From Sandra Bullock to Tom Selleck and Hugh Jackman: Celebrities who have adopted children

Madonna is mother to two biological children Lourdes Leon and Rocco Ritchie, but she has also adopted another four children from Malawi. 

The superstar adopted David Banda in 2006 and Mercy James in 2009, before welcoming four-year-old twins Esther and Stella into the family in 2017.

Next to a photo of herself holding the twins' hands, she wrote: "I can officially confirm I have completed the process of adopting twin sisters from Malawi and am overjoyed that they are now part of our family. I am deeply grateful to all those in Malawi who helped make this possible, and I ask the media please to respect our privacy during this transitional time."

Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman, who were married from 1990 to 2001, adopted Bella and Connor amid their fertility struggles. 

Bella was welcomed into the family in 1992 and Connor followed in 1995. While Nicole and Tom's marriage ended over two decades ago, it's evident that Tom maintains a strong bond with their children, both of whom were raised in the Church of Scientology, a path also followed by their father.

It is thought Nicole does not have too much contact with the children, however the actress, who welcomed two daughters with her new husband Keith Urban, has continued to emphasize the unconditional love a parent holds for their children, regardless of the paths they choose. 

"I am an example of that tolerance and that’s what I believe – that no matter what your child does, the child has love and the child has to know there is available love and I’m open here," she said.

Hugh Jackman and his wife Deborra-Lee Furness went through two miscarriages early in their marriage, but that hasn't stopped them from creating a family. The couple, who have since split, adopted their son Oscar in 2000 and daughter Ava in 2005 in the US after struggling to go through the process in Australia. 

“From the moment we started the adoption process, all the anxiety went away,” he told Herald Sun in 2011. “I don’t think of them as adopted – they’re our children."

The issue is clearly close to their hearts, as Deborra founded Adopt Change in 2008 in an attempt to make adoption easier in Australia.

Sandra Bullock is a doting mom-of-two after adopting her son Louis in 2010 before giving him a sister, Laila, a couple of years later.

"When I look at Laila, there’s no doubt in my mind that she was supposed to be here," Sandra told HELLO! in 2015. 

"I can tell you absolutely, the exact right children came to me at the exact right time."

The Bird Box actress ensured her son was involved in the journey in 2012. 

"I didn't want Louis to think for a second that I wanted or needed more than him, because I had everything I needed," explained the star.

"Towards the end of the process, I remember sitting Louis down – what I wanted to know was, ‘Is this the right match?’ He said, ‘I think so,’ and I asked why and he just said, ‘Because she’s my sister.’ And they went out and played and I was just sobbing."

Instead of helping very young children or babies, Sia chose to adopt two teenage sons in 2019 after going through rounds of IVF.

Speaking of the two boys, who are now 19, the 'Chandelier' singer revealed that she watched a documentary on adoption and saw her son on the program. When she finally found him, he asked if she could also adopt his cousin.

"I actually adopted two sons. They were 18, both 19 years old now, they were ageing out of the foster care system and I love them," she said.

"Most of their lives they've been conditioned to lie and manipulate, so the past year has been all about teaching them how to become rigorously honest and live in the moment without using any substances," she told The Project of her boys, one of whose identity remains private and the other who goes by the name Che.

Her youngest welcomed twins in 2020.

Angelina Jolie is perhaps one of the most well-known adoptive parents, having welcomed a total of three children into her brood of six: Maddox, Pax, Zahara, Shiloh, Knox and Vivienne. 

The Hollywood actress adopted her first child, Maddox, from Cambodia in 2002, followed by Zahara from Ethiopia in 2005 and Pax from Vietnam in 2007. 

Meanwhile, she also shares children Shiloh and twins Knox and Vivienne with ex-husband Brad Pitt. 

Bombshell actress Charlize Theron's two children Jackson and August were adopted three years apart, in 2012 and 2015 respectively. 

Although she tends to keep her home life private, she did share a sweet snap of her eldest child wearing a red dress on Instagram in 2019. 

Explaining Jackson's choice of outfit, she said: “Yes, I thought she was a boy, too. Until she looked at me when she was three-years-old and said: ‘I am not a boy!’ So there you go! I have two beautiful daughters who, just like any parent, I want to protect and I want to see thrive."

Both Jackson and August are keen social activists, with Charlize sharing that they have both asked how they can help make changes.

"And when they see protesters on the side of the road, they’ll say, 'Mom, honk. Honk, mom, honk.'"

Seal adopted Leni Klum, Heidi Klum's oldest daughter, in 2009, and the pair continue to have a close bond even after his divorce from Heidi.

The 'Kiss From A Rose' singer regularly talks about how proud he is of her; as she turned 19, Seal took to Instagram to explain: "In NY with the young woman who changed my life for the better 19 years ago. Thank you Leni for making me a better person".

Heidi was two weeks pregnant with Leni when she met Seal, and the singer reflected on connecting early on with Leni, telling E!: "It's everything and it has always been like that, from the day I met her mother. She was two weeks pregnant with this beautiful lady. We have always had that bond."

Blue Bloods actor Tom Selleck adopted his son, Kevin Shepard (born in 1966), during his eleven-year marriage to model Jacqueline Ray, Kevin's mother.

A talented drummer, Kevin was a member of the band Tonic from 1993 to 1996. Preferring to live life away from the spotlight, several outlets have reported that Kevin is a married man, and shares six children with his wife, Annabelle Selleck.

The Beatles star Paul McCartney married Linda in 1969, and she was mom to daughter Heather, whom she had welcomed with ex-husband Joseph Melville See Jr.

Heather was six at the time, and Joseph gave approval for Paul to adopt Heather, acknowledging she would "have a better life as a McCartney".

Rosario Dawson adopted her daughter Isabella, who was eleven at the time in 2014, but she didn’t go through an adoption agency or center. Instead, Rosario knew Isabella's biological mother, and after finding out that Isabella was in foster care, sought her out intentionally.

Speaking to Women's Health about the day she brought Isabella home with her, Rosario said that the pre-teen was already "a very whole person," explaining, "We're building up trust even still." 

The pair saw a family therapist together over the years, which has strengthened her bond with Isabella. The Ahsoka star revealed that she also decided to keep Isabella away from social media initially, and she even waited to get her a cell phone.