Having children is one of the biggest decisions a person can make in their life. However, sometimes people may not be ready to have kids and make the tough decision to put that child up for adoption. Although giving up a baby for adoption may be a painful process for some, it's good to know that the child will be going to a family that desperately wants one. While there are celebrities such as Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt that are known for adopting children, there are other celebrities that have put a child up for adoption at some point. Let's check them out.
Kate Mulgrew Didn't Want To Marry The Father
Actress Kate Mulgrew is best known for her roles as Captain Kathryn Janeway in Star Trek: Voyage and as Galina "Red" Reznikov in the hit series Orange is the New Black. She became pregnant in 1977, right as her soap opera career on Ryan's Hope was about to take off.
She didn't want to marry the father of her child at the time, so she thought that the second best option for both her and her new daughter was to put her up for adoption. After her daughter was adopted, the two didn't see each other again for 24 years.
Roseanne Barr Wasn't Financially Ready
Roseanne Barr became pregnant with a daughter when she was just 18 years old. While she initially had hoped to keep the child, she soon realized that she was not financially suited to take care of the baby on her own.
While she was pregnant, she lived in a Salvation Army home for unwed mothers and gave her daughter up for adoption in 1971. However, the two were reunited 17 years later and her daughter Brandi worked as a production assistant on the set of Roseanne.
Duane Lee Chapman AKA Dog The Bounty Hunter Didn't Know He Had A Son
Chapman, or Dog, was a Bounty Hunter until he scored his own television series Dog The Bounty Hunter. His first child, named Christopher Hecht was from a teenage relationship with a young woman named Debbie White. Unfortunately, after giving birth to the child, White committed suicide without ever telling Chapman that he had a son.
The baby was put up for adoption and Chapman didn't learn about the existence of his son until much later. After Chapman learned about Christopher, the two reconnected.
Ted Nugent Put Two Kids Up For Adoption
NRA spokesperson, known conservative, and musician Ted Nugent gave up his son Ted for adoption in 1968 after his girlfriend became pregnant. For the majority of his life, this was kept under wraps until it was revealed to the public in 2010.
Although he first gave up his son Ted, he later put his daughter Louisa up for adoption as well. After running tests to discover her biological parents, she learned that Nugent was indeed her father. When she reached out to him, he embraced her, and Ted, as his own.
Albert Einstein Didn't Want An Illegitimate Child
Albert Einstein was a renowned physicist, best known for his theory of relativity which transformed modern physics in the early 20th century. He and his wife Mileva Mari had their first child out of wedlock in 1902.
The two decided to put the baby up for adoption for fear of living the rest of their life with people knowing that they had an illegitimate child. Time's were different back then. Unfortunately, reports have been discovered that their daughter, Lieserl may have passed away from scarlet fever.
Joni Mitchell Searched For Her Adopted Daughter Publicly
Joni Mitchell is a nine-time Grammy Award-winning musician, most known for her music in the 1970s. When she became pregnant when she was 21, she was in a tough position because she was unwed and also hadn't had any success in the music industry yet.
She was in dire financial straits and didn't think that she would give the child a proper life. She put the baby up for adoption in 1965 and was reunited with her daughter Kilauren Gibb in 1997 after publicly looking for her.
Hank Williams Sr. Died Just Five Days After His Daughter Was Born
Hank Williams Sr. is considered to be one of the most influential country musicians to ever step foot on stage. His daughter, Jet, was born out of wedlock just five days before Hank passed away of heart failure at the young age of 29.
Jett was then legally adopted by Hank's mother Lillian Stone. When Lillian passed away just two years after adopting Hank's daughter, Jett was then adopted by a family living in Alabama. That's quite the change of hands for a young Jett.
Clark Gable Wouldn't Admit He Was The Father
Clark Gable was a renowned actor who won the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1934 for his work on the film It Happened One Night. While he was married to his second wife Rhea Langham Davis, he was having an affair with the actress Loretta Young. As a result of their affair, Loretta gave birth to a girl named Judy Lewis in 1935.
The two placed a baby in an orphanage until Loretta came back 19 months later and adopted the child. Gable never admitted he was the father, and Judy went on to become a successful actress.
Patti Smith Didn't Have Many Options
Influential musician Patti Smith was 19 years old and working a factory job in New Jersey when she became pregnant. While pregnant, her parents sent her away to a foster home in order to hide her pregnancy from the neighbors who would have judged the family for Patti having a baby while unwed.
