From your favorite Oscar-winning stars on the big screen to famed singers and even an Olympic gold medalist, many celebrities and stars were adopted or spent time in foster care at one point in their lives.
As Angel Studios and The Daily Wire look forward to the upcoming inspirational movie “Sound of Hope” — which tells the true story of how 77 children found homes after being adopted out of the foster care system in East Texas by 22 families — we found 10 celebrities who were adopted or spent time in foster care as young children.
DailyWire+ and Angel Studios announced earlier this month that they have entered into a partnership to release Peacetree Productions’ profoundly moving film “Sound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot.” The film will be released in theaters on July 4th weekend.
GET SHOWTIMES HERE FOR ‘SOUND OF HOPE’
Nicole Richie
The list starts with reality TV star Nicole Richie, who at the age of 9, found a home thanks to singer Lionel Ritchie and his first wife, Brenda Harvey, according to Marie Claire.
Speaking to People magazine in 2022, the famous singer called Nicole a “Godsend” for their family.
“She was a little girl who needed a shot,” Richie said. “She was used to people coming and going. She looked at me, and I’d say, ‘I’m not going anywhere.’”
Faith Hill
Country singer Faith Hill has been burning up the charts now for decades, but who knows what her life would’ve been like if she hadn’t been adopted as an infant.
When the country star got older, Hill said she searched for her biological parents, though she called her adoptive ones “incredible,” Esquire reported.
“The first time I met [my birth mother], I just stared at her,” Hill said. “I’d never seen anyone that looked anything like me. It was the awe of seeing someone you came from. It fills something.”
Sarah McLachlan
Another singer who was adopted is soulful Canadian singer and songwriter Sarah McLachlan, Business Insider noted.
The singer was adopted, along with two other kids, by Jack and Dorice McLachlan. She was 9 years old when she learned about the adoption.
Speaking to Parents magazine in 2005, McLachlan said, “When I think about my mother who raised me, you know, she’s my mother,” Business Insider reported.
Marilyn Monroe
The late Hollywood legend Marilyn Monroe spent time in foster care living in foster care homes until the age of 7 when her mom’s best friend, Grace McKee, became her legal guardian, Esquire magazine noted.
However, things were not smooth for her right away and the young star bounced between orphanages and McKee’s home until the age of 11, according to Business Insider.
At one point, she also ended up moving in with her great-aunt Olive, before she got married at the age of 16 to neighbor James Dougherty.
Jamie Foxx
Comedian and actor Jamie Foxx was adopted when he was just seven months old by his own mother’s adoptive parents, Estelle and Mark Tally, after Foxx’s parents separated, according to People.
In his 2021 memoir “Act Like You Got Some Sense,” Foxx opened up about his childhood and wrote that his grandparents adopted him because his mom “was not ready for the responsibility of parenting.”
He also talked about being raised in Texas by his strict but loving grandmother and said, “She was an educator for 30 years, a very smart woman, raised our city.”
Melissa Gilbert
To most people, Melissa Gilbert is the famed star who got her start on “Little House on the Prairie.” But before she graced the small screen, Gilbert was a baby without a home.
At one day old, the actress was adopted by a “well-known Hollywood family,” the “Today” show noted. In the 1990s, she began a search for her biological parents after she gave birth to her son. She soon learned that her mom had passed away, but found her dad.
In 2010, Gilbert wrote “Prairie Tale: A Memoir” and opened up about being adopted and eventually learning the crazy story of who her birth parents were and why they couldn’t raise her.
Simone Biles
Before Simone Biles became a household name after winning numerous Olympic gold medals, she was placed in foster care as a child when her mom couldn’t take care of her and her three siblings, the “Today” show noted.
She was eventually adopted by her grandparents, Ron and Nellie Biles. In a letter to CNN in 2018, Biles discussed how she wouldn’t be where she is today if she hadn’t been adopted.
“My road to success began the day my grandfather and his wife officially adopted my sister and me,” Biles wrote. “My birth mother suffered from drug addiction, and when I was just three years old, my siblings and I were removed from her custody.
