Roseanne Barr - actress
Roseanne Barr is an Emmy Award-winning American comedian, actress and writer. Roseanne became famous in the early 1980s with her stand-up comedy stand-up routine, receiving critical acclaim for her unglamorized portrayal of the typical American working-class housewife. In her routine she coined the now well-known phrase, "domestic goddess," to refer to a homemaker or housewife. The success of her act led to her own series on ABC called Roseanne. The show ran from 1988 to 1997, and co-starred Emmy winner Laurie Metcalf and Emmy nominee John Goodman. Roseanne herself also won an Emmy for her part in the show.
In 1971, prior to her first marriage and while residing in Denver, Roseanne had a daughter named Brandi Brown for whom she arranged an adoption. In 1989 Roseanne located and met Brandi. Immediately, Brandi moved to L.A. and began working for Roseanne. Brandi and Roseanne remain very close.
David Crosby - singer
David Crosby is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. He is best known for being a founding member of The Byrds and Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young (CSNY). Crosby is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
In January of 2000, rock star Melissa Etheridge announced that Crosby was the biological father of two children she and her partner Julie Cypher had conceived by artificial insemination.
Jonathan Edwards - singer
Singer-songwriter Jonathan Edwards released his debut record in 1971. The album gained some mainstream attention thanks to the catchy political-pop single "Sunshine." It featured rustic, acoustic-based ballads, and up-tempo numbers like "Train of Glory," Edwards sings his homespun tunes in a casual, easy manner, while accompanying himself on acoustic guitar and harmonica. Since his first recording, Edwards has made over 15 more albums.
Edwards was born in Northern Minnesota and soon after adopted by a loving mother and FBI father (no kidding). He was raised in rural Virginia. While in college, his girlfriend became pregnant, and they decided that the best plan for the baby was adoption. Even though it was a closed adoption, Edwards kept all of his information current on an adoption registry so that his child could always find him if she wished. His daughter, Brenda, did eventually contact him in 1994. When she flew in to meet him for the first time, she came off the plane with a flowered dress, a big floppy straw hat, and a big pink balloon with the words, "It's a GIRL!" Edwards said he knew without a doubt that anyone with that sense of humor was definitely his child. As he was recording an album at the time, "One Day Closer," he invited her to join him in the studio. As he expected, she was a wonderful singer. She actually added background vocals to the title cut for the album.
Edwards shares this adoption reunion story with pride and enthusiasm in his live concerts.
Joni Mitchell - singer
Joni Mitchell is a Canadian musician, songwriter and painter. She began singing in small nightclubs and on the streets of Toronto. She then became associated with the growing folk music scene of the mid-1960's in New York City. Mitchell achieved fame in the late 1960's and was considered a key part of the Southern California folk rock scene. Throughout her later career, she explored and combined the pop and jazz genres. Mitchell has amassed a body of work that is highly respected by both critics and fellow musicians. She is also an accomplished visual artist. She released Shine in 2007, her first album of new songs in nine years.
At the age of 21, she found out that she was pregnant by her college ex-boyfriend, and in February 1965 she gave birth to a baby girl, Kelly Dale Anderson. Joni was now alone with a newborn baby and unable to find work. In an interview with "Vogue" magazine she said: "I had a child, and I was broke, literally penniless. And I met Chuck Mitchell, and he said he would take us on. I was kind of railroaded - we were never suitable. I went down the aisle saying, 'I can get out of this.' " A few weeks after the birth, Joni married folk-singer Chuck Mitchell. He promised to help take responsibility for the child, but something changed, and a few weeks later Joni gave up her daughter for adoption.
This adoption experience remained private for most of her career, but she made allusions to it in several songs, most notably the song "Little Green" (from Blue), and years later, the song "Chinese Cafe" from Wild Things Run Fast ("Your kids are coming up straight/My child's a stranger/I bore her/But I could not raise her"). Her daughter, renamed Kilauren Gibb, began a search for her as an adult, and the two were reunited in 1997.
Andy Kaufman - comedian, actor, intergender wrestling champion
After appearing on the inaugural broadcast of Saturday Night Live in 1975, Andy Kaufman became nationally famous as a comedian who provoked nervous laughter, if any at all. He impersonated Elvis Presley, read aloud from The Great Gatsby until the audience left in disgust, or touted himself as an "Intergender Wrestling Champion," fighting mostly women in what were seemingly real matches. He also co-starred in the hit TV series Taxi. Because it was hard to tell when Kaufman was kidding, even the news of his unexpected death was met with some skepticism. Kaufman was played by comedian Jim Carrey in the 1999 film Man In the Moon.
Kaufman and his high school girlfriend placed their baby for adoption.