I came across this article on Faith Hill at People.com today and thought it was really neat.
Just an infant, Hill is adopted by Ted Perry, a factory worker, and his wife, Edna, a former bank teller in the small town Star, Mississippi. Hill won't meet her birth mother (and biological brother) until 1993, finding them after a three-year search. "The first time I met her I just stared at her," Hill tells PEOPLE in 1999. "I'd never seen anybody that looked like me. It was the awe of seeing someone you came from. It fills something."
(This is exactly how I feel!)
Then, I started reading about her and other celebrities involved with adoption at AmericanAdoptions.com:
Faith Hill is not only a famous country music singer, but also an Adopted Child. "Having been adopted, I really have a strong sense - a necessity almost - for stability. A foundation where my family is concerned. [Success] would be meaningless without anyone to share it with.
Rosie O'Donnell is not only an actress but also a proud Adoptive Parent. "To give them what I never had heals me. Some days I look at them and almost start to cry. I think, how can I love them more than I did the day before? But it keeps growing."
Tom Cruise is not only an actor, but also a proud Adoptive Parent. "And I feel as a parent, my job is to educate them and give them the ability to make good decisions and learn about the world. And they have an opportunity that I never had, they get to see the world. So they have a great life, you know. I want to be my kids."
Nicole Kidman is not only an actress, but also a proud Adoptive Parent. "Somehow destiny comes into play. These children end up with you and you end up with them. It's something quite magical."
Bill Clinton was not only the President of the USA, but also an Adopted Child. "We must work tirelessly to make sure that every boy and girl in America who is up for adoption has a family waiting to reach him or her. This is a season of miracles, and perhaps there is no greater miracle than finding a loving home for a child who needs one."
Oprah Winfrey is not only a talk show host, but an advocate for Adoption. "My wish is that children be treated as people, and not as property; that their rights as human beings on the planet, to food, shelter, education, and health, be taken seriously."
Angelina Jolie is not only a famous actress, but a proud Adoptive Parent. "Maddox is my baby, he's by my side all the time, and I think I can give him so much. I can no more imagine living without him, than not breathing."
Dave Thomas is not only the famous owner of the Wendy's food chain, but also a proud Adopted Child. "Everyone's got to be for a child to have a home and love. I mean I don't know anyone who would be against that."
Sharon Stone is not only a famous actress, but a proud Adoptive Parent. "He's my wonderful, precious, little Budda. He eats like a champion. He sleeps peacefully and he's the apple of his daddy's eye."
Diane Keaton is not only a famous actress, but a proud Adoptive Parent. She quotes that motherhood, "is the most humbling experience I've ever had."
Babe Ruth is not only a famous baseball legend, but a proud Adoptive Parent. He and his wife had one adopted daughter, Dorothy.
Burt Reynolds is not only a famous actor, but also a proud Adoptive Parent.
Loni Anderson is not only a famous actress, but also a proud Adoptive Parent.
John Denver is not only a famous singer, but also a proud Adoptive Parent.
Walt Disney is not only the famous founder of the amusement park, Disney World, but a proud Adoptive Parent.
Connie Chung is not only a famous news anchor, but also a proud Adoptive Parent. "Oh no. He's our son. He was meant to be ours, he was meant to be matched with us. So it's perfect." (In response to an interview question if adoption causes her to look at her son differently.)
John Lennon was not only a famous musician, but an Adopted Child as well. His aunt adopted him when he was born and raised him.
Jesse Jackson is not only a minister but also a proud Adopted Child. "Charlie Henry (Jackson) adopted me and gave me his name, his love, his encouragement, discipline and a high sense of self-respect."
Mother Teresa affected children and adults all over the world. "Do you want to do something beautiful for God? There is a person who needs you. This is your chance."
Kirstie Alley is not only an actress, but also a proud Adoptive Parent. "And now it makes every day like Christmas. I can't wait to see him in the morning. I can't wait for him to wake up."
Parker Stevenson is not only a famous actor, but a proud Adoptive Parent. He and his wife had two adopted children.
Grey Louganis is not only a former Olympic diver but also an Adopted Child. "Mom said that what really cinched the deal was my smile. Once she saw that, she didn't want to look at any other babies."
Joni Mitchell is not only a famous singer, but a proud birthmother as well. She has recently reunited with the daughter she placed for adoption when she was 20 years old.
Andy Kaufman is not only a famous actor, but also a proud birthfather. He and his girlfriend placed their daughter for adoption when they were young college students.
