They have two adopted children of their own, so when Hugh Jackman and his actress wife Deborra-Lee Furness heard the first ever National Adoption Awareness Week was to be held in Australia, they were keen to get involved.
The Hollywood couple - parents to eight-year-old Oscar and Ava, three – brought star power to a bash to launch the initiative in their Sydney home town. Speaking before the event Deborra-Lee expressed her concern over the amount of time the process of adoption can take.
"People are waiting for so long - a minimum of three years and sometimes up to ten," she said. "And you hear there are 133 million orphans in the world. There are families for the children - let's make it happen faster."
Also helping draw attention to the subject of adoption was Canadian Oscar nominee Nia Vardalos, who announced she and her actor husband Ian Gomez have adopted a daughter. The couple - who starred together in 2002 flick My Big Fat Greek Wedding - welcomed the little girl into their home several months ago, but have just announced the news to highlight North America's National Adoption Month.
While they haven't released the name of the child, the couple have revealed she is under five years old.
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Photo: © Alphapress.com
