits don't have to end there. Being a mom is a big business in Hollywood. Just ask Kendra Wilkinson, Nicole Richie, Tori Spelling or Bethenny Frankel, all Hollywood moms who launched kid- or mom-related products after procreating. Companies that sell family-friendly products like food, appliances, cleaning goods and cars are often eager to write checks to celebrities who can promote their brands to fellow moms.
While endorsement deals are certainly key, the real money comes from owning your own products -- a business model that Frankel seems to have mastered -- and Snooki should take note.
"She will have plenty of opportunities to create her own lines of products whether it's maternity wear, pacifiers or baby clothes," Cascerceri said. "Opportunities will be presenting themselves the whole nine months of the pregnancy and well after the baby is born."
But is Snooki, a woman who was once punched on the face on national television, the right kind of mommy role model? It doesn’t matter. In Hollywood, a baby gives anyone the chance to reinvent their brand.
For years, Nicole Richie was famous only as Paris Hilton's sidekick. She was once arrested for driving the wrong way on a Los Angeles freeway in the wee hours of the morning, yet following her pregnancy Richie revamped her image as an altruistic earth mother and the endorsement deals came flying in.
"The products Snooki already has are surprisingly lifestyle brands (suntan lotion, sun glasses, perfume, novels, etc.), so it's not a huge jump to put her name on kitchy, leopard-print kids clothing, purple baby blankets, or baby sunglasses," said Cooper Lawrence, author of "Cult of Celebrity."
Let’s look at the numbers. The sale of baby-related interviews and photo opportunities worldwide could possibly net around $1 million. Endorsement deals can run anywhere between $100,000 and $2 million. Celebrity moms are among the highest paid Twitter endorsers, which can bring in at least another half million to a celebrity’s mommy empire. In total, we’re looking at a potential paycheck of at least $3 million.
But it may behoove Snooki to take a breather before undergoing her transformation from noted party girl to maternal goddess, according to marketing and branding experts.
"The best way for her to protect her brand is to go off the scene and focus on the task of becoming a mother," said marketing expert Eduardo A. Braniff, CEO of Imagination the Americas. "Products sometimes go into recall to improve and/or reset. It is perhaps safe to say that Snooki should go into recall, if for no other reason that over-exposure can kill the cat, but more so because the lifestyle we have come to know her for, is likely to be in sharp opposition to the one she is going to be headed towards."
"That said, Snooki does have the opportunity to redirect her brand into motherhood," Braniff continued. "Does Snooki have the opportunity to put forward a model for being a partner and a mother that is relevant to her generation specifically and all of us generally? Only time will tell, especially if she takes that time for herself."
Do you think Snooki will be able to reinvent her image with a baby? Sound off in the comments!
Check out photos of other celebrities who are expecting below:
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Jenna Dewan-Tatum
Jenna and her husband Channing Tatum are expecting their first baby together next year, <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/17/jenna-dewan-tatum-pregnant-channing-tatum-first-child_n_2316443.html?1355766274">their reps confirmed</a>. Channing's next title? Sexiest daddy alive.
Jessica Simpson
Jessica announced that <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/25/jessica-simpson-pregnant-baby-maxwell-photo_n_2362558.html">she's expecting her second baby</a> on Christmas. She and fiance Eric Johnson have a seven-month-old daughter Maxwell.
Kim Kardashian
The reality star is expecting her first child with boyfriend Kanye West. She confirmed the happy news on Dec. 31, <a href="http://kimkardashian.celebuzz.com/2012/12/31/new-year-new-beginnings-kim-kanye-pregnant-first-child-expecting-baby/">writing on her blog</a>, "It’s true!! Kanye and I are expecting a baby. We feel so blessed and lucky and wish that in addition to both of our families."
Fergie & Josh Duhamel
The couple announced their baby news on Twitter Feb. 18, after weeks of speculation.