Kate Mulgrew is not only a famous actress, but a proud birthmother as well. "Life is sacred to me on all levels. Abortion does not comute with my philosophy."
Mia Farrow is not only a famous actress, but a proud Adoptive Parent as well. "I found real fulfillment through my children and through adoption special needs kids."
David Crosby is not only a famous singer, but also a proud birthfather. His biological son quotes, "He was worried about me being this angry young man - 'You abandoned me,' that sort of thing. That wasn't even an issue."
OTHER QUOTES:
"Time and experience have taught me a priceless lesson. Any child you take for your own becomes your own if you give of yourself to that child. I have borne two children and had seven others by adoption, and they are all my children, equally beloved and precious." -Dale Evans, Adoptive Parent
"Both the courage and trust of those who place their babies for adoption and the enthusiasm of those who adopt them are overwhelmingly vindicated by the tens of thousands of successful adoptions that take place in this country every year." -The New Yorker, Editorial
ADOPTED CELEBRITIES:
Eleanor Roosevelt - First Lady
Lynette Cole - Miss USA 2000
Melissa Gilbert - Actress
Priscilla Presley - Actress
Sarah McLachlan - Singer
Scott Hamilton - Professional Figure Skater
Edward Albee - Playwright
John J. Audubon - Naturalist
Les Brown - Motivational Speaker
Robert Byrd - Senator
Peter and Kitty Carruthers - Skaters
Nat King Cole - Singer
Christina Crawford - Author
Faith Daniels - TV News Personality
Ted Danson - Actor (has also adopted a child)
Eric Dickerson - Professional Football
Gerald Ford - President
Newt Gingrich - Politics
Scott Hamilton - Skater
Debi Harry - Singer
Brent Jasmer - Actor
Steven Paul Jobs - Co-Founder of Apple Computers
Matthew and Patrick Laborteaux - Actors
Jim Lightfood - Representative
Art Linkletter - TV Personality
Charlotte Anne Lopez - Miss Teen USA
James McArthur - Actor, son of Helen Hayes
James Michener - Author
Tom Monaghan - founder of Domino's Pizza, owner of Detroit Tigers
Marilyn Monroe - Actress
Moses - Biblical Leader
Dan O'Brien - Olympic Gold Medalist - Decathlon
Hugh O'Connor - Actor
Jim Palmer - Professional Baseball
Michael Reagan - President's son
Nancy Reagan - First Lady
Wilson Riles - Educator
Victoria Rowell - Actress
BIRTHPARENT CELEBRITIES:
Roseanne Barr - Actress
ADOPTIVE PARENT CELEBRITIES:
Calista Flockhart - Actress
Dan Marino - Professional Athlete
Ed McMahon - Entertainer
Jane Fonda - Actress
Kirby Puckett - Professional Athlete
Magic Johnson - Professional Athlete
Maury Povich - Talk Show Host
Ozzy and Sharon Osborne - Singer and Actress
Willie Mays - Hall of Fame Professional Athlete
Woody Allen - Director
Julie Andrews - Singer/Actress
Eve Arden - Actress
Pearl Bailey - Singer/Actress
Harry Belafonte - Singer
Regina Belle - Singer
Lloyd Bentsen - Secretary of Treasury
Taurean Blacque - Actor
Erma Bombeck - Humorist
Mai Britt - Actress, ex-wife of Sammy Davis Jr.
