Becoming a parent can be incredibly difficult for many people, even celebrities. Those who choose to grow their family through adoption quickly find out that it can be an equally challenging and emotionally draining process that requires a huge amount of patience.
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For celebrities, the process of becoming a parent, either naturally or via adoption, can be even more difficult since they have almost no privacy. Yet these 30 Hollywood A-listers persevered and became parents through adoption…
Cate Blanchett
Blanchett has three biological children with husband Andrew Upton, however, she always wanted to adopt. After planning for 14 years, the couple adopted a baby girl named Edith.
Kristin Davis
The Sex and the City star adopted her daughter, Gemma, in 2011.
Jamie Lee Curtis
The actress and her husband, Christopher Guest, adopted a daughter, Annie, and a son, Tom, together.
Kirstie Alley
After Alley was told she may not be able to have biological children, she and her former husband, Parker Stevenson, adopted a son, William, and a daughter, Lillie.
Calista Flockhart
Before she met husband Harrison Ford, Flockhart adopted a baby boy named Lima on her own. He is now 18 years old.
Sharon Stone
In 2000, Stone and then-husband Phil Bronstein adopted a baby boy named Roan. When they divorced, Bronstein was granted primary custody. Stone then adopted another boy, Laird Vonne, in 2005. The following year, she adopted her third son, Quinn Kelly.
Ewan McGregor
The Scottish actor adopted two daughters in 2006 and in 2011 with his then-wife, Eve Mavrakis, who he also has two biological daughters with.
Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman
During their marriage, Cruise and Kidman adopted a son named Connor and a daughter named Isabella. After their divorce, the kids chose to stay in California with Cruise instead of moving with their mother to Australia.
Nia Vardalos
The My Big Fat Greek Wedding star adopted a 3-year-old after several miscarriages, 13 failed IVF treatments, and failed surrogate attempts.
Lionel Richie
The singer took in Nicole Richie, whose biological father was Lionel's former bandmate, when she was just three years old. At the time, her parents were having issues. He adopted her six years later.
Julie Andrews
In the 1970s, Andrews and her late husband, Blake Edwards, adopted two orphans from Vietnam.
Sheryl Crow
The singer is a single mom to two adopted boys. She adopted son Wyatt in 2007 and then adopted son Levi in 2010.
Ty Burrell
The Modern Family actor adopted daughter Frances in 2010 with his wife Holly. The couple then adopted a second daughter named Greta two years later.
Denise Richards
Richards has two daughters with Charlie Sheen. After their divorce, Richards adopted a little girl named Eloise on her own.
Viola Davis
In 2011, Davis and husband Julian Tennon adopted their daughter, Genesis Tennon.
Jillian Michael
The celebrity trainer and her partner, Heidi Rhoades, adopted a daughter, Lukensia, from Haiti shortly after Rhoades gave birth to their son in 2012.
Charlize Theron
The actress is a single mom to two children. She adopted son Jackson in 2012 and daughter August in 2015.
Emma Thompson
Thomspon and husband Greg Wise have a biological daughter together. However, in 2003, the couple adopted their son Tindyebwa when he was 16 years old.
Mariska Hargitay
The Law & Order: Special Victims Unit actress adopted a son and a daughter with husband Peter Hermann, who she also has a biological son with.
Mary-Louise Parker
In 2007, the actress adopted her daughter, Caroline, from Ethiopia. Parker also has a biological son named William with actor Billy Crudup.
Katherine Heigl
In 2009, Heigl and husband Josh Kelley adopted their daughter, Nancy, from South Korea. They then went on to adopt another daughter, Adalaide, in 2012.
Sandra Bullock
The actress adopted two children on her own. In 2010, she adopted a son, Louis, and then adopted daughter Laila several years later.
Connie Britton
In 2011, Britton adopted her son, Eyob, from Ethiopia.
Steven Spielberg
The famous film director has both biological children and adopted children. He and his wife, Kate Capshaw, have an adopted son named Theo and an adopted daughter name Mikaela together.
Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie
Pitt and Jolie have six children together. They share three biological children as well as three adopted children. Their son Maddox was adopted from Cambodia in 2001, their daughter Zahara Marley was adopted in 2005 from Ethiopia, and their son Pax was adopted two years later from Vietnam.
Hugh Jackman
The Australian actor adopted son Oscar and daughter Ava with his wife, Deborra-Lee Furness. The couple planned to have both biological and adopted children, but later found out they couldn't have children naturally.
Meg Ryan
Ryan shares a biological son named Jack with her ex-husband, Dennis Quad. However, in 2006, the actress adopted her daughter, Daisy, from China.
Diane Keaton
Keaton has two adopted children. She adopted daughter Dexter in 1996 and then adopted son Duke in 2001.
Michelle Pfeiffer
Pfeiffer and her husband David E. Kelley have two adopted children together. Their daughter, Claudia, is now 25 years old and their son John is 24.
Madonna
Madonna has two biological children, Lourdes Leon and Rocco Ritchie. She also has four adopted children from Malawi. She adopted son David in 2006, daughter Mercy James in 2009, and then adopted twins Esther and Stella in 2017.