All eyes have been on Jessica Simpson before and after giving birth to daughter Maxwell Drew, and the attention shows no signs of stopping. However, it wasn't always this way.
Before becoming pregnant, Simpson fell out of the spotlight for a while.
Her last real fame was during a few television specials with old flame, Nick Lachey. She was supposed to put out a new CD in 2010, but instead put out a greatest hits record. Her last CD released was a holiday album, Happy Christmas, released in November, 2010.
With backlash for a showing off a more curvy figure, Simpson faced the fate of many other celeb females—Tori Spelling, Nicole Richie—becoming forgotten. However, they all found an answer to help boost them back into the limelight: pregnancy.
As pointed out in The New York Times, plenty of celebrity moms are cashing in on their bundles of joy with reality shows, Twitter endorsements and clothing lines.
The effect is being referred to as a viable "Plan B."
“Being a celebrity mom has more business opportunities than ever before,” said Peter Grossman, the photo editor of Us Weekly, where he has negotiated six-figure cover deals with many celebrities and their cuddly offspring. “Now, it’s not just about selling your baby pics. It’s starting a clothing line or endorsing a stroller. The value of a celebrity mom has never been higher.”
There's a lot of discussion on how Simpson will on newborn Maxie—adding a maternity-wear line, baby blankets, go the Tori Spelling route with a reality TV series.
Currently, Simpson stars alongside another celebrity mom, Nicole Richie, on NBC's competition show "Fashion Star." While we wait to see what's next from Simpson, there are plenty of Hollywood moms—and mothers to be—who have capitalized on their bundles of joy.
Tori Spelling
Donna Martin graduates … from teen-television idol to reality star.
After Fox's hit "90210" went off the air, the daughter of American film and television producer Aaron Spelling didn't quite find her footing, floundering about in a bunch of made-for-television films ("Housesitter"), minor appearances in big films ("Scary Movie 2") and indie flicks ("50 Ways to Leave Your Lover").
That all changed after Spelling landed VH1 sitcom, "So NoTORIous," in 2006 mocking her public image. During the series, Spelling married current husband, Dean McDermott in May of that year.
Less than a year later, the couple welcomed son Liam Aaron in March 2007. That same month, the pair had a new television show on Oxygen, "Tori & Dean: Inn Love," following their purchase of a bed and breakfast in Fallbrook, California.
Now, Spelling and McDermott are the faces of the Oxygen network. Since 2007, the couple have had two more reality shows and, with them, two more children. "Tori & Dean: Home Sweet Hollywood" took place during Spelling's second pregnancy.
Birth number three to Hattie Margaret in October 2011 coincided with Spelling's latest spinoff, "Tori & Dean: sTORIbook Weddings," which premiered last April.
Last month, Spelling announced she's expecting child number four. And, of course, with another baby means another new show—"Craft Wars" on TLC.
Kendra Wilkinson
The former "Girls Next Door" playboy went from the Playboy Mansion to doting wife and mom. Kendra Wilkinson married Philadelphia Eagles' receiver Hank Baskett in June 2009 and not even a month later she announced the news of their first child, Hank Basket IV.
Prior to her announcement, Wilkinson's spin-off show, "Kendra," premiered on E! to a record-breaking 2.6 million viewers, the channel's highest ratings since "The Anna Nicole Show." Her pregnancy became a central storyline to the show's success.
This summer, the couple will have a new show on the WE Network called, "Kendra on Top." Toddler Hank will be featured on there as well.
Bethenny Frankel
You most likely know Bethenny Frankel from "The Real Housewives of New York City" or for her Skinnygirl cocktail line. However, Frankel started out on "The Apprentice: Martha Stewart," where she was one of the finalists.
From there, Frankel was given a Bravo reality show which covered all the bases—her engagement and marriage to Jason Hoppy and ensuing birth of daughter Bryn. The show became Bravo's most-watched series debut with more than two million viewers.
This summer, Frankel's getting her own talk show on 11 Fox-owned stations. "Bethenny," will start out as a six-week project June 11 with the possibility of becoming nationally syndicated in 2013.
See the rest of the story at Business Insider