Charles Bronson and Jill Ireland - Actors
Denise Scott Brown - Architect
Art Buchwald - Humorist
George Burns - Comedian
Ben Nighthorse Campbell - Senator
Kitty Cruthers - Skating Champion
Rt. Hon. Jean Chretien and Aline - Prime Minister, Canada
Jamie Lee Curtis - Actress
Bette Davis - Actress
Sammy Davis Jr. - Entertainer
Oscar de la Renta - Fashion Designer
John DeLorean - Industrialist
Patty Duke - Actress
Donna Mills - Actress
Valerie Harper - Actress
Peter Falk - Actor
John Gregory Dunn and Joan Didion - Authors
Henry Fonda - Actor
Joan Fontaine - Actress
Robert Fulgham - Author
Teri Garr - Actress
Lou Gosselt Jr. - Actor
Karen Grassle - Actress
Helen Hayes - Actress
Jesse Helms - Senator
Bob and Dorothy Hope - Comedian/Singer
Gordon Humphrey - Senator
Kate Jackson - Actress
Judy Woodruff - TV News Personality
Diane Wiest - Actress
Jo Beth Williams - Actress
Marcia Wallace- Actress
Barbara Walters - TV Personality
Jann Wenner - Magazine Editor
Kurt Vonnegut - Author
Robert Venturi - Architect
Jill Kremetz - Author
Kris Kristofferson - Singer
Patti LaBelle - Singer
Hedy Lamarr - Actress
Michael Landon - Actor
Jerry Lewis - Comedian/Singer/Dancer/Actor/Entertainer
John McCain - Senator
Paul Newman - Actor
Carroll O'Connor - Actor
Marie Osmond - Singer
Estelle Parsons - Actress
Michelle Pfeiffer - Actress
Al Roker - TV Personality
Linda Ronstadt - Singer
Isabella Rossellini - Model/Actress
Gail Sheehy - Author
Susan Ruttan - Actress
Paul Simon - Senator
Arthur Ochs Sulzberger Sr. - Newspaper Publisher
Gloria Swanson - Actress
Robert Urich and Heather Mendes - Actor/Actress
Then, more from Celebrities.Adoption.com:
Many of us have a fascination with the well-known in the world of adoption and foster care: actors, entertainers, athletes, politicians, and others. The list below includes names in the adoption community that may be more recognizable to Americans, but this isn't the end of it. (I didn't include the ones listed above from the other website.)
For years, Roger Ridley Fenton has been compiling a list of individuals and groups of people who were formally and informally adopted, fostered, and otherwise raised apart from their biological parents. Each entry has been researched and cross-checked. The list is an eye-opener, since it includes not only well-known names in the U.S. and Canada, but also names from around the world. For students of adoption and foster care history, the document includes information about groups such as Child Migrants, Kindertransport, Orphan Trains, Chinese Dynasties and others, that trace the history of child welfare, information adoption, and the more formal type of adoption and foster care we know today. The list even includes several who have been rumored to have been adopted... and the truth is revealed. Read on.
ADOPTED PERSONS:
Andy Berlin - Entrepreneur
Anthony Williams - Politician
Aristotle - Philosopher
Bo Diddley - Musician/Performer
Buffy Sainte-Marie - Musician/Actress
Carl-Theodor Dreyer - Danish Film Director
Clarissa Pinkola Estes - Author
Crazy Horse - Lakota War Chief
Daunte Culpepper - Football Player
D.M.C. - Hip-Hop Artist
Edgar Allen Poe - Poet/Writer
Freddie Bartholomew - Actor
George Washington Carver - Inventor
Jean Jacques Rousseau - Philosopher
Jesus - Adopted by Joseph the Carpenter (Bible)
Jett Williams - Country Singer/Author
John Hancock - Politician
Langston Hughes - Poet/Writer
Larry Ellison - Entrepreneur
Lee Majors - Actor
Leo Tolstoy - Writer
Les Brown - Motivational Speaker
Malcolm X - Civil Rights Leader
Mark Acre - Athlete
Nelson Mandela - Politician
Ray Liotta - Actor
Reno - Performance Artist/Comedian
Surya Bonaly - Figure Skater
Tim Green - Football Player/Commentor
Tim McGraw - Country Singer
Tommy Davidson - Comedian
BIRTHPARENTS:
Clark Gable - Actor
Kate Mulgrew - Actress
Mercedes Reuhl - Actress
Strom Thurmond - Politician
ADOPTIVE PARENTS:
Alfre Woodard - Actress
Alexander the Great - King of Macedonia, 356-232 B.C.
Ben Stein - Actor/Game Show Host
Bette Davis - Actress
Billy Bob Thornton - Actor/Writer/Singer
Brooke Adams - Actress
Cecil B. De Mille - Film Director
Chelsea Noble - Actress
Edie Falco - Actress
Father George Clements - Minister
Gary Merrill - Actor
George Lucas - Film Director
Gracie Allen - Comedian
Harpo Max - Actor
Hugh Jackman - Actor
Jane Wyman - Actress
Jann Wenner - Publisher
Josephine Baker - Singer/Dancer
Kate Capshaw - Actress
Kirk Cameron - Actor
Meg Ryan - Actress
Natalie Williams - Athlete
Nell Carter - Entertainer
Paula Poundstone - Comedian
Richard King Mellon - Financier
Sally Jessy Raphael - Talk Show Host
Kay Bailey Hutchinson - Senator
Sir Christopher Guest - Actor
Stephen Spielberg - Film Director
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