A FEW FAMOUS PEOPLE THAT HAVE ADOPTED!

Making way for their careers, Hollywood has a generation of famous people who postpone traditional family life. With their biological clocks ticking away, they find themselves often looking at adoption. This seems to have now become a fashion trend amongst the famous and they sometimes go far afield to find ‘their adopted child’. One hopes that people realise that adoption is in the child’s best interest and that fame must not detract from the important issues and merits of adoption. Many famous people have done wonderful work in giving good homes and endless opportunities to their adopted children. Let the good work continue!

KIRSTIE ALLEY- actress

During her marriage to actor Parker Stevenson, they adopted a boy and later a girl. Kirstie later experienced a miscarriage and a stillbirth. They have since divorced and now share joint custody of their children.

JULIE ANDREWS – actress

During her marriage to Tony Walton (1959 – 1967) she had one daughter, Emma Kate. In 1969 she married her second husband, writer and director Blake Edward and in 1974 they adopted two Vietnamese orphan girls. Under the name of Julie Andrews Edwards, she has written several children’s books.

TOM CRUISE and NICOLE KIDMAN….. actor and actress

During Tom Cruise’s marriage to Nicole Kidman, they adopted two children, a son, Connor and a daughter, Isabella. This marriage has since been dissolved and Cruise (44) married Katie Holmes (27) in November, 2006 at a storybook Italian castle. A floodlit 15th century castle perched above lakeside town of Bracciano was the scene of their marriage. Cruise now has a biological daughter with Holmes. (Suri Cruise – born in Los Angeles, 18April 2006. The proud parents thought her name meant “princess” in Hebrew – then learnt it meant “scram!” in Israel.)

Cruise is to sue the author of a controversial new book that claims the actor's daughter may have been conceived from frozen sperm from Scientology founder L Ron Hubbard!

ANGELINA JOLIE and BRAD PITT have three adopted children, a son, Maddox, daughter Zahara Marley. (Zahara was conceived when her 24 year old mother - Mentwabe Dawit, was raped in 2004 after work at a construction site in the Ethiopian town of Awasa.) In 2006 Angelina and Brad had their own biological child, Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt, born in Swakopmund, Namibia, 28 May, 2006. (Shiloh means “the peaceful one” or “his gift” in Hebrew. Shiloh also being the site of a battle during the American Civil War.)

March 2007, 31 year-old Angelina does it again! The adoption of Vietnamese orphan is finalized. The 3 year-old boy’s birth name is Pham Quang Sang but Jolie renamed him Pax Thien Jolie. A name that combines the Latin word for peace and the Vietnamese word for sky or heaven. Jolie adopts Pax as a single mother.

July 12, 2008 - IT'S DOUBLE TROUBLE FOR ANGELINA: She gives birth (by caesarean section) to twins at the Lenval hospital in Nice, France. A boy, Knox Leon and a girl, Vivienne Marcheline. The rights for the first images are sold jointly to People and Hello for $14 million, the most expensive celebrity pictures ever taken.

The amazing JOSEPHINE BAKER (1906-1975), American dancer, actress and singer, captivating her audiences with her extroverted personality and performances. Said to have been the highest-paid entertainer in Europe during the 1920’s.

In 1941, she gave birth to a stillborn child. A strong supporter of the American Civil Rights Movement during the 1950’s. She adopted 12 children (10 boys and 2 girls) from varying ethnical backgrounds and affectionately dubbed them her ‘Rainbow Tribe’.

She lived with her children and an enormous staff in a castle (Château des Milandes) in France. She called it her "Sleeping Beauty Castle". This château was built in 1489. It has now been restored as a museum where the outside courtyard is now part of the restaurant and gift shop.

And if you're keen to know what happened to her 'tribe'... Her first child, Akio (Korean) a banker in Paris; Janot (Japanese) a gardener in Monaco; Jari (Finnish) a restaurateur in New York; Luis (Colombian) a businessman in Monaco; Marianne (north African) a medical secretary in Paris; Brahim (north African) author of a book about Baker; Moise (French and Jewish) died in 1997; Jean-Claude (French) a writer in Paris; Noel (French) a restaurateur in Paris; Koffi (Ivory Coast) a restaurateur in Buenos Aires, Argentina; Mara (Venezuelan) employed by the French government in St Etienne; and Stellina (Moroccan) a French teacher in Italy.

JOAN CRAWFORD

She adopted 5 children (although she only kept and raised four of them). All their names began with the letter ‘C’!

