Pitong sikat na celebrities na lumaki sa piling ng adoptive parents at nagtagumpay
Many of the famous Pinoy celebrities today appear to have perfect and happy lives. Some of them, however, admit their lives were nowhere near perfect, having been through troubled times during their childhood days.
Several were raised by adoptive parents, with a few never meeting in person their real fathers or mothers but despite this, they managed to turn their lives around and became successful in their chosen careers.
Here are seven of the famous Pinoy celebrities that grew up with adoptive parents.
Angelica Panganiban
Source: Instagram
It was not until high school that Angelica Panganiban sensed she might be an adopted child. She shared this thought with a cousin, who suddenly broke down and confirmed Angge’s hunch, Push reported.
The actress believed that perhaps her adoptive mother opted to hide it from her due to her entry into the world of showbiz.
Angelica, however, clarified that her adoptive family treated her like truly one of their own.
In 2010, the actress went public about being adopted and on that same year, she met her real father, Mark Charlson, though she was not able to meet her true mother as she died in Singapore two years earlier.
Jennylyn Mercado
Jennylyn’s biological parents abandoned her when she was only six months old. Her aunt, Lydia Mercado, bravely took over the responsibility of raising her. The actress later on met her biological parents, Noli and Jinkee Pineda, on different occasions. Her aunt Lydia died in 2016.
Angeline Quinto
Famous singer and actress Angeline Quinto admitted she only came to know she was adopted when she was about six years old.
Sylvia Quinto, whom she fondly calls her Mama Bob, and is the aunt of her biological father, Pop Quiros, raised her up.
She met her biological mother, Susan, in 2012. Mama Bob passed away last year and Angeline made a touching tribute that would make anyone’s heart melt.
Ai-ai delas Alas
Ai-ai delas Alas was raised by her adoptive aunt, Justa delas Alas, who chose not to marry so she can focus on raising the soon-to-be famous actress, host, and comedienne.
Ai-ai’s biological parents, Rosendo delas Alas and Gregoria Hernandez, who were both deceased, gave her up for adoption due to extreme poverty, which was also partly to blame for their separation.
The actress knew from the very start that she was adopted.
Vicki Belo
The popular Dr. Vicki Belo grew up in the care of her adoptive parents, Nena and Enrique Belo. Nena is the sister of her biological mother.
While her adoptive parents always saw to it she is filled with love, other people would bully and tell her: “pinamigay dahil pangit!”
According to Vicki, her real parents already had four children when she was born, and so in order for her to have the best chance for a good life, her parents decided to give her up for adoption.
Enrique and Nena had no children of their own, which is why they readily agreed to adopt Vicki and raise her as their own.
Lotlot de Leon
Everyone, including Lotlot de Leon, knew from the outset that she is an adopted child. Her adoptive parents are Superstar Nora Aunor and her former husband, multi-awarded actor, Christopher de Leon.
Lotlot’s biological parents were Eva Rodriguez and Donald Olson, who gave her up for adoption when she was still very little.
The actress said she never bore any ill-feelings towards her biological parents and also revealed she met them on many occasions.
Mark Herras
Popular film and television actor Mark Herras said he is proud to have been raised by his gay foster parents, Daddy Jun Herras and Herminigildo “Papa Pim” Santos. Unfortunately, the two passed away in 2014 and 2016, respectively.
The actor revealed that his biological father abandoned him and his mom when he was barely five years old. His mom, Jasmin Santos, also passed away in 2016.
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There are varying reasons why biological parents give up their child for adoption. In the case of the above celebrities, the reasons are mostly financial, with their real parents unable to raise them because of money concerns. While most Filipinos might frown on the act of biological parents in giving away their kids, it could even be regarded as done out of pure love as they know their children have a better chance of making it in the future in the company of adoptive parents. There is no greater pain than being separated from their child, perhaps for an eternity, but the thought of their children getting a better shot at life is sometimes greater than their own personal pain.
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Many young Pinoy celebrities adopt kids despite already having children of their own. One example is Claudine Barretto who also adopted a child, whom she named Noah and introduced to the public a year ago. The talented actress posted charming videos of baby Noah on social media - Claudine's Instagram post immediately went viral and caught the attention of the netizens. The former "Marina" star's youngest kid received cute remarks online.
Other famous Pinoy celebrities shared how they broke the news to their adopted children. In the case of Judy Ann Santos, she recalled explaining to Yohan the setup of their family. She was the one who revealed to Yohan, her eldest child, that she was adopted. The actress said that she explained to Yohan early on because she didn't want her daughter to hear it from those people who would reveal it to her but not in a nice context. She also said that she had instilled in Yohan that she first became a mother before becoming a wife, and that Yohan must remember she was first.
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