Grey’s Anatomy Actress Adopts Baby

Actress Katherine Heigl and her husband, Josh Kelley, have completed their adoption of a baby girl from Korea.

The couple have named the 10-month-old Nancy Leigh, after the actress’s mother Nancy and her sister Margaret Leigh, said Heigl’s spokeswoman Melissa Kates.

The little girl will go by the nickname Naleigh.

The couple are putting photos of their daughter up on the www.jasonheiglfoundation.org website. The foundation was started by Nancy and Katherine Heigl in loving memory of their son and brother. The sites focus is to increase the awareness of inhumane animal treatment. They also have Heigl Hounds of Hope which finds homes for large dogs in shelters.

Heigl plays Dr Izzie Stevens on ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy” and is currently shooting the film “Life As We Know It”. She was also in the popular movie, “27 Dresses”.

She and Kelley, a singer-songwriter, have been married since 2007.

Famous People who once were either a foster child and/or were adopted.

I recently saw some interesting profiles on famous people who had once been in foster homes. Some of their stories were inspiring.

Daunte Culpepper, the Minnesota Vikings football player, for example, was born in prison. His birth mom had been a prostitute. He was placed in a foster home with a wonderful mom. When he was 5 years old, his birth mom was out of prison and ready to regain custody of Daunte. He was quite sad about being away from his beloved foster mom. Eventually his birth mom agreed to let him go back to his foster mom where he stayed for the rest of his youth. He was quoted as saying, “She loved me enough to let me go.”

Famous People who were Adopted

Historical figures:

Alexander the Great, King of Macedonia; Aristotle, Greek Philosopher; Julius Caesar, Roman Emperor; Crazy Horse, Lakota War Chief; Nelson Mandela, President of South Africa; Moses, Jewish Prophet; Brigham Young, Mormon religious leader; Dalai Lama, Exiled leader of Tibet

Sports Figures

Mark Acre, Baseball Player; Kitty and Peter Carruthers, Figure skaters; Daunte Culpepper, Football player; Eric Dickerson, Football player; Evonne Goolagong, Tennis player; Tim Green, Football player; Scott Hamilton, Figure skater; Greg Louganis, Diver; Alonzo Mourning, Basketball player; Mike Tyson, Boxer

Actors/Musicians

Richard Burton, Actor; Dean Cain, Actor; Melissa Gilbert, Actor; Deborah Harry, Singer; Faith Hill, Singer; Ray Liotta, Actor; Little Richard, Singer; Marilyn Monroe, Actor; Priscilla Presley, Actor; Shania Twain, Singer

Politicians

William Bradford, Political leader; Bill Clinton, US President; Gerald Ford, US President; Newt Gingrich, Politician; Samuel Houston, General and politician; Andrew Jackson, US President; Jim Ross Lightfoot, US Representative

HHS Awards $35 Million to States for Increasing Adoptions

The US Dept of Health and Human Services awarded $35 Million to 38 states and Puerto Rico for increasing the number of children adopted from Foster Care. In order to be awarded funds, states had to increase the number of children adopted relative to baseline data. They specifically were awarded more funds for each child over the age of 9 adopted and children with additional special needs.

I have spoken to a couple state offices that were awarded funds. They are very proud of what they have achieved and plan to continue to increase the number of adoptions in their state. All children are deserving of the safety and stability of a family.

States receiving the award are Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia and Wyoming. Puerto Rico also qualified for an incentive award.