Celebrities who started life in Foster Care

Fostering and adoptive care plays a vital role in shaping the lives of young people around the world. At Time Out Fostering we pride ourselves on the training and support we give to enable foster carers to make a positive impact on the life of a child (or children) in their care. 

We love nothing better than hearing the success stories of children whose natural talents have been nurtured into achieving great things throughout adolescence and into adult life – however great or small the achievement. 

To highlight the vital role that fostering has in a child’s life – and to act as an inspiration to those in foster care themselves – we’ve compiled a list of famous names who were in foster care in their younger years and went on to become household names, across the globe. 

While several of the examples below include stories of adoption within a family itself – the fact remains that children in foster care, or with initially unsettled upbringings, regularly go on to do incredible things. 

Eddie Murphy

World renowned comedian and film actor, Eddie Murphy’s  experience in foster care was a brief, but very important, part of his life. An eight year old Eddie was sent to a foster home, alongside his brother, due to an illness his mother was suffering from. 

Although he only stayed in foster care for roughly a year, he attributes the experience with helping him develop a sense of humour and coming to the realisation that it’s important to be able to find something to laugh about in every situation.

Here’s Eddie Murphy as The Nutty Professor – a Hollywood blockbuster:

Colin Kaepernick

Colin Kaepernick is a star Amercian Football player, recently featured heavily in the news for his stand against the mistreatment and  oppression of African-Americans and minorities in the United States – notably by refusing to stand for the national anthem, instead dropping to one knee in protest. 

Kaepernick has the full support of his parents in standing up for those rights – with his mother coming out in the press in solidarity with her adopted son. Rick and Teresa Kaepernick adopted Colin when he was only five weeks old and must be very proud of what Colin has achieved both on and off the football field. Teresa Kaepernick pays testament to this, by calling Colin her “perfect child”.

Steve Jobs

There’s a good chance you’re reading this blog post on one of Mr Jobs’ devices. The Founder of Apple has had a huge influence on the way the world is today – introducing technological advances in computers and mobile phones and even the way we listen to music and order products online. 

Steve Jobs played a major role in turning into reality ideas that were once the imaginings of science fiction – changing the way we communicate and interact with the world around us, forever.

Steve Jobs was adopted shortly after his birth in 1955 His adoptive parents, Paul and Clara Jobs, were Armenian and unable to have children of their own. Steve was later joined in the family by his adopted sister Patti Jobs, born in 1958.

Here’s Steve Jobs talking about the importance of doing what you love in life and never giving up:

John Lennon

As one of the founding members of the Beatles, John Lennon helped to change the history of music. He grew up in England, where his young parents had a tough time raising him. After a visit from a social worker, Lennon’s mother gave up custody of him to his aunt and Uncle, who later adopted him.

Here’s John Lennon singing hit record, Imagine:

Seal

Born in London to a Nigerian mother and Brazilian father, Seal was immediately placed with foster parents in Essex. The first sproutings of a musical career came when he found himself singing ‘I Can See Clearly Now’, at a school concert, aged 11.

Seal lived with the Scooling family in Romford, Essex, from shortly after he was born in 1963 until he was four, when he was returned to his biological mother.

Even after he became a star, he had never been able to find his foster parents or four foster siblings and they did not know how to contact him. That was until Oprah Winfrey revealed that she had flown Seal’s foster sister, Hilary, from Essex to Chicago, in a highly emotional reunion. 

Here’s Seal singing his classic song, Kiss From a Rose, which also featured in the film – Batman Forever:

Neil Morrissey 

Neil Morrissey – star of hit British TV shows, such as Men Behaving Badly, was born in Stafford. 

The third of four sons of Irish parents who were both psychiatric nurses, he and his youngest brother, Stephen, spent much of their childhood in separate foster homes, Morrissey spending most of his time at Penkhull Children’s Home, under the care of Margaret Cartlidge.

He discovered a love for acting through the encouragement of teacher Sheila Steele, when attending Thistley Hough High School, in Penkhull. 

Neil studied for his A-levels at the City of Stoke-on-Trent Sixth Form College and it was there that he realised that his time in care would end at the end of his first year, aged 17, with the bleak prospect of a move to a working boys hostel, which could end his academic and dramatic career. 

However, a solution was found through the family of his friend, Mark Langston, who fostered Neil until the summer of his 18th birthday.

