French actress and supermodel Laetitia Casta, 23, jokes during a photo call at the festival palace in Cannes, France, in this May 20, 2001 photo. (AP)

PARIS (AP) - French actress and supermodel Laetitia Casta now has a new title: mother.

Her daughter, Sahteene, was born between Thursday night and Friday morning in Paris, Casta's publicist said in a statement Monday.

Casta and her partner, Stephane Sednaoui, asked the media to "respect this happy, private event," the statement said.

The 23-year-old began modeling as a teen-ager. She has appeared in films such as Raoul Ruiz's "Savage Souls" earlier this year and "Asterix and Obelix vs. Caesar," directed by Claude Zidi, in 1999.

In 1998, France's mayors chose Casta, a Corsican, for the role of "Marianne." The bust of "Marianne" is shown in public buildings around the nation. The honor has previously been bestowed on modern-day icons like Catherine Deneuve and Brigitte Bardot.