Celebrities are ordinary humans, too, and sometimes ordinary humans need to give up their children for adoption. These stories don’t make the headlines often, so stay tuned to hear about all the secret children of famous people!
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7. Mercedes Ruehl
Younger audiences may not be too familiar with the name “Mercedes Ruehl” anymore, but once upon a time she had a thriving career. In the 90s, she won both a Tony and an Oscar. Most recently, she starred in a few episodes of the show Power and continues to work in Theater. Back when she was 28 years old, right before her career took off, she gave birth to a son named Christopher who she gave up. In 1995, she adopted a son, Jake, with her husband, David Geiser. A few years later, she was reunited with Christopher. He ended up becoming Jake’s Godfather!
6. Patti Smith
Rockstar, poet, and visual artist Patti Smith has been dubbed the “punk poet laureate.” It’s hard to believe she’s now 72 years old. She became famous thanks to the song “Because the Night,” co-written with Bruce Springsteen. When Smith was 19 years old, she became pregnant out of wedlock. During her pregnancy, Smith’s parents sent her to a foster home to keep the baby a secret. Being very young and having no money, Smith gave up her baby immediately after giving birth. As far as anyone knows, the two have not met again since.
5. Joni Mitchell
Joni Mitchell already broke up with former boyfriend Brad MacMath when she found she was pregnant. She had just started her music career and had no money to pay for heat in her house, let alone raise a child alone. It was 1964 and abortion and the pill were not available in Canada. A child out of wedlock was also looked down upon, so Mitchell saw she had no choice. The public was unaware of Mitchell’s child until 1993 when her former roommate sold the story to a tabloid magazine. At the time, Mitchell’s daughter, Kilauren Gibb, was already searching for her biological parents. The two reunited in 1997.
4. Kate Mulgrew
Kate Mulgrew is best known for her roles as Captain Kathryn Janeway on Star Trek: Voyager and as Red on Orange is the New Black. She began acting at the age of 17 when she was accepted into the Stella Adler Conservatory of Acting in New York. In her junior year, Mulgrew landed a role on the soap opera Ryan’s Hope. When she accepted the position, she discovered she was pregnant. The producers didn’t want to hire anyone else, so they wrote Mulgrew’s pregnancy into the show. However, because she had no support from her family or the baby’s dad, Mulgrew had to give up her child for adoption. She tried looking for her child not long after she gave her up but didn’t find her until the late 80s.
3. Chuck Norris
Walker, Texas Ranger himself had a child that was given up for adoption. Martial artist and actor Chuck Norris had an affair with a woman during the 1960s. He didn’t know she became pregnant with their daughter, Dina. The woman married someone else shortly after the romance and raised her daughter with Dina thinking that the woman’s husband was her birth father. When Dina was much older, she overheard her mother saying that her real dad was Chuck Norris. Dina soon reached out to Norris, and they eventually reconciled.
2. Peter Michael Escovedo
Peter Michael Escovedo is the brother of singer and actress Sheila E. Peter himself is also a musician and comes from a famous musical family. He and his partner Karen Moss had a daughter together but could not afford to provide for her. That daughter is Nicole Richie. When she was three years old, she moved in with adoptive parents Lionel Richie and Brenda Harvey. Richie is one of many celebrities that were adopted, a list that includes the likes of Marilyn Monroe, Kristin Chenoweth, Steve Jobs, and Jamie Foxx!
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