We read a lot in today’s news about celebrities who are adopting children. But, what about the celebrities and other successful people who were adopted themselves? Though adoption wasn’t as talked about in years past – it was certainly widespread. Here is a list of ten successful people who were adopted as children.
1. Dave Thomas – The late founder of the successful Wendy’s fast food franchise is one of the adoptees whose status is most well known. He also founded the Dave Thomas Foundation, which supports US adoptions.
2. Tim McGraw and Faith Hill – This famous country music couple are both adopted. Hill was adopted as a newborn. Her birth parents were unmarried, although they married later and had a son. She always has known she was adopted. McGraw was adopted by his stepfather, and did not know that his father was famous baseball player Tug McGraw until he was eleven.
3. John Lennon – This famous member of the Beatles was adopted and raised by his aunt and uncle after his parents divorced.
4. President Gerald Ford – His parents divorced when he was a baby. His mother remarried and he was adopted by his stepfather. He did not know he was adopted or who his biological father was until he was an adult.
5. President Bill Clinton – President Clinton’s father was killed in a car accident shortly before his birth. His mother remarried and he was adopted by his stepfather.
6. Steve Jobs – the co-founder of Apple was orphaned as an infant and then adopted.
7. Priscilla Presley – The actress and former wife of Elvis Presley was adopted by her stepfather. Her father was killed when she was just a baby and her mother remarried. She did not know about her biological father until she was a teenager.
8. Nelson Mandela – South Africa’s former president and activist was initially raised by his parents, but was later adopted by a tribal African chief after the death of his father. Mandela was allowed to live with and be adopted by the chief because he had been educated and marked from an early age for great things.
9. Nancy Reagan – This former first lady was adopted by her stepfather after her parents’ divorce. President Ronald Reagan, and his first wife, Jane Wyman also adopted a son, Michael, before he and Nancy Reagan were married.
10. Eleanor Roosevelt – another former first lady who was adopted, Roosevelt lost her mother and brother at age 8 and her father at age ten. After the death of her mother, she was adopted and raised by her grandmother.
The list of adopted celebrities and successful entrepreneurs goes on and on, proving that many successful people have been adopted and raised by family members or adopted by unrelated families. Their success stories serve to show us that the fabric of our communities is made up of people from all family situations, and that adoption is more common, and has been for decades, than many of us even realized.
P. Zerkle enjoys blogging about ways people can pursue an education at ultrasound tech schools.