Morrisey has since dedicated his success to those that helped him – his foster parents for that year until his 18th birthday and his college teacher: “I could have ended up on a bench outside Stoke station begging for money. The fact that I got through it is largely down to one or two inspiring individuals.”

Bob is also a skilled voice artist and played multiple roles in the hit kids’ TV show, Bob The Builder! Here he being interviewed by some Bob The Builder fans:

Willie Nelson

Famous American singer songwriter and musician, Willie Nelson, was born on April 30, 1933. Three days after his birth, his mother and father left him and his sister with his father’s parents, Alfred and Nancy Nelson, so that they could go out and play music with a band. 

Although they were poor, Alfred and Nancy kept the children clothed and fed. They immersed Bobbie and Willie in music. Both grandparents were steeped in music themselves – Alfred was the musical director of the Methodist church they attended, and Nancy Nelson taught music to children in the local schools. She taught Willie and Bobbie to play and sing, too, and the family even wrote and composed songs together around the kitchen table. 

Alfred bought Willie his first guitar when Willie was only six years old and taught him how to play – the rest, as they say, is history. Willie Nelson’s story shows what an amazing impact non-biological guardians and parents can have on inspiring and shaping the lives of young children.

Here’s Willie singing his version of Elvis Presley’s ‘Always On My Mind’:

Darryl “DMC” McDaniels’, 

Darryl “DMC” McDaniels, of Run DMC fame, spent the first five years of his life in foster care, which he found out while writing his autobiography at 35.

Upon learning this news DMC says: “I was hurt and confused… it felt totally unreal. “At the time it meant that my adoptive parents are not my mum and dad.”

Out of that surprise, came an incredibly positive tale. The revelation spurred DMC on to start two organisations to support foster kids, which he detailed in a 2013 Children’s Rights blog. The Felix Organisation/Adoptees For Children gives enriching experiences to children growing up without parents, while Camp Felix is a summer camp for foster children. DMC has also partnered with Children’s Rights, an organisation that defends the rights of foster children in court.

Keyshia Cole 

American singer-songwriter, Keyshia Cole, became a foster child when her mother’s drug addiction led to incarceration. Keyshia was adopted by a family in her native Oakland, California. 

Keyshia opened up about her upbringing and the impact of her adoptive mother on her life, while on a TV in the USA: “I am thankful for my mother even adopting me, very thankful. My mother loved me like her own and I don’t feel any different. Me and my brothers and sisters are still close.”

Alonzo Mourning

Retired NBA star and Miami Heat vice president of player programs, Alonzo Mourning chose to live in a group home at age 10, after his parent’s marriage fell apart.

He credits his foster mother for teaching him “to be a man”.

Aged 10, he arrived at the home of Fannie Threet, who had raised 49 children during her life, many of whom were fosters.

“Once I walked in, I never wanted to walk out. And I didn’t. That’s where I lived until I went off to college. “She implemented so many positive things in my life. When I say positive things, I mean she taught me how to be a man.”

Here’s Alonzo mourning showing off his incredible skills on the court:

Simone Biles

Simone Arianne Biles is an American artistic gymnast. Biles is the 2016 Olympic individual all-around, vault and floor gold medalist, and balance beam bronze medalist. She was part of the gold-medal-winning team dubbed the “Final Five” at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

Simone Biles says her road to success began the day my grandfather and his wife officially adopted her and her sister:

“My birth mother suffered from drug addiction, and when I was just three years old, my siblings and I were removed from her custody. From there, we bounced around until I was six and my grandparents made the brave move to adopt us.

“Finding a family made me feel like I mattered. Finding a passion, something I loved and was really good at, made me feel like I mattered. Representing my country and being part of such an amazing Olympic team matters, as does being a role model for those looking to fulfil their own dreams.”

Here’s Simone wowing judges and audience alike, as the first woman in history to land a ‘Triple Double’ on her floor routine, at the 2019 U.S. Gymnastics Championships in Kansas City:

In summary:

Being in foster care can often offer consistency and a feeling of belonging that every child needs to flourish. The list of people above and the things they’ve achieved should act as an inspiration to anyone in foster care and foster carers themselves that the right guidance, support and love, goes a long way to enabling young people to achieve their maximum potential, in later life.

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