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Over the last few years, adoption in Hollywood has gained popularity for young starlets who want to give something back while starting their own family at the same time. In honor of Mother's Day, let's take a look at five actresses who've become adoptive moms while still maintaining diverse careers.
Angelina Jolie
Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt (or as they're affectionately referred to, "Brangelina") are the most well known Hollywood couple associated with adoption. They've added three children -- Maddox, Pax, and Zahara -- from diverse countries around the world to their ever-expanding family. The adoptions have also influenced Jolie's film roles and humanitarian efforts, especially with her part in the 2003 film about aid workers Beyond Borders. Even though she keeps adding to her eclectic brood, she's still been able to star in huge box office draws, providing voiceover work in the family friendly Kung Fu Panda and its sequel; and also decidedly more artistic ventures, like her role of Christine Collins in 2008's Changeling, which resulted in her first Oscar nod for Best Actress.
Katherine Heigl, along with her husband Josh Kelley, adopted their first daughter Naleigh from South Korea in 2009, which has a special family connection for Heigl, who also grew up with a Korean born adopted sister. Her career has been steadily on the rise since the adoption; she continued her award-winning role as Dr. Isobel Stevens in Grey's Anatomy for one final season, while making the jump to big screen success in a series of romantic comedies including The Ugly Truth and Life as We Know It.
Sandra Bullock's film career partially inspired her own real life decision to adopt her son Louis from New Orleans in 2010 after she appeared in the 2009 Oscar-winning film The Blindside, about a family who adopts a young football player out of foster care. Since the adoption, she's continued her career-long success, and was even entered into the 2012 Guinness Book of World Records as the highest-paid actress with a salary of $56 million between June of 2009 and 2010.
Edie Falco has managed to maintain an impressive career while still becoming the adopted mom to son Anderson in 2004 and daughter Macy in 2008. During her first adoption she was still playing the role of Carmela Soprano on the landmark television drama The Sopranos, for which she became one of only four women to win a Golden Globe, Emmy, and SAG award in the same year. She seamlessly translated her success from The Sopranos into the titular role on Nurse Jackie, which quickly turned into another critically acclaimed performance and earned her a Best Actress Emmy nod in 2011.
Charlize Theron
Since becoming a new mom to adopted son Jackson in 2012, Charlize Theron has continued her winning streak with major roles in some of the biggest films of the year: Snow White and the Huntsman, one of two Snow White remakes set to be released in 2012; and Prometheus, the eagerly anticipated prequel to Ridley Scott's 1979 sci-fi masterpiece Alien. Both films are two of the most buzzed about summer releases in 2012, and they'll undoubtedly continue Theron's masterful box office presence post-adoption.
These are only a few of the Hollywood moms with adopted tots out there, but the list grows everyday as more and more celebrities make the choice to adopt. Who are some of your favorite Hollywood moms who've adopted, and who do you think is the next one to start a new family?
