14 Celebrities We Never Knew Were Adopted

When biological parents can’t perform their responsibilities, children can be adopted by some other kind people. It’s interesting that some celebrities were adopted too. Marylin Monroe and Steve Jobs are among them. We decided to find out what other celebrities were raised in an orphanage, by foster families, or their relatives.

Pierce Brosnan

The future James Bond’s childhood wasn’t easy. His father left the family right after Pierce was born. And when he turned 4, his mother left him with his grandparents, so she could move to London to study to be a nurse. Soon his grandparents died, and Brosnan was sent to live with a woman named Eileen who had a place in a poor part of town.

This woman had her own children, so Pierce was moved upstairs, where other lodgers lived. They were all grown-up men, “One worked in the mill. One worked in a bank. The three lodgers stayed in a long room with iron beds with old mattresses. At the end of the room, there was my little bed, with a curtain around it, so the light wouldn’t shine in when the older guys came home.” This nightmare ended after a few years when Pierce was 11 and could join his mother and her new family.

Lana Condor

The actress was born in Vietnam and was adopted by American parents, Mary Carol and Robert Condor, when she was a baby. They also adopted her non-biological brother Arthur Robert. Lana says that she’s been raised in a mixed household. “I was born in Vietnam and I was adopted by an Irish lady and a Hungarian man, and then I moved to America. So, in a way, I grew up in a mixed household because my brother and I are Asian, and our parents are white.”

Coco Chanel

Coco was an illegitimate child in a family with 5 other kids. Coco’s father was a vagabond and wastrel, so, when her mother died in 1895, Chanel and her sister were sent to an orphanage. The future fashion designer had to live there until adulthood.

Debbie Harry

The lead vocalist of the band Blondie was adopted when she was just a few months old because her mother had left her. Her adoptive parents revealed the truth to Debbie when she was only 4 years old.

As a child, she liked to think that her biological mother was Marilyn Monroe. Later, she explained this as a special creative connection she had with the actress, “I probably used the wrong language in the past. I saw her as the mother of invention or something like that. She had a profound effect on a lot of people.”

Seal

The singer was born in London and was immediately adopted by white foster parents from Romford, Essex. At the age of 4, he reunited with his biological mother, and then came under the care of his father. This period wasn’t easy for Seal, but he said, “I don’t regret anything that happened in my childhood. It was all integral to making me what I am today.”

Victoria Rowell

Victoria, who is best known for her role in the series Diagnosis: Murder, spent her childhood in foster families, moving from one house to another. In her book The Women Who Raised Me, Rowell talked about being a ward of the state, never formally adopted into a family. This experience moved her to take on advocacy work on behalf of children in foster care.

JC Chasez

JC Chasez is known to the world as one of the NSYNC vocalists. His adoptive parents played a great role in his future because they noticed his talent in music and helped him join the Mickey Mouse Club. JC’s biological mother gave him up when he was 5 years old because she thought she couldn’t provide him with a stable upbringing and good education. This was how Roy and Karen Chasez became his parents.

Ingrid Bergman

The future Swedish movie star had a happy childhood until her father was diagnosed with cancer. At the age of 12, Ingrid came to the care of her aunt, Mutti. And when her father died, she began to live with her aunt Ellen. However, the aunt soon died from a heart attack right in Ingrid’s arms. Eventually, the girl had to move in with her uncle Otto whose family was devoutly Lutheran.

Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi

The TV presenter and personality has always known that her mother and father are not her biological parents. She was adopted from Chile by an American-Italian family. She said, “I was adopted at 6 months from Santiago, Chile. And I was adopted by Helen and Andrew Polizzi. They flew all the way to Chile to come pick me up and they said right when they saw me I was like, ‘Mama, Dada.’ So, it was meant to be, things just work out that way — it’s called fate.”

Andy Dick

The Less Than Perfect star was adopted at birth by Allen and Sue Dick. His adoptive father was in the U.S. Navy due to which Dick’s family had to move around various places during his growing years. In an interview, Andy said that his parents told him he was adopted by giving him a book about an adopted boy. Thanks to it, he felt he was special as a child.

Michael Bay

One of the highest-grossing film directors, who has given us Transformers and Armageddon, was adopted when he was a baby. His foster parents were an accountant and a child psychologist from Los Angeles. Later, they adopted a baby girl, and Michael had a sister.

There are rumors that Bay’s biological father could be director John Frankenheimer because he had an affair with Michael’s biological mother. By the way, Bay traced and met her when he was 20.

Edgar Allan Poe

It’s no wonder why the works by Edgar Allan Poe are full of bitterness and mysticism. He had quite a difficult childhood. The writer was born into a family of traveling actors. But soon, his father left his mother, and she got sick with tuberculosis and died. Edgar was 2 years old when he was taken by John and Frances Allan from Richmond. He was never officially adopted, which caused constant tensions between him and his foster father.

Faith Hill

The future country singer was placed for adoption by her biological mother and was adopted by Ted and Edna Perry. But the older and more successful Hill became, the more she wanted to find her biological family. Eventually, Faith got what she wanted. When she met her mother for the first time, she was struck by their resemblance. It turned out she also had a biological brother whom she helped to turn his life around.

Simone Biles

One of America’s favorite athletes, Simone Biles, got into the Ohio foster care system when she was a little girl. “I never had a mom to run to. I do remember always being hungry and afraid. At 3 years old, I was placed in foster care.”

Simone’s grandparents stepped in and adopted the future athlete and her younger sister Aria. “My road to success began the day my grandfather and his wife officially adopted my sister and me. I remember how it felt to be passed off and overlooked. Finding a family made me feel like I mattered.”

Have you thought about adoption? Is there anyone you know who was adopted or became a foster parent? Tell us about them in the comments below.