{"id":174678,"date":"2017-11-15T10:00:03","date_gmt":"2017-11-15T15:00:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=174678"},"modified":"2017-11-15T10:48:35","modified_gmt":"2017-11-15T15:48:35","slug":"singer-sarah-mclachlan-other-celebs-explain-feels-adopted","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/singer-sarah-mclachlan-other-celebs-explain-feels-adopted\/","title":{"rendered":"Singer Sarah McLachlan, other celebs explain what it feels like to be adopted"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>

The list of celebrities who have been affected by adoption — either by adopting or by being adopted — is a long one. Some have been more vocal and public about their adoptions, and help others to understand the importance of adoption. Below are five celebrities who were adopted:<\/p>\n

\"\"

Photo by LG\uc804\uc790 (via Wikimedia Commons)<\/p><\/div>\n

Kristin Chenoweth, actress<\/b><\/p>\n

Two years ago, Chenoweth spoke about her adoption<\/a>\u00a0in honor of National Adoption Day, saying, \u201cI knew that my birth mother loved me so much that she wanted to give me a better life\u2026. Sometimes people can\u2019t take care of that baby just yet\u2026. But what a gift they are giving to both that child and the family who wants to adopt\u2026. We weren\u2019t abandoned; we were chosen. We were given a chance\u2026. If anything, I would thank my birth mother for loving me enough to make such a huge sacrifice. It\u2019s a great gift for me to be able to say: \u201c\u2018 know that I came from love, and I know that I have love.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Scott Hamilton, Olympic figure skater<\/b><\/p>\n

Hamilton was adopted in 1958 at six weeks of age by Ernest and Dorothy Hamilton. Hamilton has spoken of his mother<\/a>, who tragically died of breast cancer in 1977, saying, \u201cShe was the center of my universe. She sacrificed everything for me.\u201d When Scott became ill in childhood, his parents never stopped searching for good doctors and excellent care for their son. Aside from his victories on the ice, Hamilton grew up, married, and now has four children of his own \u2014 two biological and two adopted from Haiti<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Hamilton has fought cancer three times, and is known for his amazing and inspiring positive attitude.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Debbie Harry, singer<\/b><\/p>\n

The lead singer of Blondie was adopted at three months of age. In a 2014 interview<\/a>, she said, \u201cIn some strange way I think [my adoption has] given me an open door to be the person I wanna be. I think sometimes you feel, \u2018Well, I\u2019m just like my mother,\u2019 and you\u2019re sort of stuck. But I knew that there are other things genetically that are completely different.\u2019”<\/p>\n

At one point she wanted to find her birth parents, but said she \u201cwas limited by the legalities of that kind of search in the US.\u201d When she couldn\u2019t find them, she said she was sad, but realized, \u201cI had a life. You know, a good life. If I was a lost person that would have been different. But I wasn\u2019t that person.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Sarah McLachlan, singer<\/b><\/p>\n

In 2003, McLachlan told Parents.com<\/a>, \u201cwhen I think about my mother who raised me, you know, she’s my mother\u2026. I was happy I had the parents I had. I’m not much to dwell on what may have been.\u201d<\/p>\n

She says that at nine years old, her parents told her she was adopted. \u201cIt was like, \u2018Oh, okay, good to know, you’re still my mom and dad.\u2019 Perhaps I was too young to understand it really, but it just never was a big issue to me. I never had this empty place in me thinking that I’ve missed out somewhere, or that I was abandoned. I met my mother several years ago — my birth mother — and I’m thankful that she gave me up. Because she was an artist, she was way too young, she was 19 years old. She would have had to go and live in rural Newfoundland, and she wouldn’t have been able to pursue any of her dreams. And instead I’ve got a great family, who loved me and gave me every opportunity to pursue my dreams. It was a gift. It was probably the hardest thing she ever had to do. I’m glad she did it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Darryl McDaniels – rapper<\/b><\/p>\n