Penelope Cruz
The actress is expecting her second child with husband Javier Bardem. The couple already has a 2-year-old son Leo.
Danneel Harris and Jensen Ackles
The former "One Tree Hill" star and the "Supernatural" actor are expecting their first child later this year.
Evan Rachel Wood
The actress is <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/11/evan-rachel-wood-pregnant-jamie-bell_n_2456954.html">expecting a baby</a> with her new husband Jamie Bell.
CaCee Cobb & Donald Faison
Jessica Simpson's best friend Cacee Cobb and new husband Donald Faison are expecting their first child together. The couple of six years married in December in the backyard of Faison’s "Scrubs" co-star Zach Braff.
Tracy Morgan
The actor and comedian and his model fiancée Megan Wollover are expecting their first child together early this summer.
Halle Berry
Berry is expecting her first child -- a boy -- with fiance Olivier Martinez. She is already the proud mommy of 5-year-old daughter, Nahla.
Jamie-Lynn Sigler
Sigler and her brand new fiance Cutter Dykstra are expecting their first child together.
Hilaria & Alec Baldwin
The couple announced that <a href="http://celebritybabies.people.com/2013/02/12/alec-baldwin-hilaria-baldwin-pregnant-expecting-baby/">they're expecting their first child</a> together. Alec already has a 17-year-old daughter, Ireland, with ex Kim Basinger.
Kate Middleton
The Duchess of Cambridge is <em>officially</em> expecting her first child with Prince William! The mom-to-be is <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/03/hyperemesis-gravidarum-kate-middleton-pregnant_n_2234099.html">suffering from Hyperemesis Gravidarium</a>, a rare maternity condition which brings on severe nausea, vomiting, weight loss, dehydration, lightheadedness and fainting.
Mario Lopez & Courtney Mazza
The newlyweds are expecting their second child, Mario revealed. “I am the happiest father in the world," <a href="http://www.extratv.com/2013/02/19/mario-and-courtney-lopez-expecting-baby-no-2/">he told Extra</a>. "We cannot wait to welcome baby Lopez number two into our lives.”
Mark-Paul Gosselaar
The "Saved by the Bell" star and his wife Catriona McGinn are expecting their first child together this September. Gosselaar is already a dad to two kids -- son Michael, 9, and daughter Ava, 6 -- with ex-wife Lisa Ann Russell.
Jamie Anne and Marshall Allman
"The Killing" star and the "True Blood" actor are expecting twins in the spring of 2013.
Busy Philipps
The "Cougar Town" star is <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/10/busy-philipps-pregnant-cougar-town-star-expecting-second-child_n_2272754.html">expecting her second child</a> with husband Marc Silverstein.
Heather Morris
According to Us Weekly, Heather Morris, 26, and longtime beau Taylor Hubbell are expecting their first child.
Ivanka Trump
Trump and her husband Jared Kushner <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/11/ivanka-trump-pregnant-second_n_3060630.html?utm_hp_ref=celebrity" target="_blank">are expecting their second child</a> this fall.
Sarah Wright
Wright and her husband Eric Christian Olsen are expecting a baby boy in August, <a href="http://celebritybabies.people.com/2013/04/17/eric-christian-olsen-expecting-son/" target="_blank">People confirms</a>.
Kyla Weber
Vince Vaughn's wife <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/27/vince-vaughn-baby-actor-wife_n_3169237.html?utm_hp_ref=celebrity" target="_blank">is expecting the couple's second child</a> in August. The pair already has a daughter Locklyn.
Jaime King
The "Hart of Dixie" star is expecting her first child with husband Kyle Newman.
Rachel Leigh Cook
The "She's All That" star and her husband Daniel Gillies are expecting their first child this fall.
Monica
Monica is expecting her first child with husband Shannon Brown, but she's already mom to sons Rocko, who turns 8 later this month, and Romelo Montez, 5.
Posted: 03/ 7/2012 1:34 pm