Famous Families Touched by Adoption

All sorts of people want to go through the adoption process. There's no reason that celebrities would not be a part of the adoption process; indeed, many have used their fame and influence to champion the importance of adoption and make it more publicly known and understood. Adoption is not exclusive to any one type of family or family unit; more and more people are seeing it as a real option that will work the best for their family situation. Below are some celebrities who have adopted children.

Madonna

Madonna is a well-known figure throughout the music world. Her music and iconic looks have been a hit for decades. She already had two biological children when she decided to adopt from Malawi, a country in southeast Africa. She adopted one young boy, and a year later, another girl. In 2017, she adopted two more children: twin girls, age four, from the same town. She has been a passionate advocate of helping children in Malawi, and has raised significant funds for the charity that she helped create there.

Madonna didn't allow any stigma or discomfort–despite the very public eye she's under–to stop her from doing what was best for her family. She said: “I am overjoyed that they [the twins] are now part of our family,” on Instagram, when she made the announcement public.

Diane Keaton

Diane Keaton recently adopted two children, one son and one daughter, at fifty. She had no real interest in being a mother when she was younger, but following the death of her father she realized that being a mother was important to her. At that point, biological children didn't make sense in her life. Instead, she adopted one child, and five years later, another. To her, adoption provided perfect access into motherhood, and worked with what she needed in life.

Sandra Bullock

Sandra Bullock had been planning to adopt a child for a long time with her husband–but when that marriage ended, she decided to go ahead and adopt the child anyway. Being a single adoptive parent is not spoken about as often; the assumption and stereotype for adoption is generally a couple, but Sandra Bullock has provided some visibility for single adoptive parents.

Julie Andrews

Julie Andrews, known for many hits throughout the years–including the seminal Sound of Music–adopted two children from Vietnam with her husband in the 1970s. This approach of growing their family worked well for the couple, and they're thrilled with the adoption.

Sharon & Ozzy Osbourne

Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne had a pretty non-traditional approach to adoption when they adopted a friend's son following the mother's death from cancer. They adopted him into their family where they already have two biological children.

Celebrity adoption is not unheard of, and has the benefit of shining light onto the process and making it more available and accessible for the average family. As the stories of these five celebrities show, the key is deciding what works best for your family unit, and finding a child (or birth mother) that connections go well. Age of the adoptive parent or the child doesn't matter, and neither does family size, or an international versus domestic adoption. What matters is that you are prepared and willing to love the child.