McDaniels (DMC of Run DMC) did not learn of his adoption until age 35, when received quite the shock after asking his mother for some background on their family. His adoption was a closed adoption, so McDaniels could not get access to his original birth certificate. He now fights for laws to change so that adoption records are open, and adoptees can learn about their own histories.<\/p>\n

McDaniels has met his birth mother, saying in a 2017 interview<\/a> that it was a \u201cnew beginning\u201d for him. \u201cI have 2 brothers and a sister. My birth mom calls herself \u2018the other mother\u2019. She believes that she gave me life, my adoptive mother allowed me to experience it.\u201d He says his adoptive parents are \u201c100%\u201d behind him pursuing information about his past and getting to know his birth family.<\/p>\n

Interestingly, it was a Sarah McLachlan song, \u201cAngel,\u201d which McDaniels says kept him alive during a very dark time in his life when he suffered depression following the death of his adoptive father and of a dear friend. \u201cI just thought, \u2018God, What are you trying to tell me?\u2019 My story is a story of purpose and destiny. I was questioning my existence. Am I just here to be DMC, to do this rap thing and nothing else? I was suicidal. Angel kept me alive for 3 more years to discover the meaning of the void. Now I know that I am to bring hope, motivation, and inspiration to adopted kids and those in foster care.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The list of celebrities who have been affected by adoption — either by adopting or by being adopted — is a long one. Some have been more vocal and public about their adoptions, and help others to understand the importance of adoption. Below are five celebrities who were adopted: Kristin Chenoweth, actress Two years ago, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":292,"featured_media":174680,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false},"categories":[9455],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nSinger Sarah McLachlan, other celebs explain what it feels like to be adopted<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"\u201cIn some strange way I think [my adoption has] given me an open door to be the person I wanna be." ~ 'Blondie' singer Debbie Harry\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/singer-sarah-mclachlan-other-celebs-explain-feels-adopted\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Singer Sarah McLachlan, other celebs explain what it feels like to be adopted\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u201cIn some strange way I think [my adoption has] given me an open door to be the person I wanna be." ~ 'Blondie' singer Debbie Harry\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/singer-sarah-mclachlan-other-celebs-explain-feels-adopted\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Live Action News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/liveaction\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-11-15T15:00:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2017-11-15T15:48:35+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/sarah-mclachlan-screenshot.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"912\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"450\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Kelli Keane\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@liveaction\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@liveaction\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Kelli Keane\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/singer-sarah-mclachlan-other-celebs-explain-feels-adopted\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/singer-sarah-mclachlan-other-celebs-explain-feels-adopted\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Kelli Keane\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/c8d178142d9fce05b6e02107b7f27aa7\"},\"headline\":\"Singer Sarah McLachlan, other celebs explain what it feels like to be adopted\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-11-15T15:00:03+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-11-15T15:48:35+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/singer-sarah-mclachlan-other-celebs-explain-feels-adopted\/\"},\"wordCount\":895,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"Human Interest\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/singer-sarah-mclachlan-other-celebs-explain-feels-adopted\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/singer-sarah-mclachlan-other-celebs-explain-feels-adopted\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/singer-sarah-mclachlan-other-celebs-explain-feels-adopted\/\",\"name\":\"Singer Sarah McLachlan, other celebs explain what it feels like to be adopted\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2017-11-15T15:00:03+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-11-15T15:48:35+00:00\",\"description\":\"\u201cIn some strange way I think [my adoption has] given me an open door to be the person I wanna be.\\\" ~ 'Blondie' singer Debbie Harry\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/singer-sarah-mclachlan-other-celebs-explain-feels-adopted\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/singer-sarah-mclachlan-other-celebs-explain-feels-adopted\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/singer-sarah-mclachlan-other-celebs-explain-feels-adopted\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Singer Sarah McLachlan, other celebs explain what it feels like to be adopted\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/\",\"name\":\"Live Action News\",\"description\":\"Covering Human Rights, Abortion, & Pro-Life Issues\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Live Action\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Live-Action-Logo-Black.