WHY ARE THEY FAMOUS? NO 11: CARLOS LEON

Main Claim: Carlos is famous for one thing. Let's face it, one thing alone. The guy is known for his sperm. The man did what half the world's male population once dreamed of - he impregnated Madonna. A Cuban fitness trainer, he fathered Miss Lourdes Maria Ciccone Leon, born last Monday. If some tired hack knocks out his biography, there is only one title: In Bed with Madonna.

Appearance: Suffering Latino soul boy. Third league Brazilian basket ball player. Depressed waiter who works out between shifts.

Stud Rating: Carlos, 30, known as "The Tackle", was one of several in the running for the task of fertilising Madonna, 38. Basketball player Dennis Rodman catalogued his fling with Madonna in his autobiography, Bad as I Wanna Be. "I won't let you go because I want to have your baby," she is reported to have informed him by fax. Enter Carlos, jogging round Central Park. He was spotted by the budding mother, enlisted as her physical trainer, and the rest is genetic history.

Prince Consort: Who is Carlos The Tackle? At most, he appears to be a bit player in the nativity story. There's just a soupcon of a wimpy vibe to Signor Sperm - he looks dazed, hurt and grateful in turn, as though he can't quite believe his luck. "I like to do things to take power away from men," Mads has been quoted as saying. "He's a very ordinary guy. He's the kind of man who can fix washing machines." The ordinary one is said to be in love with the superstar. "I'm thrilled to have given her what she wanted," he is reported to have said. Sweet boy. Biddable boy.

Family Values: According to the Daily Mirror, Carlos's rellies are "poverty- stricken peasants living in a crude shack in the wilds of Cuba". His parents fled to the United States before Castro came into power. Mama Leon treats Madonna to her home cooking.

Baby Love: "A baby would be better than money and fame," said Madonna. She asked her stud to sign an agreement to give up all custodial rights to their unborn child in the event of their split. Since pregnancy is a "gift from God", the toy boy may have been little more than a sperm bank. Madonna is reported to have entertained him rather infrequently during the filming of her latest film, Evita.

Fame Prospects: Madonna may well leave the father of her child. If the Maternal Girl was madly in love, we'd all know about it, wouldn't we? A shadowy presence, The Tackle is no limelight-hogging Larry Fortenski figure, and will probably become a footnote in the annals of popular culture. But perhaps there just isn't an awful lot to know about Carlos Leon, except that one night he traded genes with the most famous woman in the world.