Famous People Who Were Adopted, 9-13
The final set of our list of famous people who were adopted starts with an actress from Little House on the Prairie.9. Melissa Gilbert
Best known for her portrayal of Laura Ingalls on Little House on the Prairie, Melissa Gilbert was adopted at birth by Ed Gilbert and Barbara Crane, both Hollywood actors. Ed Gilbert died when Melissa was 11, and Michael Landon, who played her father on television, became a surrogate father to her. Melissa's siblings include adopted brother Jonathan Gilbert, who portrayed Willie Oleson on Little House, and her sister Sara (who is not adopted) played Darlene on Roseanne. Melissa continues to act, mostly in made-for-TV movies, and she served as president of the Screen Actors Guild from 2001 to 2005.
10. Dr. Ruth Westheimer
Everyone's favorite sex therapist was born Karola Ruth Siegel in Frankfurt, Germany, in 1928. Siegel was put on a train when she was ten years old and sent away from home to avoid Hitler's Nazis. Her mother and grandmother told her she was going off to school, but in reality Siegel was sent to an orphanage where she remained for many years. Dr. Ruth would go on to study at the Sorbonne in Paris and reached household name status with her radio program, Sexually Speaking, which aired during the 1980s.
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During his decades-long career, baseball announcer Harry Caray called the shots for the St. Louis Cardinals, Chicago White Sox, and Chicago Cubs. Harry Christopher Carabina was born in 1914 in one of the poorest sections of St. Louis and was still an infant when his father died. By the time he was ten, his mother had died, too, so an aunt raised him from that point. In 1989, Caray was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame as a broadcaster, and, in 1990, he joined the Radio Hall of Fame. A statue of him stands outside legendary Wrigley Field on Chicago's north side.
12. Faith Hill
Adopted when only a few days old, Audrey Faith Perry was raised in Star, Mississippi, by Ted and Edna Perry. The country music superstar was the only adopted kid in the family and formed a good relationship with her biological mother later in life. Faith always knew she was adopted and refers to her childhood as "amazing."
13. Jamie Foxx
Actor and comedian Jamie Foxx was born Eric Bishop in 1967. His parents separated shortly thereafter, and his mother didn't feel capable of raising him on her own, so he was adopted at seven months by his maternal grandmother. Years later, during his Academy Award acceptance speech for his role in the critically-acclaimed biopic Ray, Foxx thanked his grandmother for her hard work and unconditional love. He has also hosted holiday specials concerning adoption and often mentions the cause in interviews.
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS:
Helen Davies, Marjorie Dorfman, Mary Fons, Deborah Hawkins, Martin Hintz, Linnea Lundgren, David Priess, Julia Clark Robinson, Paul Seaburn, Heidi Stevens, and Steve Theunissen