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Live-Action-Logo-Black.png\",\"width\":701,\"height\":710,\"caption\":\"Live Action\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/liveaction\",\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/liveaction\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/liveactionorg\/\",\"https:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/LiveActionFilms\/\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/LiveActionFilms\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/c8d178142d9fce05b6e02107b7f27aa7\",\"name\":\"Kelli Keane\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f2269b238ef41615d86333c1e8a80568?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f2269b238ef41615d86333c1e8a80568?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Kelli Keane\"},\"description\":\"Kelli is the managing editor of Live Action News. She has served as an editor and writer for this and other pro-life publications for the past 15 years, and is also a former pregnancy resource center director.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/author\/kel\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Singer Sarah McLachlan, other celebs explain what it feels like to be adopted","description":"\u201cIn some strange way I think [my adoption has] given me an open door to be the person I wanna be.\" ~ 'Blondie' singer Debbie Harry","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/singer-sarah-mclachlan-other-celebs-explain-feels-adopted\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Singer Sarah McLachlan, other celebs explain what it feels like to be adopted","og_description":"\u201cIn some strange way I think [my adoption has] given me an open door to be the person I wanna be.\" ~ 'Blondie' singer Debbie Harry","og_url":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/singer-sarah-mclachlan-other-celebs-explain-feels-adopted\/","og_site_name":"Live Action News","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/liveaction","article_published_time":"2017-11-15T15:00:03+00:00","article_modified_time":"2017-11-15T15:48:35+00:00","og_image":[{"width":912,"height":450,"url":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/sarah-mclachlan-screenshot.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Kelli Keane","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@liveaction","twitter_site":"@liveaction","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Kelli Keane","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/singer-sarah-mclachlan-other-celebs-explain-feels-adopted\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/singer-sarah-mclachlan-other-celebs-explain-feels-adopted\/"},"author":{"name":"Kelli Keane","@id":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/c8d178142d9fce05b6e02107b7f27aa7"},"headline":"Singer Sarah McLachlan, other celebs explain what it feels like to be adopted","datePublished":"2017-11-15T15:00:03+00:00","dateModified":"2017-11-15T15:48:35+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/singer-sarah-mclachlan-other-celebs-explain-feels-adopted\/"},"wordCount":895,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#organization"},"articleSection":["Human Interest"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/singer-sarah-mclachlan-other-celebs-explain-feels-adopted\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/singer-sarah-mclachlan-other-celebs-explain-feels-adopted\/","url":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/singer-sarah-mclachlan-other-celebs-explain-feels-adopted\/","name":"Singer Sarah McLachlan, other celebs explain what it feels like to be adopted","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#website"},"datePublished":"2017-11-15T15:00:03+00:00","dateModified":"2017-11-15T15:48:35+00:00","description":"\u201cIn some strange way I think [my adoption has] given me an open door to be the person I wanna be.\" ~ 'Blondie' singer Debbie Harry","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/singer-sarah-mclachlan-other-celebs-explain-feels-adopted\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/singer-sarah-mclachlan-other-celebs-explain-feels-adopted\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/singer-sarah-mclachlan-other-celebs-explain-feels-adopted\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Singer Sarah McLachlan, other celebs explain what it feels like to be adopted"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/","name":"Live Action News","description":"Covering Human Rights, Abortion, & Pro-Life Issues","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#organization","name":"Live Action","url":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Live-Action-Logo-Black.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Live-Action-Logo-Black.png","width":701,"height":710,"caption":"Live Action"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/liveaction","https:\/\/twitter.com\/liveaction","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/liveactionorg\/","https:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/LiveActionFilms\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/LiveActionFilms"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/c8d178142d9fce05b6e02107b7f27aa7","name":"Kelli Keane","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f2269b238ef41615d86333c1e8a80568?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f2269b238ef41615d86333c1e8a80568?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Kelli Keane"},"description":"Kelli is the managing editor of Live Action News. She has served as an editor and writer for this and other pro-life publications for the past 15 years, and is also a former pregnancy resource center director.","url":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/author\/kel\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/174678"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/292"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=174678"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/174678\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":174863,"href":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/174678\/revisions\/174863"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/174680"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=174678"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=174678"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=174678"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}