Denise Richards is the latest addition to the growing list of the rising number of celebrities who are adopting children. Denise very recently adopted a baby girl she named Eloise Joni. Baby Eloise will be welcomed home by her big sisters, Sam, age 7, and Lola, age 8, Richards’ two daughters with ex-husband Charlie Sheen. Richards may be the latest celebrity mom to do this, but she is hardly the first.
Nicole Kidman and ex-husband Tom Cruise adopted two children several years ago, but it didn’t seem to be as common back then as it is today. Kidman has since gone on to have two daughters with current husband, Keith Urban, while Cruise now has a biological daughter with current wife, Katie Holmes. So Kidman and Cruise’s adopted children, Connor and Isabella, now have three little sisters.
The current trend, for lack of a better word to call it, of celebrities adopting children really seemed to start in full swing after Angelina Jolie adopted a son, then went on to add two more adopted children to her family. Angelina first brought home son Maddox from Cambodia, back in 2002. She then went on to adopt daughter Zahara from Ethiopia. After giving birth to biological daughter Shiloh, her child with partner Brad Pitt, Jolie adopted yet another son, Pax, from Vietnam. She and partner Pitt then went on to have two more biological children, twins Knox and Vivienne. (Just a thought here, but has anyone else ever noticed that all of the sons of the Jolie-Pitt family have the letter “x” in their first name? I threw that little tidbit in because I found it interesting.)
Mariska Hargitay, (daughter of late actress Jayne Mansfield) who stars on television’s Law and Order:Special Victim’s Unit, along with her husband Peter Hermann, welcomed a baby girl, whom they named Amaya Josephine. Amaya joins the couple’s biological son, August.
Actress Sandra Bullock, when married to Jesse James, had begun the adoption process a year before adopting son Louis Bardo Bullock. Sandra filed for divorce from James, while around the same time finalizing her adoption of her son. And Meg Ryan, back in 2006, adopted a daughter from China, who she named Daisy.
So as you can see, many celebrities are choosing adoption these days. I really appreciate the fact that they are welcoming these children into their homes along with their biological children and also adopting children from other races and cultures. These children from other countries may not have had a very good life otherwise. Now all of these kids will have a shot at the good life, and having celebrities for parents will certainly provide them with a unique childhood experience. Check out TMZ.com, People.com, wordpress.com and toofab.comfor more information on these celebrity adoptions.