When it comes to their families, celebrities are all over the ball park. Some celebrities meet their partner early in life and have kids young; some stay together and some get divorced a decade later. Some meet their partners when they're a lot older. There are some celebrities who just never find the right man or woman for them, and desperately want a child nonetheless. There are others who know in their hearts that they just never want children, no matter what, and are perfectly content to live as a duo with their partner.
For celebrities who want to have kids but don't have a partner, don't have the ability, or simply want to expand their family and spread their love, adoption is a common choice. After all, celebrities have the resources to take care of any child that comes their way — so why not use their fortune for good? Many celebrities have turned to adoption over the years, but often you might not even know that a celebrity's child is adopted and not their natural child.
Here are 8 celebs you never knew adopted kids in order to expand their happy family, and 8 celebs who have been vocal about refusing to have children, no matter what the circumstances.
8 Celebs You Never Knew Adopted Kids:
16 Kristin Davis, Who Is Totally Like Her Character Charlotte
Fans of Sex and the City will remember that Kristin Davis played Charlotte York Goldenblatt, who managed to finally find her perfect match — only to discover that children weren't a possibility for them. After going through fertility treatments and things like that, Charlotte and her hubby Harry decided to adopt — and Kristin may have been inspired by her character when she made the decision herself. However, Davis did so as a single mama. She decided that she wasn't going to wait around for a man in order to fulfill her dream of having a family, so she turned to adoption — and ended up adopting her baby girl, Gemma Rose, in 2011. It just goes to prove that adoption can be such a fantastic option for those who may not have a partner, but still have a lot of love to give.
15 Ty Burrell, Who Has A Real Life Modern Family
Most people know Ty Burrell from his role as everyone's favourite funny dad, Phil Dunphy, on the hit sitcom Modern Family. And, it turns out, he has a fairly modern family in his real life. Burrell married his wife in 2000, and it seems the two either struggled to conceive, or decided that they wanted to explore a different option in adoption. They ended up adopting their first daughter in 2010, and their second shortly after in 2012. They're one big happy family, and it seems they definitely made the right choice. Who knows — perhaps his own experience is one of the reasons Ty decided to take on the role of the family man on the sitcom that tries to show all different types of family units to the world. It's a great message.
14 Hugh Jackman, Who Adopted After Tragedy
Oh, this one just breaks our heart. Everyone knows Hugh Jackman, the talented actor who became most well-known for playing the role of Wolverine. And, most who are fans know his long-time wife, Deborra-Lee Furness. However, what some people may not know is that the couple had some serious struggles with conceiving, and Furness actually experienced two miscarriages in the process. So, they decided they would look to adoption rather than continue to try conceiving naturally — and they ended up adopting two gorgeous children. And, they spread a little love in the process, telling the agency that they specifically wanted mixed race children because they had a hard time being adopted. "Adoption is about taking a baby into your home — and your heart. It's the best thing we've ever done," Jackman says. Aww!
13 Katherine Heigl, Who Left The Television World For Motherhood
Katherine Heigl caught the world's attention in the role of blonde bombshell Dr. Izzie Steven on the enormously popular show Grey's Anatomy. However, a few seasons in, she managed to screw that up, and apart from appearing in a few movies here and there, she's faded away a bit. Nowadays, she's living in the country and playing around with a lifestyle blog rather than showing up to set every morning. And, she decided to start her family with adoption. Heigl actually grew up with an adoptive sister, so when she and hubby Josh Kelley started looking to adopt, they adopted a daughter from the country Heigl's own adoptive sister was from — South Korea. Three years later, they decided to expand their family again, and adopted another daughter from right here in the U.S.
12 Nia Vardalos, Who Built Her Own Little Greek Family
Nia Vardalos is definitely best known for her Big Fat Greek movie franchise. The original flick charmed audiences everywhere, and the fact that it was based on her own real life romance makes it even cuter. However, Vardalos didn't immediately start having her own big family once she tied the knot with her hubby — she struggled with infertility and decided that adoption was the right choice for her and her husband. Vardalos has been totally outspoken about the process, saying that "I feel a freedom in talking about it. I'm just publicly acknowledging that, perhaps, if women or men out there are going through what I went through, they should consider contacting an organization like American Foster Adopt where all the details will remain private." She and her daughter are adorable together.
