As Duchess Kate Middleton's pregnancy was announced last December and anticipation grew leading up the royal birth last Monday, two otherwomen in England were quietly getting their own baby bumps.
Custom-made, of course
And if they stood shoulder to shoulder with Kate — lovely brown eyes, dazzling smile in place — you may not be able to tell the difference. Meet Heidi Agan and Gabriella Munro Douglas, the two Kate lookalikes, who've posed with their fake baby bumps, made money and become celebs in their own right over the past few months.
Heidi, a 33-year-old single mom from Midlands, is known to have received 15 marriage proposals since her story came out in a local newspaper last year. But she chose to concentrate on 'motherhood' instead of love. In the run-up to the birth of the royal baby, she wrote on her blog, "I have recently had a bump made in various sizes to make sure I could be authentic. Who knew it would cause such a stir. The response has been utterly incredible and I have been doing interviews at all corners of the globe. It has been such an incredible time and I feel so blessed to have such amazing opportunities (sic)." The glamorous former waitress is known to have earned up to £3,000 per day for mimicking the Duchess. Flown all around the world for public appearances, she insists that a toddler should accompany her for photoshoots once the royal baby grows up.
At Windsor, Gabriella, a 26-year-old brunette, reportedly gets up to £1,000 for each appearance. And she doesn't have to work too hard for the role. Reason? She just looks the part! Gabriella, who has a nine-to-five job as a furniture designer, had a brief run-in with the Royals, whenPrince William — mistaking her to be his girlfriend — held the door open for her on the Eton campus years back. Policemen outside Windsor Castle often ask Gabriella to move on as she is swamped by crowds who think her to be the 31-year-old Duchess.
Gabriella, who started to make appearances as the 'Official Kate Middleton lookalike' around the time of the royal wedding, had intitally thought that the public interest in her would last a year. But with Kate's pregnancy sending the media into a tizzy, she thought of making the most of her 'royal connection'. While Gabriella recently recreated Kate's wedding day in a photoshoot, she turned down offers to pose in underwear after Kate's bikini pictures made headlines. "I don't want to tarnish Kate's image and do not want to do anything to damage her reputation or mine," she was quoted as saying. Here's an impersonator with a conscience!