The first child, a girl, Christina, whom she adopted while single and divorced. (This, the eldest, later wrote a book ‘Mommie Dearest’ where she claims her mother was mentally unstable – many people claimed this was untrue and that Christina was bitter). This book was released shortly after Joan’s death and created much speculation which harmed her popularity status.

Her second child, Christopher, a boy, whom a few months later was tracked down by his biological mother and managed to get him back.

The third child, another boy, whom she named Philip Jr. Joan and her current husband divorced. She then changed Philip’s name to Christopher and at this time she also changed his birth date to avoid his biological mother tracking him down, as she feared he would be taken away from her.

Her fourth and fifth children, twin girls, Cynthia (Cindy) and Cathy were also adopted by Joan whilst she was single and divorced.

DIANNE HALL – actress

Better known as Dianne Keaton, although never married, adopted a baby girl in January 1996 and a boy in 2001.

JAMIE LEE CURTIS – actress

Daughter of Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh. Jamie married Christopher Guest in 1984. They have two adopted children, Annie and Thomas. Jamie Lee wrote the book “Tell me again about the night I was born”. Lovely book to read to a young child to introduce the idea of being adopted and a way of creating a family!

LINDA RONSTADT

Is a single mother of two adopted children, Carlos and Mary.

LONI ANDERSON – actress

Best known for her role in WKRP in Cincinnati. Was wife of Burt Reynolds during 1988 to 1993. In 1988 she adopted her son Quinton.

MADONNA

Mother of Lourdes and Rocco, Madonna adopted a little boy, David Banda, from Malawi. David's biological father is said to be quite pleased that his son will one day be a very wealthy man.

Madonna's efforts to put the plight of Malawi's Aids orphans on the global stage and raising money to support them, has been praised by the Malawi government. Madonna, with the backing of luxury brand Gucci, raised more than R21 million in a star-studden benefit dinner and auction which was held on a lawn outside the United Nations headquarters in New York. Madonna told guests "I don't just want you to write me a cheque. I'm more interested in your heart." Dinner cost between R20000 to R75000 a head and was followed by a cocktail party including performances by Rihanna, Timbaland and Alicia Keys. Also on auction was lunch with actress Hayek and her husband, Francois Henri Pinault. This meal sold for close to R1-million to an anonymous bidder. But the priciest item on auction was a chance to tour with Madonna and a dance class with herself and Gwyneth Paltrow thrown in - all this for a mere R4.6-million! (Pah! Petty Cash!)

Latest news is that the father of David, has a new child. The boy was born on July 20(2008) at Mchinji District Hospital, the hospital at which David was born. Father is 'over the moon'. He has previously lost two infants to malaria.

Not to be outdone by Oprah Winfrey, Madonna plans to start building a multimillion-dollar girls' school in Malawi for underpriviledged children this year (2008). It will be on the scale that Ophrah has in South Africa.

Madonna's seven-year marriage to Guy Ritchie is over. The divorce is finalised today, November 21, 2008.

Mercy James joins the family! Mwandida was 14 when she became pregnant by an older pupil at the school and died days after giving birth to little Mercy.

LIONEL RICHIE - singer

Adopted Nicole Richie. Nicole often being in the limelight and did “The Simple Life” TV reality series with Paris Hilton. Nicole, daughter of one of Lionel Richie's musicians, was taken in and adopted by Richie and his then-wife Brenda Harvey at the age of two. Nicole says "My birth parents believed they would be better able to provide for me. I had no idea I lived a privileged life. My friends all lived the same way." Nicole is pregnant now with her first child.

LEBO MATHOSA

The late South African pop star (passed away in a tragic car accident in October 2006) was given up for adoption by her biological mother in 1978 to the late Gerrit Mathosa and his wife, Nomvula.

WOODY ALLEN and MIA FARROW - actress

Maria de Lourdes Villiers Farrow. Her first marriage was to Frank Sinatra but two years into their marriage, Frank served her with divorce papers, believing she favoured her career over him. She had a total of 14 children of which 9 were adopted and 5 were biological. One of her daughters, Tam, died of cardiac arrest at the age of 19 in 2000. During her marriage to Woody Allen, they adopted one of their daughters, Soon-Yi Previn who was later to become Allen’s wife. Stranger things have happened!

ELTON JOHN

Considering adopting yet again? (Sept 2009) Sir Elton John plans to adopt a baby from a Ukranian orphanage, but could this lead to more children being abandoned?

Together with his 46 year old partner, David Furnish, they want to adopt 14-month-old Lev who has 'stolen John's heart'. EveryChild (an international children's charity) are concerned because 'research has found that vulnerable mothers in the Ukraine were encouraged to place their own children in care in the hope they would be adopted by wealthy celebrities'.