11 Michelle Pfeiffer, Who Adopted — Then Found Another Love Of Her Life
Life has a funny way of making things happen when you're least expecting them. Just take Michelle Pfeiffer's journey to motherhood, for example. In the '90s, Pfeiffer was making waves in the entertainment industry, building a successful acting career — but she desperately wanted to be a mother. So, rather than waiting around for the perfect partner, she decided to simply adopt — and adopted her gorgeous daughter, Claudia, in 1993. Later that year, she ended up meeting and tying the knot with her now long-time partner David Kelley, who also adopted the tot, and they've been a happy family ever since. It just goes to prove that there's nothing wrong with making a decision based on what's best for you in that moment — chances are, everything else will fall into place and work itself out.
10 Mariska Hargitay, Who Adopted Two Kids
Mariska Hargitay is definitely best known for her role as the amazing detective Olivia Benson on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. I mean, Taylor Swift even named a cat after Hargitay's inspiring character! And, she's just as inspiring in her personal life. Hargitay and her hubby already had a child, but they decided that they also wanted to adopt, and specifically that they wanted to adopt a mixed-race child. The duo adopted their daughter Amaya in 2011, and only a few months later ended up adopting their son, Andrew. Now, they're a happy family who were just totally destined for one another. Anyone who is willing to open their hearts and adopt a child definitely inspires us — it's such a fantastic thing to do, and celebrities bringing attention to it can only help.
9 Meg Ryan, Who Adopted 14 Years After Giving Birth To Her Son
Some women opt to adopt after already having had biological children, because they find that they just have even more love to give and want to spread that in the world. Meg Ryan is one of those women. She had a son with then hubby Dennis Quaid in 1992, and did the whole single working mom thing for years. Then, in 2006, Ryan decided she wanted a change — and another baby in her life. So, she ended up adopting a baby from China. The two are absolutely adorable together, and we can only imagine that Jack had fun getting to know his new little sister. It just goes to show that motherhood comes in all forms — and even different forms within the same family. Her daughter is just such a cutie pie.
8 Celebs Who Never Want Kids:
8 Renee Zellwegger, Who Doesn't Consider Motherhood An Ambition
Renee Zellwegger may have just added to her Bridget Jones empire with a film in which she has a baby, but that situation isn't about to play out in real time in Zellwegger's own life — at least, not if she has anything to do with it. She expressed her views on motherhood back in 2008 in an interview with the London Times, saying that "motherhood has never been an ambition." For some reason, a woman saying she doesn't want children still remains a bit of a controversial thing in this world, but we're glad that Zellwegger isn't allowing anyone else to change her opinion. If she doesn't really see motherhood as something she wants to pursue, she shouldn't pursue it — plain and simple. It's not a decision to be taken lightly.
7 Jon Hamm, Who Just Can't Imagine Fatherhood
After watching him play the character for so many seasons on Mad Men, and do it so well, we have to admit — Jon Hamm will always kind of be Don Draper in our minds, and fatherhood certainly wasn't the top priority in Don Draper's world. It turns out, Hamm is similar to his on screen character in that regard — he just doesn't see it as something he's interested in. He told Us Weekly his views in 2012, saying that "I'd be a terrible father! I see my friends who have children and I'm like, 'Dude, how are you even upright, much less here at work at 6 a.m.?' Raising a child is definitely no easy feat, so if it's something you're not into, it's not something you should be doing — he'll just be a gorgeous bachelor forever, and we're a-ok with that!
