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Where else besides the LAT's "Hot Property" column, the weekly chronicle of notable celebrity real estate transactions, would you expect to find a brief discussion of some of the single-parenting options available to the modern, empowered actress?

This Catwoman is preparing to nest. Oscar-winning actress Halle Berry, who starred last year as Batman's comic-book paramour, announced in May that she was ready to have a child. Now, she has purchased a nearly $6-million home in the Hollywood Hills from Frankie Muniz, star of Fox's "Malcolm in the Middle."

The 37-year-old Berry, who is single, may follow in the footsteps of actress Angelina Jolie and adopt a child, or else have a baby through artificial insemination. Berry, twice divorced, said on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" that she had no plans to marry again.

How can any article addressing the single-parenthood choices of the rich and famous ignore two of the hottest baby-procurement methods of the moment, surrogate motherhood (which eliminates the need for a "break" or the clumsy incorporation of a pregnancy into a movie or TV story line) and the black-market (no troublesome adoption boards, plus instant gratification)? Either of these options sound like an easier way for Berry to fill that big, empty house with the joy of children's laughter while sparing her acting career a heat-killing hiatus.