Once she had the child, her only option was to put the baby up for adoption which she did. She was never reunited with her child.
Rod Stewart Gave His First Of Eight Children Up For Adoption
British rock star Rod Stewart gave up his first of eight children up for adoption when he was 17 in the 1960s. When he found out that his art student girlfriend named Susannah Boffey gave birth to a girl named Sarah Streeter they both knew that there was no way that the two could care for a child, so they put her up for adoption.
Sarah reconnected with Stewart in the 1980s although the two didn't develop a real relationship until meeting again in 2007. Stewart says that it still hurts him to think about.
David Crosby Now Plays With His Son In A Band
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member David Crosby has been involved in some of the most influential bands of the 1960s and '70s such as the Byrds and Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young. Crosby put his son Raymond up for adoption back in 1962 although the two reunited in 1994.
As it turns out, Raymond is an excellent musician and has been playing with Crosby on stage as well as in the studio in Crosby's new band CPR. Now that's quite the adoption story.
Dirk Benedict Was 30 When He Learned He Had A Son
Dirk Benedict is best-known for acting in Battlestar Galactica, and didn't know that he had a son John Talbert, until he was 30 years old. Apparently, John was born in 1968 and his mother put him up for adoption without telling Benedict about the pregnancy, let alone the birth of their son.
John discovered who his biological father was after asking his adopted parents about his mother, who then told him about Benedict. Although Benedict was completely surprised by the news, he accepted that John was indeed his son.
Andy Kaufman Never Got To Meet His Daughter
Funnyman Andy Kaufman is a well-known comedian and prankster. He appeared numerous times on Late Night With David Letterman and always made sure to leave his mark. He had a daughter, Maria Bellu-Colonna, with his high school girlfriend in 1969. The extremely young couple were in no position to take care of or raise a child, so she was put up for adoption.
Unfortunately, she never got to meet her biological father, as he passed away from lung cancer in 1984. However, she was reunited with her biological mother, grandfather, and uncle.
Catelynn Lowell's Adoption Story Was Documented on MTV's Teen Mom
Catelynn Lowell and her boyfriend Tyler Baltierra are known for their appearances on the MTV series 16 and Pregnant and Teen Mom. While filming these shows, Lowell gave birth to her first daughter named Carly. Due to financial restraints, she was forced to give up the baby and the entire process was caught on camera.
Today, she is an advocate for adoption and the process involved and speaks publicly about it throughout the United States. Her show also gives good insight into the entire adoption process.
Mercedes Ruehl Later Adopted A Son
Oscar-winning actress Mercedes Ruehl gave up her son Christopher for adoption at a much older age than most people usually assume. She was 28 years old and claimed that she didn't have the "the emotional development or the economic capability" to raise a child. By the time Christopher was 21, he was reunited with his mother.
Then, in 1995, Ruehl adopted a child for herself named Jake. It's not clear, but maybe it was a way of setting the balance after giving her biological son up for adoption.
Jay Thomas Wasn't Ready To Put Aside His Potential Acting Career To Be A Father
Actor and comedian Jay Thomas is known for his work on Cheers, Mary Brown, and his iconic Late Night story about the Lone Ranger. When his acting career was just taking off, his girlfriend became unexpectedly pregnant.
The couple struggled to figure out what to do or whether they should get married or not. Eventually, they decided to put their baby son up for adoption as the final solution. Although it took a few decades, Thomas was reunited with his son in 2007.
Jack Wagner Was Reunited With His Daughter After 23 Years
Jack Wagner is known for acting on the hit show General Hospital. However, he was shocked to learn in 1988 that he had a newborn daughter. He claimed that he knew nothing of the pregnancy and that it was the result of a one night stand.
The girl was placed up for adoption by the mother although Wagner had mixed feelings about the entire situation. After 23 years, Wagner was eventually reunited with his long-lost daughter once again.
Peter Michael Escovedo Personally Asked Lionel Richie To Adopt His Daughter
Nicole Richie is most known for her reality television show The Simple Life, co-starring Paris Hilton. Her last name is also Richie, after the musician Lionel Richie. Her biological father is Peter Michael Escovedo, who asked Lionel Richie if he could adopt his daughter and raise her when she was just 3 years old.