6 Chelsea Handler, Who Is Too Busy For Babies
Chelsea Handler is loud, opinionated, and now that she's reached a certain level of fame, is always taking on interesting projects and travelling the world. One journey she'll never take, though, is motherhood. Handler spilled the beans in 2013 while chatting with Amanda De Cadenet on her show, saying that "I definitely don't want to have kids, I don't think I'd be a great mother. I don't want to have a kid and have it raised by a nanny. I don't have the time to raise a child myself." She makes a good point — while some actors decide to take some time off to raise a child, it's not an option for everyone, and they do definitely have gruelling schedules with all the long days and press tours and things like that.
5 Helen Mirren, A Queen Who Just Isn't Down For Kids
We're not even going to deny it — Helen Mirren is basically all of our spirit animals. I mean, the woman is amazing — she's gorgeous, she's bold, she's sassy, she's everything. She's opinionated about a lot of things, including motherhood. She chatted with British Vogue in 2013 about the topic, and said simply that "it was not my destiny. I kept thinking it would be, waiting for it to happen, but it never did, and I didn't care what people thought... it was only boring old men [who would ask me about it]. And whenever they went 'What? No children? Well you'd better get on with it, old girl,' I'd say 'No! F**k off!" Well, she's got a point — what you do with your body is no one else's business! We love her response.
4 Jennifer Aniston, Who Is Happy As A Duo
Back when Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt were Hollywood's golden couple, the world probably expected them to eventually pop out a few cute babies and live as the perfect little family. Unfortunately, things didn't turn out that way — Pitt ended up with Angelina Jolie for a few years, creating a super-sized family, while Aniston lived the single lady life for a while before finally meeting her hubby, Justin Theroux. However, she wasn't waiting around for a husband in order to have children — she knows that she just doesn't want them. She spoke about the issue on the Today Show, saying "I don't have this sort of checklist of things that have to be done and if they're not checked then I've failed some part of my feminism or my being a woman or my worth or my value as a woman... I've birthed a lot of things. I feel like I've mothered many things. And I don't think it's fair to put that pressure on people." Preach!
3 Cameron Diaz, Who Never Wants Kids, Ever
Cameron Diaz has the kind of California cool vibe that we all aspire to have, and after dating several Hollywood stars over the years, she finally found love with former rocker Benji Madden. However, there are definitely no kids in the horizon for her, simply because she's not interested. She spilled her thoughts in an Esquire interview, saying that "it's so much more work to have children, to have lives besides your own that you are responsible for — I didn't take that on." She doesn't seem to have any regrets about the decision, and now that she's at a certain level in her career and all loved up, she has the freedom to travel with her hubby and just enjoy life. Sounds like a pretty sweet deal to us!
2 Ricky Gervais, The Comedian Who Doesn't Want Kids In His Material
While North Americans may not be quite as familiar with Ricky Gervais' work as Brits are, he's still a pretty well known face in the comedy world. He's got the kind of goofy, cheesy personality that seems tailor made for fatherhood, but according to Gervais, it's just not something he and his partner want to pursue. He told Red magazine that "We never wanted to be parents, with all that entails: the loss of freedom, total dependency. I didn't have a work ethic for such a long time, imagine if I had a child like me? I didn't start earning until I was 36!" Parenthood definitely has a ton of challenges, so if Gervais would rather just relax and enjoy life with his partner, who's to say he can't? Everyone is entitled to make whatever decision is best for them.
1 Portia de Rossi and Ellen DeGeneres, Who Are Content as A Duo
Even though adoption is quite common for same sex couples, you likely won't ever see Ellen dancing with her own little baby on the show — it's just not in the cards for her and her gorgeous Aussie wife, actress Portia de Rossi. Portia discussed their decision in an interview with Us Weekly, saying that "there comes some pressure in your mid-30s and you think 'am I going to have kids so I don't miss out on something that other people really seem to love? Or is it that I really genuinely want to do this with my whole heart?' I didn't feel that my response was 'yes' to the latter. You have to really want to have kids and neither of us did. So it's just going to be me and Ellen and no babies — but we're the best of friends and married life is blissful, it really is." Well said!
Sources: hollywood.com, popsugar.com, parents.com, marieclaire.com, stylecaster.com
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