Colin Kaepernick
Colin Kaepernick was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He is the adopted son of Rick and Teresa Kaepernick. He began playing football when he was just 8 years old. He went to the University of Nevada in Reno and got drafted by The San Francisco 49ers in 2011. About two years later, he led the team to the Super Bowl XLVII.
Kaepernick made headlines when he protested against injustice and refused to stand for the national anthem. In 2017, he met with his lawyer and filed a collusion suit against the NFL owners. In the same year, he appeared on the cover of GQ’s December issue: Citizen of the Year. The athlete was also a finalist for TIME’s Magazine Person of the Year.
Jamie Foxx
Eric Marlon Bishop, better known as Jamie Foxx, is known as one of the most versatile celebrities of his generation. The actor began his career in TV series as one of the casts of In Living Color and eventually got his own show in 1996. From TV he slowly made his way into film productions.
His portrayal of Ray Charles in the film Ray earned him an Academy Award. He also starred in various hit movies such as The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Baby Driver, Django Unchained, and Just Mercy. Did you know that Foxx was raised and adopted by his maternal grandparents when he was just one year old? He also has a degree in music from the International University in San Diego.
Scott Hamilton
As a four-time world champion and Olympic gold medalist, Scott Hamilton has achieved quite a lot in his career. However, not many know that his early beginnings were quite humble. He was adopted from birth by Dorothy and Ernie Hampton, who were both college instructors at the time. He’s much stronger now, but as a child, he was diagnosed with Schwachman syndrome.
He is also a cancer survivor. In 1997, when he was already a professional figure skater, he was diagnosed with testicular cancer. A few years later, he was diagnosed with a brain tumor and had surgery to have it removed. This is why he put investments toward the CARES Initiative, a nonprofit organization that funds cancer research and helps outpatients
Babe Ruth
What comes to mind when you think of Babe Ruth? He’s a 7-time World Series champion and hailed one of the greatest baseball players of all time. George Herman Ruth Jr. was born to Kate and George Jr. Since his parents worked long hours, they barely had the time to watch over him and his siblings. Because of this, he grew up to be quite the rebel.
This left his parents no choice but to place him in St. Mary’s Industrial School for Boys, which were ran by Catholic priests. Though it might seem harsh to some, credit goes to the priests who helped get him back on track. Once there, not only did he learn about basic skills but also developed a love for baseball.
Dave Thomas
Necessity is the mother of invention. This rings true when it comes to Dave Thomas and the story behind Wendy’s. The idea came after Thomas couldn’t find a good burger in town. He decided then to make investments toward establishing his own place, which would serve hearty comfort food to the townsfolk. He named the restaurant Wendy’s, after his youngest daughter.
David Thomas was born in New Jersey and grew up not knowing who his biological mother was. He was adopted at just 6 months old by a couple from Michigan. Even in his teens, he had always been a hard worker. After the success of Wendy’s, he established the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption, an organization that helps find homes for children in foster care.
Michael Bay
Famed director Michael Bay didn’t find out until he was around six or seven years old that he was adopted. Bay was adopted at birth by a couple from Los Angeles, an accountant, and a psychologist. He spent much of his younger years searching for his biological mother. The director would later get the opportunity to meet her, though his biological father’s identity still remains unknown.
There have been rumors, through the years, that his biological father is fellow director, John Frankenheimer— who admits to having an affair with his biological mother. Later on, Bay earned a degree in film and went on to become one of the greatest directors of all time—directing The Rock, Armageddon, and Pearl Harbor, among many others.
Ted Danson
Ted Danson was born to Jessica and Edward Bridge Danson Jr., an archaeologist and museum director, respectively. It was during his short stay at Stanford University, in his younger years, that he first fell in love with drama. Two Emmy Awards, three Golden Globes, and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame later, Danson has become one of the world’s greatest actors.
His is a story of rags to riches. Growing up, they barely had anything—not even their own TV. He is a self-described ragamuffin, but not once did he experience neglect. Danson knew he was adopted, but his parents’ emotional and financial investment in him was no different from others. Like them, the actor also adopted a child of his own.
Eric Clapton
Like his songs, Eric Clapton has his own interesting story to tell. For most of his life, Clapton believed that his grandparents were his biological parents. This is because he lived with them for most of his childhood. The reality was, he had been born to then 16-year-old Patricia Molly Clapton and 24-year-old Edward Walter Fryer. Given the circumstances, with his biological mother only 16 years old and his biological father unable to help raise him, his grandparents stepped in and took Clapton as their own.
He grew up thinking his biological mother was his sister. His grandparents get credit for getting him into music. Clapton was raised in a musically-inclined household, so it’s not surprising how he developed his talent.