After some years, Escovedo and his wife claimed that they could no longer support Nicole. So, Richie and his then-wife Brenda Harvey legally adopted Nicole when she was 8 years old.
Flavio Briatore Let His Ex-Wife's Husband Adopt His Daughter
Formula One racing and soccer team-owner Flavio Briatore had a child with Heidi Klum who the two ended up giving up for adoption. Briatore and Klum were dating when Klum ended up getting pregnant with their daughter Leni unexpectedly.
However, the couple broke up before Leni was ever born. After Heidi Klum married Seal, Briatore agreed to let Seal officially adopt his own daughter Leni and raise her as his own. Leni was even given Seal's last name Samuel rather than her mother's maiden name or Briatore's.
President Grover Cleveland Ended Up paying Child Support
Former President Grover Cleveland had an illegitimate child with a woman named Mary Halpin. However, the baby, named Oscar Cleveland was left at the mental asylum where Halpin had given birth to him. He was then adopted when he was five years old by a doctor at the asylum named James King, along with his wife.
Halpin later testified under oath that Cleveland had forced himself on her. At times he admitted the child was his and denied it at others. The voluntarily paid child support, a clear sign that he thought the child was his.
Horatio Nelson Ended Up Re-Adopting His Own Daughter
Admiral Horatio Nelson was a famous British Navy captain, best-known for winning the Battle of Trafalgar during the Napoleonic Wars. He had an illegitimate child with his lover Emma, Lady Hamilton. It wasn't possible for her to claim that the father was her own husband, as he was already too old at the time.
So, the couple gave the baby up and pretended that she was the daughter of a completely different man and woman. Then, after Emma's husband died, the two went and adopted their baby back, pretending the baby was an unknown orphan. They named her Horatia.
Queen Elizabet I Wasn't So Innocent
Apparently, "The Virgin Queen" wasn't given a very appropriate nickname. Supposedly, she ha child with her lover Robert Dudley, the Earl of Leicester. Although it is yet to be proven as a fact, it has been a persistent myth since she sat on the throne.
Because their child would have been born out of wedlock, the child was supposedly given up for adoption by an aristocratic family in the stead of the couple.However, the biggest question, is how someone as well-known and seen as Elizabeth may have been able to hide a pregnancy.
Lord Byron Took His Daughter In Then Gave Her Up
Poet George Gordon Byron, otherwise known as Lord Byron illegitimate daughter with Clair Clairmont, Mary Shelly's stepsister, who had a massive crush on the man. The baby was raised by Claire's mother until she was 15 months old when Byron then decided to take over, and Claire then gave the baby to him.
Byron took his daughter in and renamed her from Alba to Allegra. Just a few years later, he left her at a convent to be cared for by nuns where she died only a year later.
Strom Thurmond Had A Deep And Dark Secret
The United States Senator Strom Thurmond was a great advocate of the segregation between black and whites in the United States during his time in office. After his death, it was later revealed that he had a secret child with a 16-year-old black maid named Carrie Butler who worked in his home.
His daughter, Essie Mae Washington-Williams, was adopted and raised by Butler's older sister and her husband, Mary, and John Washington. His daughter kept her father's secret until after his death and was acknowledged by Thurmond's family.
Philomena Lynott Had Two Other Secret Children
Philomena Lynott is known as the unwed Irish Catholic mother who went through a lot in order to raise her son, rock star and Thin Lizzy frontman Phil Lynott. However,later in her life, she revealed that she had given up two of her other children up for adoption.
She announced that it was bad enough raising her one son, and that she didn't want her mother to know that she had two other children as well. Philip died in 1986 before he ever got to meet his half siblings although Phiolomena now has a close bond with the two children she gave up for adoption.
Sinead Cusack
Wife to Jeremy irons, actress Sinead Cusack revealed in 2007 that she was indeed the biological mother of Irish politician Richard Boyd Barrett. She had given him up for adoption in 1968 for fear of being judged for being an unmarried mother in Ireland in the 1960s.
Cusack managed to reunited with her son back in 2004. Yet, even better, she has been seen at his side on his various campaigns on multiple different occasions.
King Henry VIII Had Countless Illegitimate Children
King Henry VIII had numerous illegitimate children that he offered up to other men to raise as their own. His son, Henry Fitzroy was the product of his endeavors with his serving woman Elizabeth Blount, who raised in the home of Blount's husband Gilbert Talboys.
