Hold on, did you think that you are plugged into the lives of your favorite celebrities? We hate to burst your bubble but they have been successful in keeping certain things under wraps including the fact that they were adopted. However, we have good news too! Here are all the stars that were adopted and you didn’t know!
Faith Hill
Faith Hill was adopted when she was just an infant and her adoptive parents called her Audrey Faith Perry. Her adoptive parents had two biological sons and Hill lived with them.
Soon, she realized her love for singing and recognized her talent in that field. She had to face a few struggles before she finally decided to leave school and move to Nashville to become a country singer.
Nicole Richie
Nicole Camille Escovedo had a childhood filled with lots of ups and downs as her birth parents were financially incapable of raising her. So, three-year-old Nicole had to move away from her parents and live with Lionel Richie (yes, the great artist!) who was a friend of her biological parents.
Lionel Richie became her guardian and we all know what happened next. She started her career in the acting industry and kept growing!
Kristin Davis
The wonderful actress that you see on screen portraying some great characters had a rough childhood as her parents split and divorced when Davis was very little. Her mother, Dorothy remarried and Davis was adopted by her stepfather, Keith Davis.
Davis was always inclined towards acting and knew that she wanted to pursue this field. After moving to New York, her career took off and she started getting many roles.
Priscilla Presley
The actress and businesswoman, Priscilla Presley (yes, the former wife of Elvis Presley) had to keep a few “family secrets” from her half-siblings when her biological mother remarried. Her biological father who was a US Navy pilot died in a plane crash when she was only six months old.
Her stepfather Paul Beaulieu adopted her and Presley took his last name. However, she was not happy with the constant relocating due to his Air Force job. This is how she grew up moving all around the world!
Ray Liotta
Raymond Allen Liotta did not get to live with the parents that brought him into this world. Mary Liotta and Alfred Liotta adopted him when he was only six months old. In the 2000s, Liotta found his biological mother leading him to know that his birth history is “mostly Scottish”.
Although he grew up in a Roman Catholic family, the religious part was not followed much there.
He got a degree in fine arts and later, studied acting to become a professional actor and enter Hollywood!
Sarah McLachlan
You might see the amazing singer-songwriter, Sarah Ann McLachlan touch many heights and perform beautifully at her concerts but you are definitely not aware of all that happened during her childhood.
Sarah McLachlan was adopted legally by the McLachlan family who took her in immediately after her birth on January 28, 1968, in Nova Scotia, Canada. She was only enlightened about her adoption when she turned nine years old.
Ice-T
You know this rap star as Ice-T but he was born under the name Tracy Lauren Marrow. It’s okay, you don’t have to memorize it, just call him by his stage name!
Here’s more that you don’t know about him. His mother passed away when he was in the third standard and he grew up with his father who took care of him for four years alone. His father took his last breath when Marrow was 12. After such tragic events of losing both his parents, he lived with his aunts who adopted him.
Melissa Gilbert
You definitely know a lot about Melissa Gilbert’s career and her rise to fame after the TV series, “Little House on the Prairie”. But did you know that this popular star was adopted? That’s news to us too!
Gilbert was adopted right after she was born. Her adoptive parents were actor and comedian Paul Gilbert and his wife, dancer, and actress Barbara Crane who split when Gilbert was only eight. She didn’t have an easy childhood as her father died and she was told a lie about the cause of his death.
Kristin Chenoweth
Kristin Dawn Chenoweth was only five days old when she found her adoptive parents, Junie Smith Chenoweth and Jerry Morris Chenoweth. Being adopted at such a little age, Chenoweth grasped the values and lifestyle of that family.
She started performing at a very young age and found peace in singing. She followed her passion and look, where she reached!
Malcolm X
The major participant during the civil rights movement had to face many challenges while he was growing up. After his father died, his days of struggle began. His mother had health issues and was hospitalized. This led to Malcolm X being sent to various foster homes. That’s how his teenage years were spent.
