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Western celebrities, Hollywood celebrities, with Asian kids
Are these adoptions, as some people say, nothing more than trendy Hollywood rescue missions
or genuine examples of, just people, with a strong desire to connect and love
and care for a child of their own
Well, you be the judge
Here are 5 Famous Western Celebrities Who Have Adopted Asian Kids
With National Adoption Month in the US coming up in November, and
well, the recent drama involving the most high profile entry on this list
it seems an appropriate time to make this video
So, let’s get into it
1. Angelina Jolie
We have to start with the most obvious one
Angelina Jolie who’s been in movies such as
Mr & Mrs Smith, Salt, Changeling, Maleficent, Tomb Raider
is who everyone thinks of when it comes to a Hollywood celebrity with an adopted Asian child
Actually she has two, Maddox from Cambodia and Pax from Vietnam
There’s also Zahara from Ethiopia
as well as 3 biological children she has with husband, or I guess ex, Brad Pitt
Surprisingly, the mother of 6 had previously stated
“I never wanted to have a baby. I never wanted to be pregnant."
"I never babysat. I never thought of myself as a mother.”
However, while in Cambodia during the filming of Tomb Raider in 2000, everything changed
she said it “became suddenly very clear to me that my son was in the country, somewhere”
In 2001, Jolie applied to adopt 7 month old, Rath Vibol from an orphanage in Battambang, Cambodia
Unfortunately, this didn’t seem to go well
The adoption process was halted soon after
when the US government banned adoptions from Cambodia amid allegations of child trafficking
In fact, Jolie’s adoption facilitator was later convicted of visa fraud and money laundering
This left the adoption of Rath Vibol in serious doubt
Now, let’s fast forward a bit because we know how this ends
When it was all said and done, when the investigation was over
fortunately for Jolie, the adoption of Rath Vibol was deemed lawful
Jolie brought him back to the States and renamed him Maddox
5 years later, Maddox became older brother to Pax
who Jolie adopted from an orphanage in Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam
Today, Maddox is a regular 15 year old kid
who can sometimes be seen with a shaggy bleached blonde mohawk
and who has a long distance girlfriend
What do you and Brad think of the girlfriend?
She’s great.
I won’t embarrass him, but she’s lovely, she lives in England
Maddox was actually in Brad Pitt’s movie, World War Z as a zombie who gets shot in the head multiple times
Pitt jokingly said “I don’t know what that says about me as a parent”
Fast forward 3 years, and wife Angelina Jolie is now saying the same thing
A very sad situation indeed, the end of Brangelina
More unfortunately though, a Hollywood divorce involving 6 kids
This after Pitt allegedly ‘lunged’ at Maddox
who was trying to defend his mother during a marital disagreement
At this time, it’s unclear if any contact between Pitt and his son was intentional but nonetheless
this incident led Jolie to file for divorce 5 days later
Well, that ended on a bit of depressing note, but let’s move on to the next one
2. Katherine Heigl
She’s been in Grey’s Anatomy, Knocked Up, 27 Dresses, Killers
She actually grew up with an older sister, Meg, who was adopted from South Korea
Heigl says: “I wanted my own family to resemble the one I came from..."
"so I always knew I wanted to adopt from Korea.”
Her husband singer/songwriter, Josh Kelley, initially questioned
whether Heigl’s vision for their family was indeed right for him
Eventually he accepted it, and the couple applied for adoption in South Korea
In 2009, while on the set of Killers with co-star Ashton Kutcher
she got the call from the Korean adoption agency
that there was a baby girl for her to adopt named Mi-Eun
There was one issue though, she had a congenital heart defect
and had recently undergone open heart surgery
Despite the uncertainty surrounding her well-being, her future health
Heigl opted to adopt Mi-Eun, naming her Nancy Leigh, Naleigh for short
Ironically, despite husband Josh Kelley’s initial reservations about adopting from Korea,
he was the one who was able to bond quickly and effortlessly with Naleigh
while it was Heigl who struggled to form a connection with her new child
She admits, “I felt like, I’m not the kind of parent she prefers”
“Her rejection almost broke my heart”
Fortunately this didn’t last, and today
along with a second adopted child in 2012, are a family going strong
"Well, that could not have been more perfect."
3. Ewan McGregor
He’s been in Trainspotting, Moulin Rouge, Star Wars
He’s also been in many documentaries including one called 'Long Way Round'
where he goes on a 19,000 mile journey from London To New York City on a motorcycle
traveling through Europe and Asia, visiting several UNICEF programs along the way
It was on this trip in 2004, passing through Mongolia
where he met 2 year old Jamyan, an abandoned orphan
Soon afterwards, along with wife Eve Mavrakis, he put in an application to adopt her
He was so adamant for Jamyan to do well in life, that in the event the application be rejected
he insisted he would still fund the girl’s living and school expenses in Ulan Bator
until she was at least 16
In the end, this wasn’t necessary, as the adoption was successful
Fast forward 10 years to 2011, and Jamyan was given a baby sister
McGregor adopted baby Anouk
and along with their 2 biological daughters, the McGregor family now seem to be flying high
4. Meg Ryan
"Yes! Yes! Yes!"
The star of When Harry Met Sally, Sleepless In Seattle & You’ve Got Mail
was elated in 2006, when she was notified by the Chinese adoption agency
that they had assigned her a 14 month old baby girl
“You’ve got mail”
I say 'assigned' because the adoption process in China is like a lottery system
and Ryan had no say in the selection process of her child, who she later named Daisy True
Despite Daisy being randomly assigned to her, Ryan has stated
“I am convinced, completely that there was nothing random about it."
"She is the daughter I should have.”
“I’ll have what she’s having”
5. John McCain
Senior United States senator from Arizona
Maybe not a Hollywood celebrity, but certainly famous none the less
Right now the world is watching Hillary & Trump tear each other to bits
8 years ago it was Obama & McCain going at it for the presidency
While McCain, was able to become the republican presidential nominee in 2008
his previous attempt in 2000 failed
He had lost to George W. Bush in large part due to an underground smear campaign
during the South Carolina primary
a campaign that falsely claimed McCain had fathered a black child out of wedlock
In actuality, that ‘black child’ was Bridget, his daughter that he adopted from Bangladesh
Bridget was Bengali, and Bengali people are darker-skinned
Many people said the McCains should be ashamed of her color
The vile campaign had voters being called up by the thousands
being informed that McCain had a black baby
and that was reason enough to not vote for him
McCain has since said, he believes there is a special place in hell for those people
The story of Bridget goes back to 1991
when McCain’s wife, Cindy, brought home 2 little baby girls from Bangladesh
Cindy was in the capital, Dhaka, at an orphanage for abandoned babies run by the late Mother Theresa
There were 2 girls there, one with a heart problem
and the other with a cleft palate so severe she could not be fed
Concerned with their survival, Cindy McCain furiously argued with Bangladeshi officials
to get them visas to enter the US. so they could undergo medical treatment
She got her way, and the McCains ended up legally adopting one of the girls, Bridget
while the other, Nikki, was adopted by a close friend
Funnily enough, John McCain did not know of his wife’s decision before hand
and when he arrived at the Arizona airport to pick her up
he was confused as to why his wife was holding an Asian baby
He asked "who is she?" and "where is she going?"
Cindy replied "To our house"
“…say what?”
Despite this initial shock, he has said that Bridget has since enriched their lives
Ok, so I think we’re at the end here
that was 5 Famous Western Celebrities Who Have Adopted Asian Kids
So, did you know about all 5? Did any catch you by surprise?
Let us know in the comments below
Also tell us which was your favourite Asian adoption story?
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