He is also believed to be the father of Catherine and Henry Carey, children of his mistress Mary Boleyn. But that's not all, he had several other children including John Perrot, Thomas Skulkey, and Ethelreda Malte. Those are the ones we only know of too.
Steven Tyler Didn't Know Liv Tyler Was His Daughter
Lead singer of Aerosmith, Steven Tyler, had his now actress daughter Liv Tyler during a fling with Bebe Buell, a girl living with Todd Rundgren at the time. Steven was unaware that Liv was his, and Rundgren signed the birth certificate and claimed paternity. This is so, because he didn't believe that Steven was ready to be a father due to his issues with addiction.
When Liv was younger, she realized how much she looked like Steven's other daughter Mia and eventually put the pieces together. Today, Liv and Steven had a close relationship.
Chuck Norris' Daughter Reached Out To Him
During the 1960s, Chuck Norris was married to Dianne Holechek when he fathered a child with another woman. The little girl, named Dina, believed that her biological father was the man that her mother had married after she was born. Chuck was unaware that he had a child until 1991.
It was that year that Dina overheard her mother talking about Dina's father being Chuck. Dina then took matters into her own hands and reached out to him. Eventually, Chuck would come to terms that Dina was indeed his daughter.
Thomas Jefferson Supposedly Fathered A Son With A Slave
Apparently, President Thomas Jefferson began a relationship with his slave Sally Hemmings after his wife had passed away in 1782. Although it is suspected that he fathered at least one child with her, he never acknowledged any of them as his own.
The boy, named Eston Hemmings, was raised by Sally's own husband named James Hemmings. Some more proof to this theory was that James was one of the two slaves that Jefferson had freed during his lifetime. Maybe to give his own son the best chance at life possible?
Arnold Schwarzenegger Kept His Scandal A Secret
While married to Maria Shriver, Arnold Schwarzenegger fathered an illegitimate child with his housekeeper Mildred Baena who then raised the child. What's interesting is that the son, Joseph, was then raised believing that his his biological father was Mildred Baena's husband although it was other revealed otherwise.
The secret was kept under wraps for over 13 years until the scandal was revealed to the public. That must have been quite the shock for the 13-year-old Joseph to learn.
King Edward VII Of England Let His Daughter Be Raised By His Mistress' Husband
King Edward VII supposedly fathered a illegitimate daughter with a woman named Blanche Caracciolo, the wife of an Italian duke. Their daughter, Olga, was then raised as the child of Duke Caracciolo.
However, this raised a lot of suspicion considering that it was relatively known that King Edward VII and Blanche had been having an affair just before Olga's birth. Amazingly, this didn't cause too many problems, and it's possible Edward fathered other illegitimate children as well.
George II Of England Never Learned About His Son
It's reported that King George II of England had an illegitimate child named Thomas Duckerly. The child was supposedly after he had an affair with Duckerly's mom while her husband was on business for the Duke of Devonshire.
For the rest of her life, she pretended that her son was her husbands until she revealed his royal parentage on her deathbed. George II never learned about his son, as he died before Dunckerley told the truth. Thomas then reached out to George III who accepted him as his half-brother.
Michelle Money Was Just 15 When She Gave Up A Baby For Adoption
Michelle Money was a contestant on the 15th season of The Bachelor although she was eliminated in week seven. She then returned for the 1st season of The Bachelor in Paradise where she won and accepted Cody Sattler's proposal although the two eventually broke up.
During a promotional proposal for a skincare product, she revealed that she had put up a child for adoption when she was just 15 years old. She claimed that The decision to place this baby up for adoption was not an easy one. But it was the right one."
Gavin Rossdale Cut Ties When He Learned The Truth
Gavin Rossdale, who was the frontman for the band Bush, had an affair with a woman named Pearl Lowe. During this time, she was married to a ma named Bronner Handweger. The child, Daisy Lowe, was raised as Bronner's own daughter, with Rossdale acting as a Godfather figure to her.
However, when Daisy was 14 years old, Pearl took her daughter to get a DNA test to show that Rossdale was the father. At that point, Rossdale cut off all contact with Daisy although the two later made amends. Rossdale's ex-wife Gwen Stephanie was also not happy when she learned of Rossdale's secret daughter.
