5 Celebrities You Didn’t Know Were Adopted

For many people, our chosen family is better than our biological one. And that’s especially true for children and adults who are adopted into good families.

It’s no secret there’s a “soft stigma” against adoption. People often question whether it’s possible to love an adopted child like a biological one. Some even perpetuate hateful myths like adopted kids are more likely to struggle in school than kids from other types of families.

To dispel some of these myths, we’re gonna take a look at seven adopted celebrities who are doing quite well for themselves. We’ll also take a look at why adoption is necessary and what you can do to quick start the process in California.

1. Nicole Richie

Nicole is probably the most famous example of an adopted celebrity. She was adopted at 9 by Lionel Richie and his then-wife Brenda. Her birth parents, Peter Michael Escovedo and Karen Moss were unable to financially care for her. They were friends with Lionel, so they asked him to take her in, and he agreed. The rest is history.

Nicole has gone on to have a successful career in television and fashion. Her fame is mostly thanks to her role next to Paris Hilton in the hit reality TV series The Simple Life, which ran for five years.

2. Marilyn Monroe

A  little-known fact about Norma Jeane Mortenson, or better known by her stage name Marilyn Monroe, is that she went through a series of foster homes and orphanages before she married James Daugherty at age 16 so she wouldn’t have to return to foster care.

Marilyn was born in Los Angeles in 1926 to Gladys Pearl Baker, who had migrated to California from the Midwest. Her mother couldn’t mentally and financially provide for her, so she lived with foster parents until she was seven years old. Her mom tried to get her back, but she suffered a mental breakdown and was hospitalized with paranoid schizophrenia. Marilyn was declared a ward of the state and was taken in by her mother’s friend Grace Goddard, who became her legal guardian.

At some point, Goddard and her husband were moving to the East Coast and couldn’t take Marilyn with them because of state child protection laws. Goddard organized Marilyn’s marriage to Daugherty so that the future pop culture icon wouldn’t have to go back into the foster care system.

Despite the turmoil in her early life, Marilyn remains one of the most recognizable “blonde bombshells” in the world, even several decades after her death.

3. Simone Biles 

Simone Biles opened up about her adoption in April 2017 during an episode of Dancing With the Stars. “Growing up, my biological mom was suffering from drug and alcohol abuse and she was in and out of jail. I never had a mom to run to,” the Olympian said. “I do remember always being hungry and afraid. At 3 years old, I was placed in foster care.”

Simone’s grandfather became her refuge. She says, “Whenever we had visits with my grandpa, I was so excited. That was the person I always wanted to see walk into the foster home.”

Her grandparents adopted her in 2000 when she was 6. She calls them her mom and dad.

4. Keegan-Michael Key

You probably didn’t know one-half of Key & Peele was adopted at birth. Key was reportedly the product of an affair and was adopted by a couple who would later divorce. He was reunited with his biological mother at 25.

Key has had a successful career in film, television, and Broadway. He is most recognized for co-starring in the sketch series Key & Peele alongside Jordan Peele.

5. Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi

The former Jersey Shore star was born in Santiago, Chile, in 1987. She was adopted by Italian-American parents when she was just six months old and was raised in New Jersey and New York.

Her appearance in Jersey Shore made her an international sensation. She went on to star in multiple spin-offs with her Italian-American co-stars before the franchise was retired.

Why Bother With Adoption?

Adoption isn’t as difficult or taboo as some people make it out to be. As you can see from the above celebrity examples, adopted kids turn out just fine.

You may wonder why it’s necessary to bring the government into your relationship when you could just support a child or adult without dealing with those technicalities. Adoption is an important legal step if you want your chosen family to gain all the benefits of biological kids. The process legally establishes a parent-child relationship between two people who are at least 10 years apart in age.

Adoptive parents have a legal responsibility to support their adopted children financially and provide care for them until they reach adulthood. Adopted children have the right to inherit from their adoptive parents even if the parents do not leave a will. For this reason, California law makes it possible to adopt a child or an adult. 

Quick Start Your Adoption 

You don’t need to hire an expensive lawyer to adopt a child in California. The entire process only requires the involved parties to file forms with the court. Filling out some legal documents is not something you need to pay an attorney $500 an hour to do on your behalf.

That said, properly filling out the documents can be complicated and it’s a good idea to at least hire a legal document assistant who can accurately prepare them for you. Contact A People’s Choice today to quick start your adoption. Call 800-747-2780 to get started!