Celebrity Adoptions
Find out which celebrities have adopted children and babies. From Sandra Bullock, Nicole Kidman through to Angelina Jolie and Madonna, these women have found happiness with parenthood from children all over the world.
Getty ImagesMadonna
Madonna was granted permission to adopt four-year-old twin girls from Malawi, after a judge ruled in her favour. The twins will join the pop star's other previously adopted Malawian children, David and Mercy (both 11-years-old) under her care in the US.
Splash NewsCharlize Theron
Charlize Theron adopted a baby boy, Jackson, in secret in March 2012 and a baby girl, August, in 2015. Speaking about how having a baby has changed her, the actress joked: “I now travel in a pack.”
Bigpicturesphoto.comCate Blanchett
Cate Blanchett and her husband adopted a baby daughter - Edith Vivian Patricia Upton - to join their family in March 2015. The pair already have three sons Dashiell, 13, Roman, 10, and Ignatius, seven and were "thrilled" with their new addition.
Getty ImagesEwan McGregor
As well as two teenage daughters, Ewan McGregor and his French wife Eve Mavrakis have adopted two girls. Daughter Jamiyan was adopted from Mongolia in 2008 and another daughter, Annouk, who was adopted as a baby in 2011.
WennDiane Keaton
Diane Keaton has two adopted children, daughter Dexter (pictured) and a son, Duke. The actress said she decided to become a mother at 50, following her father’s death and the realisation of her own mortality. "Motherhood has completely changed me. It's just about the most completely humbling experience that I've ever had," she later said.
PA PhotosJulie Andrews
She played an adoptive mother in The Sound of Music but Julie Andrews has adopted children off screen too. The actress and her late husband Blake Edwards adopted two daughters, Amy and Joanna from Vietnam in the 1970s.
PA PhotosKatherine Heigl & Josh Kelley
After adopting daughter Naleigh from South Korea in 2009, Katherine Heigl and her musician husband Josh Kelley welcomed a second little girl in April 2012. Speaking about the couple’s decision to adopt, earlier in the year, Heigl revealed that it had always been in the plan for the couple, saying: “Josh and I started talking about it before we were even engaged.”
PA PhotosKatherine Heigl & Josh Kelley
Katherine Heigl and husband Josh Kelley adopted a 10-month-old daughter, Nancy Leigh “Naleigh” from South Korea in 2009. The actress is no stranger to the process; she has an adopted sister, Margaret Leigh, who is also from South Korea. Speaking to Ellen DeGeneres about Naleigh, who’s named after Katherine’s mum Nancy and her sister, the Knocked Up star said: "She's a special needs baby…They wanted to get her to us as quickly as possible."
WennRosie O’Donnell
Rosie O’Donnell and her ex-partner Kelli Carpenter adopted three children: Parker Jaren, Chelsea Belle and Blake Christoper. The comedian has long campaigned for the law to look more favourably on same-sex family adoption.
Rex FeaturesLionel Richie
Lionel Richie famously adopted Nicole Camille Escovedo, the two-year-old daughter of one of the members of his band. When Nicole was nine, the adoption, which was previously informal, became legal, and Lionel’s daughter changed her name to Nicole Richie.
FlynetKristin Davis
Sex And The City star Kristin Davis adopted a daughter, Gemma Rose, in 2011. But the actress said that, along with being happy, she was also a bit scared. “It is terrifying, partly because with adoption you always know there’s the chance that it won’t work. So you’re on pins and needles.”
Rex FeaturesSandra Bullock
Sandra Bullock had been planning to adopt a baby with husband Jesse James, but when it emerged that he had been cheating on her, the Oscar winner took the bold step of adopting little Louis Bardo Bullock as a single parent.
Bigpicturesphoto.comSharon Stone
Hollywood beauty Sharon Stone has a total of three adopted sons, Roan Joseph, Laird Vonne and Quinn – but is plagued by custody battles with ex-husband Phil Bronstein.
Rex FeaturesMeg Ryan
Meg Ryan denied reports that she was on a “rescue mission” when she adopted baby Daisy from China. The actress said that she “was on a mission to connect with somebody”.
Rex FeaturesSharon & Ozzy Osbourne
Robert Marcato, friend of Aimee and Kelly Osbourne, was adopted into the Osbourne clan at the age of 18, when his mum died of cancer. The famous family are now putting Robert through drama school.
Getty ImagesMichelle Pfeiffer
Scandal surrounded Michelle Pfeiffer’s adopted daughter, with papers claiming she had “bought” the baby. Despite this, Claudia Rose stayed with her new mum and became part of the family.
Rex FeaturesHugh Jackman
Hugh Jackman has two adopted children with wife Deborra-Lee: Oscar and Eva. The actor describes parenthood as “a blessing all round” and reportedly likes playing house-husband in-between filming.
Getty ImagesTom Cruise & Nicole Kidman
Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise may have split but their adopted kids, Isabella and Connor, still see lots of their celebrity parents. They’ve also gained step-parents in Katie Holmes and Keith Urban.
Rex FeaturesMadonna
After a long (and controversial) battle over his adoption, little David Banda became part of the Madonna/Guy Ritchie family, two years after the singer discovered him in a Malawian orphanage. Following Madonna's divorce from the director, the singer also adopted daughter Chifundo "Mercy" James from the African country.
Rex FeaturesCalista Flockhart
Calista Flockhart watched her adopted son, Liam, being born in 2000, after she’d met with his natural mother several times. When Calista got engaged to Harrison Ford, Liam got Indiana Jones as his adoptive dad!
Rex FeaturesBrad Pitt & Angelina Jolie
Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have certainly got their hands full with six children to look after. The eldest three, Maddox, Pax and Zahara, were adopted from Cambodia, Vietnam and Ethiopia respectively.
PacficCoastNews.comSteven Spielberg
Hollywood directing supremo Steven Spielberg adopted Theo and Mikaela with his second wife Kate Capshaw. Together the couple now have seven children so we doubt there’s ever a dull moment!
WennSheryl Crowe
Sheryl Crowe became a member of the Celebrity Adoption Club when she adopted nine-month-old Wyatt in 2007. The pair now live on Crowe’s 154-acre farm outside Nashville, Tennessee.
Rex FeaturesMia Farrow
Mia Farrow has a staggering 11 adopted children, as well as four biological kids. While she was with Woody Allen, several of their children appeared in his films. Famously, the director married one of Mia’s adopted daughters, Soon-Yi Previn, after his relationship with the actress broke down.
Rex FeaturesEmma Thompson
Emma Thompson and her husband Greg Wise informally adopted a 16-year-old Rwandan refugee, Tindyebwa Agaba, and successfully resisted his deportation back to Rwanda, where his family had been murdered in the genocide. “He'd never taken an exam, and he did his GCSEs and then went off and bloody did A-levels. Now his vocabulary is somewhat better than mine. He's brilliant, and it's so fantastic. What does he call me? He calls me Mum."
Rex FeaturesMary Louise Parker
In 2007, actress Mary Louise Parker adopted a baby girl from Ethiopia, called Caroline 'Ash' Aberash Parker. "I can’t adopt 500 children," she said, "but I did adopt this one beautiful little girl, and it was an amazing thing."
Rex FeaturesJamie Lee Curtis
Jamie Lee Curtis has two adopted children, Annie and Thomas, with her husband, Christopher Guest.
Rex FeaturesKirstie Alley
Cheers star Kirstie Alley shares custody of her two adopted children, William True and Lillie Price, with ex-husband Parker Stevenson.
