Happy Women's History Month!
Here at Choice, we get a front row seat to the incredible acts of hope, beauty, sacrifice, and love that women accomplish every day.
We wait with the hopeful, waiting moms who look forward to welcoming their child home.
We see the beauty of adoptive moms, the day they hold their baby for the first time.
We walk with birth moms as they make the sacrificial choice to build an open adoption plan; get updates, write letters, and have a relationship with their baby over the years.
We witness the love that grows up with adoptees, who are adored by birth families and their adoptive families.
And we watch as grandmas, sisters, friends, aunties, and whole communities come around these women to support them.
Yeah, women are awesome!
And lots of awesome women have experienced adoption on some level (as a birth parent, adoptive parent, or adoptee). Here are a few amazing women you may have heard of, who have found themselves on an adoption journey:
Joni Mitchell (Birth Mother)
Joni Mitchell is the folk icon, who spoke the spirit of the 1960s and beyond. Her wonderful music won her Grammys, landed her in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and just this month, won her the Gershwin Prize. But before any of that, Joni was a birth mama.
At 21 years old, Joni wasn't a headliner yet. She was Joan, a girl from Alberta, who wasn't in a place to parent a baby all alone. “I kept trying to find some kind of circumstance where I could stay with her,” Mitchell said in an interview with the LA Times, but eventually, Joni Mitchell chose to place her daughter for adoption.
In 1997, Joni was reunited with her daughter and continued to be part of her life. Her birth daughter said about meeting Joni for the first time, "It was a great relief to me in every way. It made me feel whole. It made me feel complete."
Viola Davis (Adoptive Mother)
Many of us know Viola Davis for her performances in such hits as The Help, How to Get Away With Murder, and Woman King. But Viola Davis is an adoptive mama! She and her husband, Julius Tennon, adopted their daughter, Genesis back in 2011.
In 2017, Davis posted a short note to her daughter: "You were born from mommy's heart. I love you so much for accepting me as your mommy. Happy birthday Miss Genesis! Love, love my baby!!!"
Sandra Bullock (Adoptive Mother)
Academy Award winning actress, Sandra Bullock, has captured audiences for decades now, in films such as Miss Congeniality, The Blindside, and Gravity, but she's also a mama to Louis and Laila. Bullock adopted her son in 2010 and her daughter in 2015
As she shared in an interview in 2015: “My family is blended and diverse, nutty, and loving and understanding. That’s a family.” She has also spoken openly on the challenges and interracial adoption and the complexities of raising two black children as a white adoptive mom.
Kristin Chenoweth (Adoptee)
Best known for her role as Glinda in the 2004 production of Wicked on Broadway, Kristin Chenoweth grew up knowing that she was adopted. Her parents were open with her and as an adult, Chenoweth had an opportunity to meet her birth mother. "It was like looking in a mirror," she said in an interview on LIVE With Kelly and Ryan.
Kristin went on to write a children's book called What Will I Do With My Love Today? which talks about acts of kindness and generosity, such as adoption.
About the adoption process, Chenoweth said: “First of all, it’s a blessing (and a huge sacrifice) for a birth parent to make the decision to give his/her baby a better life. Sometimes people can’t take care of that baby just yet… But what a gift they are giving to both that child and the family who wants to adopt.”
Lana Condor (Adoptee)
You might recognize Condor from the 2018 Netflix film, To All the Boys I've Loved Before. Lara was adopted by her American parents, Mary and Bob, from an orphanage in Vietnam. In an interview with Elle, she said, "...people don't know how to talk about adoption. They don't know how to approach me, because they think it's a sensitive subject, however, I love to talk about it. I like to make people feel more comfortable, and it's great to have this platform and be able to shed light on adoption and how it's a beautiful thing, instead of being tiptoed around."
After the release of her hit film in 2018, Condor was invited by former First Lady, Michelle Obama to join her on a trip to Vietnam for girls' education. Posting about her trip to Vietnam, she said, ""I honestly don't have the words to express the completeness I feel..."
To all of the wonderful women who are part of the Choice Adoptions Community, we are so grateful for you! It is our absolute joy to cheer you on.
What women have been most instrumental and supportive in YOUR adoption journey?
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