“From there, we bounced around until I was six and my grandparents made the brave move to adopt us,” she added. “Finding a family made me feel like I mattered. Finding a passion, something I loved and was really good at, made me feel like I mattered.”
Eddie Murphy
Famous actor and comedian Eddie Murphy might not know what it’s like to be adopted, but he did spend his childhood growing up in the foster care system, something he now credits with helping him hone his comedic skills.
At the age of 3, Murphy’s parents divorced and five years later his mom was struggling financially to raise him and his dad had died. His mom ended up in the hospital for a lengthy period with an illness during which the actor and his brother were taken into the foster care system, where they spent the next year.
The comedian previously talked about his experience in foster care and credited it with helping him become the talent he is today, admitting that it gave him the ability to laugh in any situation.
Cher
Hollywood star Cher — born Cherilyn Sarkisian — knows what it’s like to be adopted. When she was just 10 months old her parents divorced. Her mother later married bank manager Gilbert LaPiere, who would adopt Cher and her half-sister Georganne.
The 77-year-old singer is currently dating 38-year-old Alexander “AE” Edwards and the two have reportedly talked about having a family through adoption.
“She’s telling AE it’s her dream in life to have another baby,” a source recently told InTouch Weekly. “She missed the boat on freezing eggs and hiring a surrogate but adoption is something she very much would like to do.”
Ray Liotta
Before Liotta made it big in Hollywood as our favorite bad guy in gangster movies like “Goodfellas” he went through his own personal drama about being adopted.
The late star was adopted by Mary and Alfred Liotta when he was just six months old.
Liotta struggled during his lifetime about being adopted and wondering why his parents gave him up. But before his death in 2022, he talked about how grateful he was for the parents who adopted him and how he’d come to peace with the ones who let him go, People magazine reported.
“After years, you grow up, and you just see the pattern of things,” Liotta said. I’ve definitely developed more patience. Now I’m grateful for my health. And being born. For my parents that adopted me. I mean, it could have gone a lot of different ways.”
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[[{“value”:”
From your favorite Oscar-winning stars on the big screen to famed singers and even an Olympic gold medalist, many celebrities and stars were adopted or spent time in foster care at one point in their lives.
As Angel Studios and The Daily Wire look forward to the upcoming inspirational movie “Sound of Hope” — which tells the true story of how 77 children found homes after being adopted out of the foster care system in East Texas by 22 families — we found 10 celebrities who were adopted or spent time in foster care as young children.
DailyWire+ and Angel Studios announced earlier this month that they have entered into a partnership to release Peacetree Productions’ profoundly moving film “Sound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot.” The film will be released in theaters on July 4th weekend.
GET SHOWTIMES HERE FOR ‘SOUND OF HOPE’
Nicole Richie
The list starts with reality TV star Nicole Richie, who at the age of 9, found a home thanks to singer Lionel Ritchie and his first wife, Brenda Harvey, according to Marie Claire.
Speaking to People magazine in 2022, the famous singer called Nicole a “Godsend” for their family.
“She was a little girl who needed a shot,” Richie said. “She was used to people coming and going. She looked at me, and I’d say, ‘I’m not going anywhere.’”
Faith Hill
Country singer Faith Hill has been burning up the charts now for decades, but who knows what her life would’ve been like if she hadn’t been adopted as an infant.
When the country star got older, Hill said she searched for her biological parents, though she called her adoptive ones “incredible,” Esquire reported.
“The first time I met [my birth mother], I just stared at her,” Hill said. “I’d never seen anyone that looked anything like me. It was the awe of seeing someone you came from. It fills something.”
Sarah McLachlan
Another singer who was adopted is soulful Canadian singer and songwriter Sarah McLachlan, Business Insider noted.
The singer was adopted, along with two other kids, by Jack and Dorice McLachlan. She was 9 years old when she learned about the adoption.
Speaking to Parents magazine in 2005, McLachlan said, “When I think about my mother who raised me, you know, she’s my mother,” Business Insider reported.
