The woman pregnant with Jude Law's baby
has been named as Samantha Burke.

A lawyer for the US socialite and aspiring actress released a statement yesterday (30.07.09) revealing 'Sherlock Holmes' star Jude is the father of her unborn child and has pledged to support her and the baby.

It also states Samantha got pregnant during a brief relationship with the 36-year-old star which occurred over the Christmas period last year.

Samantha has reportedly registered on website Babies "R" Us giving her due date as October 6 and saying she is expecting a girl she will name Sophia.

In a statement to gossip website TMZ, her lawyer wrote: "Ms. Burke can confirm that she did in fact have a relationship with Mr. Law and that she has informed Mr. Law that she is expecting his child later this fall.

"Since informing Mr. Law of the pregnancy, he has been nothing but responsive and supportive of Ms. Burke and the pregnancy."

Father-of-three Jude - who has returned to his home country, England, since the relationship - was reportedly shocked when he received a call to tell him Samantha was pregnant but confirmed he is the father of the baby by having a pre-birth DNA test.

The couple are said to have met while the 36-year-old actor was filming in New York and their relationship only lasted a few weeks. When Samantha found out she was pregnant she had difficulty contacting Jude.

A source told Life and Style Weekly magazine: "She tried to reach him, but the cell phone number she had for him was a temporary number he only used in New York. Her only way of contacting him was through his publicist.

"That's when they got the DNA test done, to make sure that it really was Jude's baby. The two of them are by no means together, but Jude isn't being a jerk about being a father. He's willing to take responsibility."

Jude broke the news to his ex-wife Sadie Frost - mother of his other children, Rafferty, 12, Iris, eight, and six-year-old Rudy, whom he remains close to - on Tuesday (28.07.09).