LOS ANGELES — Actress Elizabeth Banks has joined the cast of “What to Expect When You’re Expecting,” the movie adaptation of the bestselling pregnancy guide, movie studio Lionsgate announced Monday.
Banks, who plays Alec Baldwin’s on-screen love Avery Jessup on NBC’s “30 Rock,” will play a “baby-crazy” breastfeeding advocate whose beliefs about what makes a good mother change when she gets pregnant for the first time, according to a press release.
She joins previously announced stars Jennifer Lopez, Cameron Diaz, Anna Kendrick and Brooklyn Decker in the film, scheduled to open in theaters on Mother’s Day weekend 2012.
Banks, 37, gave birth to her first child via surrogate in March. She detailed her struggle with infertility on her blog, writing, “After years of trying to get pregnant, exploring the range of fertility treatments, all unsuccessful, our journey led us to gestational surrogacy.” She compared the process to making a “baby cake” and baking it “in another woman’s oven.”
The book “What to Expect When You’re Expecting,” currently in its fourth edition, was first published in 1984 and has sold more than 20 million copies. In 2007, USA Today put it at No. 19 on its list of the 25 most influential books of the past 25 years.