Marilyn Monroe
The late Hollywood legend Marilyn Monroe spent time in foster care living in foster care homes until the age of 7 when her mom’s best friend, Grace McKee, became her legal guardian, Esquire magazine noted.
However, things were not smooth for her right away and the young star bounced between orphanages and McKee’s home until the age of 11, according to Business Insider.
At one point, she also ended up moving in with her great-aunt Olive, before she got married at the age of 16 to neighbor James Dougherty.
Jamie Foxx
Comedian and actor Jamie Foxx was adopted when he was just seven months old by his own mother’s adoptive parents, Estelle and Mark Tally, after Foxx’s parents separated, according to People.
In his 2021 memoir “Act Like You Got Some Sense,” Foxx opened up about his childhood and wrote that his grandparents adopted him because his mom “was not ready for the responsibility of parenting.”
He also talked about being raised in Texas by his strict but loving grandmother and said, “She was an educator for 30 years, a very smart woman, raised our city.”
Melissa Gilbert
To most people, Melissa Gilbert is the famed star who got her start on “Little House on the Prairie.” But before she graced the small screen, Gilbert was a baby without a home.
At one day old, the actress was adopted by a “well-known Hollywood family,” the “Today” show noted. In the 1990s, she began a search for her biological parents after she gave birth to her son. She soon learned that her mom had passed away, but found her dad.
In 2010, Gilbert wrote “Prairie Tale: A Memoir” and opened up about being adopted and eventually learning the crazy story of who her birth parents were and why they couldn’t raise her.
Simone Biles
Before Simone Biles became a household name after winning numerous Olympic gold medals, she was placed in foster care as a child when her mom couldn’t take care of her and her three siblings, the “Today” show noted.
She was eventually adopted by her grandparents, Ron and Nellie Biles. In a letter to CNN in 2018, Biles discussed how she wouldn’t be where she is today if she hadn’t been adopted.
“My road to success began the day my grandfather and his wife officially adopted my sister and me,” Biles wrote. “My birth mother suffered from drug addiction, and when I was just three years old, my siblings and I were removed from her custody.
“From there, we bounced around until I was six and my grandparents made the brave move to adopt us,” she added. “Finding a family made me feel like I mattered. Finding a passion, something I loved and was really good at, made me feel like I mattered.”
Eddie Murphy
Famous actor and comedian Eddie Murphy might not know what it’s like to be adopted, but he did spend his childhood growing up in the foster care system, something he now credits with helping him hone his comedic skills.
At the age of 3, Murphy’s parents divorced and five years later his mom was struggling financially to raise him and his dad had died. His mom ended up in the hospital for a lengthy period with an illness during which the actor and his brother were taken into the foster care system, where they spent the next year.
The comedian previously talked about his experience in foster care and credited it with helping him become the talent he is today, admitting that it gave him the ability to laugh in any situation.
Cher
Hollywood star Cher — born Cherilyn Sarkisian — knows what it’s like to be adopted. When she was just 10 months old her parents divorced. Her mother later married bank manager Gilbert LaPiere, who would adopt Cher and her half-sister Georganne.
The 77-year-old singer is currently dating 38-year-old Alexander “AE” Edwards and the two have reportedly talked about having a family through adoption.
“She’s telling AE it’s her dream in life to have another baby,” a source recently told InTouch Weekly. “She missed the boat on freezing eggs and hiring a surrogate but adoption is something she very much would like to do.”
Ray Liotta
Before Liotta made it big in Hollywood as our favorite bad guy in gangster movies like “Goodfellas” he went through his own personal drama about being adopted.
The late star was adopted by Mary and Alfred Liotta when he was just six months old.
Liotta struggled during his lifetime about being adopted and wondering why his parents gave him up. But before his death in 2022, he talked about how grateful he was for the parents who adopted him and how he’d come to peace with the ones who let him go, People magazine reported.
“After years, you grow up, and you just see the pattern of things,” Liotta said. I’ve definitely developed more patience. Now I’m grateful for my health. And being born. For my parents that adopted me. I mean, it could have gone a lot of different ways.”
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