7 celebrities who have adopted numerous children: from Angelina Jolie and Madonna to Sharon Stone and Hugh Jackman – but which actress’ adopted daughter controversially ran off with her adoptive dad?

May 9 , 2025

Stars including Madonna and Sharon Stone have been public figures for adoption. Photos: @madonna/Instagram; @sharonstone/Instagram

For Madonna and Angelina Jolie, encounters with orphaned children during their travels changed their lives forever – but Charlize Theron knew from early in life that she wanted to adopt

As we all know (but occasionally need reminding), celebrities are people too, as keen to start a family as the next person when the time is right. For many, adoption was a choice made after struggles with fertility; for others, it was something they wanted to do because they had the resources to make a difference to a child’s life.

These big-hearted stars clearly loved adopting their first child so much that they did it again and again – and again. Meet the celebrities who have been public figureheads for adoption.

Sharon Stone

Basic Instinct actress Sharon Stone was leaving hospital after having a stillborn child when her adoption lawyer called her. “I felt as if God was throwing me a life raft,” she told Vogue in 2019. She has since adopted three sons: Roan in 2000, Laird in 2005 and Quinn in 2006.

“When you adopt, you realise any child could be your child, any person could be your relative. After that you never see the world in the same way again. I’m connected to everyone on this planet. And that’s a miracle in and of itself.”

Hugh Jackman

Hugh Jackman and ex-wife Deborra-Lee Furness adopted two children in the early 2000s: son Oscar, now 24, and daughter Ava, now 19. Oscar is part Bosnian while Ava is part Mexican. “Our motivation behind adopting was, ‘Where is the need?’” Jackson told People in 2017. “And we just knew from talking with people in that space, when we were looking around, that the biggest need is in mixed-race kids.”

Angelina Jolie

Hollywood’s most famous family began to expand after Angelina Jolie met Brad Pitt on the set of Mr & Mrs Smith in 2004. When they met, she was already the mother of Maddox, whom she’d seen in a Cambodian orphanage and felt compelled to adopt. Next came Zahara, reports People, adopted from Ethiopia in 2005, then Vietnamese Pax, in 2007. The three have three siblings in the actress’ biological children: Vivienne, Knox and Shiloh.

Madonna

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