The year in celebrity adoption

Celebrities have brought adoption to the forefront these last few years, but in 2007 especially. 

Here are the celebrities who adopted children this year.

In September, Mary-Louise Parker adopted her daughter Ash from Africa.

In June, Johnson & Johnson heiress Casey Johnson, adopted a little girl from Kazakhstan, who she named Ava Monroe Johnson (after her idol Marilyn Monroe).

Sheryl Crow welcomed son Wyatt Steven Crow on April 29th and brought him home the next day. She said of the process,

I’ve always wanted to adopt. Even if I’d had my own kids, I would have adopted. I love the idea of adopting. I always thought I had an immense amount of love to give. I got started at the end of my radiation treatment [in Spring 2006]. I knew it would take a long time. They don’t put you at the front of the line just because you’re a rock star.

I’ve always wanted to adopt. Even if I’d had my own kids, I would have adopted. I love the idea of adopting. I always thought I had an immense amount of love to give. I got started at the end of my radiation treatment [in Spring 2006]. I knew it would take a long time. They don’t put you at the front of the line just because you’re a rock star.

Bucking the international adoption trend, ER actor Goran Visnjic and his wife, sculptor Ivana Vrdoljak adopted an American baby, a son they named Tin (pronounced T-ee-n, with a long ‘e’) Visnjic in April. Ivana was present at the birth and cut the cord, but Goran wasn’t present because they wanted to avoid the publicity.

(This is the couple’s first child together, but in November, Goran admitted he fathered a Croatian woman’s daughter, who was named Lana Lourdes.)

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt adopted their son Pax Thien Jolie, born in November 2003, from Vietnam in March. In their family, adopted kids outnumber their biological kids- Maddox Chivan was adopted from Cambodia in 2001, Zahara Marley from Ethiopia in 2005, and they welcomed Shiloh Nouvel in Namibia in 2006.

Technically, Angelina adopted Pax as a single woman but Brad considers him to be his child, just like their 3 other kids. He has said,

They’re as much my blood as I am theirs. And they are brothers and sisters. One came from Ethiopia, one from Vietnam, one from Cambodia, and one was born in Namibia. And they are brothers and sisters, and they have fun and they squabble and they fight, just like any other family. And it makes me so proud.

Awareness
November is National Adoption Month and several events involving celebrity parents helped raise awareness to the unique honor of being chosen.

On November 29th, Lauren Holly, an adoptive mom of 3,, together with Hot Moms Club and Sirens Society, hosted Still Thankful, Still Giving, a fundraising event, to promote adoption awareness and raise money for the orphanage Casa Hogar Sion in Tijuana, Mexico. Proceeds also went towards sending Jr. Sirens on a field trip to get hands on experience at volunteering at the orphanage, while seeing the positive impact they can make in the world.

Country music singer/songwriter Rodney Atkins performed on Friday, November 16th during a celebration for National Adoption Day at the White House.  Joining the 38-year-old was his five-year-old son Elijah. Performing was very important for Rodney, who was adopted as a baby.

Tiny Revolutionary ’s "Chosen" tee is a lovely positive affirmation just for adopted children, and especially to celebrate National Adoption Month.  But, as our Ciaran wrote, "as an adoptive parent and adoption advocate I am proud of my chosen child every day of every month and every year." (CBB Deal: Save 15% with coupon code CBB01 at TinyRevolutionary.com.)

Adopted Celebrities

On Good Day LA, new mom Jillian Barberie Reynolds became visibly moved as she described the whirlwind of emotions she felt upon meeting her daughter, Ruby Raven, for the first time.  Jillian, who was adopted, cried so hard during the delivery her husband Grant said he thought she was actually having a seizure.  Recalled Jillian:

I couldn’t talk.  I was thinking about my birth mom, how they put me on her for five minutes and then took me away forever, and I didn’t meet her again for 34-years.  It made me so emotional.