5 Famous Adoptees

We all like to have someone in the media to identify with, and adoptive families are no different. It can be inspiring to see adoptees who have gone on to live incredibly successful lives. Below are five celebrities who were adopted that might be inspirational or relatable for your adopted child. Read more about famous adoptive families here.

Faith Hill

Country music star Faith Hill was placed for adoption in 1967 by her birthmother, and was adopted into a loving family where she joined the couple's biological children. She grew up with two brothers in a wonderful environment that she has always described as positive and loving, but in her twenties she was struck with the desire to reconnect with her biological family. She met not only her mother, but her biological brother, and remains close to both of them. Faith Hill has always been outspoken about her positive experience with adoption and a well-known advocate of domestic adoption.

Kristin Chenoweth

Kristin Chenoweth was placed for adoption by her birthmother, who the broadway actress views as having given her a great gift. Chenoweth has spoken openly and blogged about her experience as an adopted child, and is openly grateful to her birthmother, who she has never met, for giving her the chance for a better life. She encourages adoptive parents and adoptees alike to be grateful for the chance they've been given, and applauds the strength of birthmothers for making what might be a difficult decision.

Michael Bay

Michael Bay is known for the explosions he makes on screen, but long before that he was adopted by an accountant and a child psychologist in Los Angeles. Bay has since located his birth mother, and while there are rumors about who his birth father is, he claims he does not know.

Keegan-Michael Key

Comedian Keegan-Michael Key always knew he was adopted, and always wanted to meet his birthmother. His adoptive parents always kept the door open for that possibility, but he never actually met her until he was 25. Key speaks openly about how important a moment that was for him. He had the perhaps rare experience of being a biracial child adopted into a biracial family; both his birthmother and adoptive mother were caucasian, and both his biological and adoptive fathers were African American.

Ray Liotta

Ray Liotta was adopted as a young child into a family that would soon grow again with his adopted sister, Linda Liotta. Ray always knew he was adopted and was very open about it from the start, even going so far as to do show and tell project on it in elementary school. As an adult, he met his biological mother and learned he had one full sibling and six half-siblings, a story on which he later based a movie.