11 inspiring celebrity quotes on adoption

‘I always knew I would adopt. Always.’

Adoption isn’t for everyone but for those who embark on the journey, it’s a wonderful thing. Here are our favourite quotes by the celebrities who are raising the profile of adoption and inspiring us all… 1. Katherine Heigl  'Anyone who doesn't have experience with adoption wonders, "does love for a child come through DNA?" I knew it didn't.' 2. Sandra Bullock'You don't have to give birth to someone to have a family. We're all family - an extended family'

3. Hugh Jackman 'From the moment we started the adoption process, all the anxiety went away' 4. Charlize Theron

'My mother found a letter I wrote.' It said, 'Would you please take me to the orphanage, so that a I can go and adopt a baby? I always knew I would adopt. Always.'

5. Angelina Jolie'It's not a humanitarian thing… it's a gift. We're all lucky to have each other.'

6. Nicole Kidman 'Somehow destiny comes into play. These children end up with you and you end up with them. It's something quite magical.'

7. Emma Thompson 'He'd never taken an exam, and he did his GCSEs and then went off and bloody did A-levels. Now his vocabulary is somewhat better than mine. He's brilliant, and it's so fantastic. What does he call me? He calls me Mum.'

8. Brad Pitt 'They're as much my blood as I am theirs.'

9. Sharon Stone 'I have a lot of respect for my birth mother. I know she must have had a lot of love for me to want to give what she felt was a better chance.'

10. Meg Ryan 'I am convinced, completely convinced, that there was nothing random about [the adoption], she is the daughter I should have.'

11. Madonna 'When I adopted Mercy James, I put my armour on. I tried to be more prepared. I braced myself. This time I was accused by a female Malawian judge that because I was divorced, I was an unfit mother. I fought the supreme court and I won. It took almost another year and many lawyers. I still got the sh*t kicked out of me, but it didn't hurt as much. And looking back, I do not regret one moment of the fight.'