There were challenges and controversies in his life that finally led him to do some good for the community.
Nicole 'Snooki' Polizzi
You have seen Nicole Elizabeth LaValle nicknamed as Snooki on reality television shows and also as a host. Although Nicole’s birthplace was Chile, she was adopted by Italian-American parents when she was only six months old.
Surprisingly, her DNA test revealed that she is not genetically Chilean. That was startling for her too. we guess that’s how life works!
Louis Armstrong
With a lot of confusion around Louis Armstrong’s birth date, there were quite a few astonishing events related to his birth and growing up that came to light. He was born on August 4, 1901, and this real date was known after Armstrong’s death.
His grandmother took care of him till he was five after which he came back to his mother. He didn’t have a father while growing up as he left right after Armstrong’s birth. The Karnoffskys, a family of Lithuanian Jews took this young boy in as he worked for them. Fortunately, they took very good care of him!
Kelly Preston
This beautiful actress and also, a model was born under the name Kelly Kamalelehua Smith until her life saw a few turns and she got the name, Kelly Preston.
Preston’s father died when she was only three and her mother got married to Peter Palzis who adopted Preston. She has lived in a variety of places around the world including Iraq and Australia when she was a kid.
As she grew up, she found her true calling and got into Hollywood. She found great success in this industry!
Dave Thomas
Dave Thomas never really got to know his biological mother as he was adopted by Rex and Auleva Thomas when he was as little as six weeks old. His adoptive mother died when Thomas turned five and so, he was mostly raised by his grandmother as his father had to go out and earn money for the family.
Later, he established the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption and became an advocate for adoption. That’s how his childhood impacted him.
Liz Phair
We all know that Elizabeth Clark Phair, the singer-songwriter has shattered many conventions of the music industry but what you don’t know is that she was adopted at birth.
Her adoptive parents were Nancy and John Phair who gave her all the love and raised her very “responsibly” as told by Phair. She said, “I've never tried to find [my biological] parents.” It is a big statement to make!
Marilyn Monroe
This stunning actress and model rose to fame and her fame did not end even when she left the world. Norma Jeane Mortenson (that’s her birth name) did not have a normal childhood as her biological mother could not take care of her due to her struggles with health.
Monroe stayed in foster homes and orphanage for many years till she got married on turning 16. But we all know where her career took her! She became a ward of the state and things changed.
Eartha Kitt
Eartha Kitt had a tough and unpredictable childhood as she was not raised by a loving family but instead, had to live in the dark about her parents for most of her life. She was taken in by Annie Mae Keith and not much is known about her father except that he was a “white man”.
Annie Mae started her life with another man who did not accept Eartha due to her complexion. When Anne Mae died. Eartha was sent to Mamie Kitt, a relative who is claimed to be her biological mother. A lot of unexpected, right?
Eleanor Roosevelt
The longest-serving First Lady of the United States, Eleanor Roosevelt was born in a very high-class family of socialites. But the luxurious life didn’t save her from the tragedies that come unannounced.
She lost both her parents when she was really young that led to a depressive life ahead. But she fought all of it and even took care of her brother. She shifted to the home of her maternal grandmother, Mary Livingston Ludlow after the death of her parents.
Jesse Jackson
Jesse Louis Jackson Sr. is the founder of many organizations that contributed to social justice and civil rights. These are the facts that most people know but you are unaware of his adoption and childhood.
A 16-year-old high school student Helen Burns gave birth to Jackson with her married neighbor, Noah Louis Robinson, 33. However, when Jackson was a year old, his mom got married to Charles Henry Jackson who adopted the little boy.
Nancy Reagan
The movie actress, Nancy Reagan, also the wife of the 40th president of the United States, Ronald Reagan did not live with her biological parents. She stayed with her aunt and uncle for almost six years as her parents divorced.
But when her mother married Loyal Edward Davis, Reagan moved in with them and took her stepfather’s last name and got adopted by him.
