The money the proud parents spent on hordes of bodyguards, Namibian undercover policemen, yards of screening material and weeks of subterfuge counted for nothing yesterday after the first pictures of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie's baby were leaked on the internet to the fury of the glossy celebrity magazines that had paid millions for them.

Hello! magazine had been touting them as "the most eagerly awaited baby exclusive of the year", while in the US they were hailed as the "photos of the year". But their bubble was burst yesterday as the first pictures of the couple's daughter, born in Namibia on May 27, appeared on internet gossip sites ahead of their publication today.

Hello! said it was taking legal action against sites - including Los Angeles gossip blog Defamer.com and community site LiveJournal - that broke the embargo, adding that it had no idea where the shots had come from.

"We were very shocked and horrified to see that this embargo has been breached," said Hello! features editor Juliet Herd. "Hello! is taking legal action around the world to stop internet sites and everyone else who may seek to publish."

Several websites removed the shot as soon as Hello! threatened them with a "cease and desist" letter but others left it on view. Getty Images, which brokered the deal, said its legal team was also looking into the leak.

Following the birth of their baby, Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt, the couple announced they would let Getty sell the first pictures of the child with proceeds going to charity. The auction, which resulted in People magazine winning exclusive US rights and Hello! scooping the UK rights, broke all previous records for an estimated $7m (£3.8m).