John had in years gone by, considered adopting a South African orphan but thought that it was unfair to impose his life style and high profile on a child. During a trip to South Africa, his partner, David Furnish was moved by the plight of many orphans and brought back a picture of a cute four year old named Elton. Elton John had expressed his interest in adopting the boy but at the age of 54 said he was very set in his ways and thought it would be better to educate the child by sending him to a good school in South Africa.

As part of Sir Elton John's Aids Foundation initiative in 2003, he founded the Elton John Masibambisane Centre for Orphaned and Vulnerable Children in the southern Johannesburg suburb of Eldorado Park. The centre cares for more than 200 children on a daily basis and houses a nursery school for pre-school children.

What do you, the reader think? Should he adopt or not?

SUSAN RUTTAN

“LA LAW” star Susan Ruttan and husband Randy arranged with a pregnant woman to adopt her child in 1993. Susan attended Lamaze classes and helped deliver her son, Jackson Adams.

LONI ANDERSON

Suffered two miscarriages before she and then-husband Burt Reynolds adopted son, Quinton.

TED DANSON

And his former wife Casey, adopted daughter Alexis in 1984.

ROBIN GIVENS

Robin Simone, born to Ruth and Reuben Givens in New York City on November 27, 1964. Wikipedia reports that she gave up her acceptance into Harvard Medical School to appear on the TV series 'The Cosby Show'. Often in the headlines as wife of boxing bad boy Mike Tyson, Givens divorced him after she accused him of abuse. Though she reported not "getting a dime" from her divorce, newspapers reported that she scored millions of dollars. Givens adopted son Buddy in 1994.

DONNA MILLS - actress

Of “Knots Landing” has an adopted daughter Chloe.

MICHELLE PFEIFFER – actress

In March of 1993, she adopted a girl, Claudia Rose from a young mother who was having a difficult time trying to raise the 4 children she already had. Invitations were sent out for Claudia's christening, and the day before the event, Michelle called up all her guests and surprised them with the news that she was marrying producer David Kelly on the same day as the christening! Nine months later, she gave birth to their son, Jack Henry Kelly (1994).

OSCAR DE LA RENTA

– considered to be one of the top fashion designers

Has stepchildren from 2 marriages and one adopted son, Moises de la Renta, born in 1984 and whom he adopted between two marriages. Oscar says he knew him since he was 24 hours old. Moises is described by his father as "the sweetest, nicest human being, but unbelievably naive." Perhaps following in his father's footsteps, Moises is now looking at launching his own denim range.

ROSIE O’DONNELL

– comedienne, actress and talkshow hostFavouring children’s charities, she began adopting children and now has four adopted children.

STEPHEN SPIELBERG

– Film director.Has seven children, two are adopted(both African-American), Theo (born in 1988) and not wanting Theo to be the only black child in the family, adopted Mikaela (born in 1996).

WALTER ELIAS “WALT” DISNEY (1901-1966)

– Founder of DISNEYLAND An American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor and animator. Married to Lillian. Had two daughters Diane and Sharon. Sharon, who was adopted, died in 1993.

SHERYL CROW - Rocker

Having had a series of failed relationships with Eric Clapton, Kid Rock and Lance Armstrong, she decided she didn't need a man and in May 2007, adopted a two-week-old baby boy, Wyatt (after her Dad), Steven (after her little brother).

MEG RYAN - Actress

Headed off to China and adopted a little girl whom she first named Charlotte, but now calls Daisy.

SHARON STONE - Actress

Goes it alone! Mother of Roan(2000), Laird(2005) and Quinn(2006). Her view of adoption? "God's other birth canal."

CALISTA FLOCKHART - Actress

Witnessed the birth of her son Liam on New Years Day 2001. Single at 36, said it was the best thing she had ever done and a year later, Harrison Ford becomes father to Liam.

SOCCER STAR DAVID BECKHAM AND HIS WIFE VICTORIA

Are they planning to adopt a little girl? David is trying to convince his wife to share their home and fortune with a little girl from Africa. Victoria's dream is to have a girl. They sought advice from Tom Cruise who waxed lyrical about his adoption experience. The Beckhams have 3 sons: Brooklyn, Romeo and Cruz. Victoria needs to hand down her prize collection of handbags to someone.

SARAH, Duchess of York

No, no adoption here but interesting to know that she has revealed that both her mother and sister lost babies in late pregnancy. She described the loss as 'almost too much to bear' as she goes ahead to campaign for White Ribbon Alliance for Safe Motherhood which promotes rights and healthcare for mothers.