Nicole Richie
Dave Kotinsky//Getty ImagesAt nine years old, Nicole Richie was adopted by singer Lionel Richie and his first wife, Brenda Harvey. The singer, who knew Nicole’s birth parents, shared with People magazine in 2022 that Nicole was a “godsend” for their family. “She was a little girl who needed a shot," he recalled. "She was used to people coming and going. She looked at me, and I'd say, 'I'm not going anywhere.'"
2Faith Hill
Steve Granitz//Getty ImagesCountry singer Faith Hill was adopted as a baby by Ted and Edna Perry, who named her Audrey Faith. Although Hill (who got her last name from her first husband) described her childhood with the Perrys as “incredible,” she always wondered about her biological parents. "The first time I met [my birth mother], I just stared at her," Hill told Good Housekeeping in 2007. “I’d never seen anyone that looked anything like me. It was the awe of seeing someone you came from. It fills something."
3Jamie Foxx
Karwai Tang//Getty ImagesSinger, actor, and comedian Jamie Foxx was adopted by his grandparents at a young age. He opened up more about the experience in his memoir, Act Like You Got Some Sense, which came out in 2021.
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4Debbie Harry
Dia Dipasupil//Getty ImagesMusic icon Debbie Harry was born Angela Trimble in Miami-Dade Hospital in 1945. She was adopted at six months old by Richard and Cathy Harry, a couple who lived in New Jersey—they were the ones to change her name to Deborah.
5Ice-T
Rick Diamond//Getty ImagesRapper and actor Ice-T’s mother and father died when he was young—his mother passed when he was in the third grade and his father four years later. His aunts cared for him after his father’s death.
6John Lennon
Michael Putland//Getty ImagesBet you didn’t know that John Lennon was also adopted. The famous Beatles band member was adopted by his aunt and uncle after his parents divorced when he was three. John didn't have much contact with his father Alfred after the split, but he was close with his mother up until her death in 1958.
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7Kristin Chenoweth
Rob Kim//Getty ImagesKristin Chenoweth has shared previously that her adoptive parents were always very open with her about her adoption. "It was never a surprise," she told Today in 2022. “They always said, 'The lady that had you in her belly could not take care of you the way she wanted to, and she loved you so much. This is what my mom said, 'She gave you life, but we get to give you a life.’”
8Steve Jobs
Justin Sullivan//Getty ImagesPaul and Clara Jobs adopted Apple founder Steve Jobs as a baby. Interestingly, Jobs accidentally met his biological father years later when enjoying a meal at a restaurant his father managed. However, the two had no relationship outside of this chance meeting.
9Jack Nicholson
Lester Cohen//Getty ImagesActor Jack Nicholson grew up believing his biological mother was his sister. When his mother got pregnant at a young age, his grandmother (who he thought was his biological mother) raised him as her son. Nicholson didn’t find out this information until 1974, when he was already in his 30s.
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10Simone Biles
Laurence Griffiths//Getty ImagesOlympic gymnast, Simone Biles, spent part of her childhood in foster care with her three siblings after her mother, who struggled with drug and alcohol dependence, could not care for them. Biles was later adopted by her maternal grandfather, Ron, and his wife, Nellie.
11JC Chasez
Michael Tran//Getty Images*NSYNC member JC Chasez's mother offered custody of her son to her own former foster parents when he was five years old.
12Melissa Gilbert
VALERY HACHE//Getty ImagesActress Melissa Gilbert, who starred in Little House on the Prairie, was adopted at a young age. In the 1990s, she began her search for her biological parents after the birth of her own son. She discovered her mother had passed away, but her father was still alive. Although the two spoke and met, she shared with the Los Angeles Times in 1993 that she keeps in touch “from a distance.”
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13Marilyn Monroe
M. Garrett//Getty ImagesHollywood star Marilyn Monroe lived in foster homes until the age of seven, when her mother’s best friend, Grace McKee, became her legal guardian. However, it was a rocky ride from there. Some years later, Monroe ended up back in the orphanage and then returned to McKee’s home once again.
14Tim McGraw
Terry Wyatt//Getty ImagesCountry singer Tim McGraw was raised by his birth mother, Betty, and her husband, Horace, who he believed was his biological father. It wasn’t until he was 11 years old and came across his birth certificate that he realized his birth father was professional baseball player Tug McGraw.
15Liz Phair
NBC//Getty ImagesMusician Liz Phair was adopted at birth by John and Nancy Phair and raised in Cincinnati and outside of Chicago.
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