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Ice-T - The rapper was raised by his aunts after the death of his parents when he was eight.

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Jamie Foxx - The actor's maternal grandmother adopted him after his parents separated when he was still a baby.

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Nelson Mandela - At age nine, the political leader was adopted by Jongintaba Dalindyebo, ruler of the Tembu people in Mqhekezweni.

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John Lennon - The musician was raised by his mother’s sister after his father abandoned the family. She was richer than the Lennons, and was an important influence on the boy's musical taste.

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Steve Jobs - When the future co-founder of Apple was born, his mother was alone, without the support of family or a partner. She saw adoption as the best choice for her son.

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Eric Clapton - The musician was born in Ripley, England, and was raised by his grandparents.

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Kristin Davis -

The actress was adopted by her stepfather when she was three.

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Kelly Preston - The late actress was adopted by her stepfather after her biological father died when she was three.

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Frances McDormand - The actress was born in Chicago, but was later adopted in Pittsburgh by a Canadian minister and nurse.

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Sarah McLachlan - The Canadian singer was adopted by an American family soon after her birth.

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Faith Hill - The singer was adopted by a family in Mississippi a few days after her birth.

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Nicole Richie - Nicole Richie's biological parents were friends of Lionel Richie's family, and they let them adopt her at age three, as they had no financial means to raise her.

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Ray Liotta - The actor was adopted when he was six-months-old, by Alfred and Mary Liotta.

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Keegan-Michael Key - The actor and comedian was put up for adoption shortly after his birth.

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Skrillex - The musician accidentally discovered that he was adopted and raised by a family friend as a baby.

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Keyshia Cole - The singer was adopted at age two after her biological father died.

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DMC - Darryl McDaniels of Run-DMC believed his adopted parents were his biological parents until the secret was revealed to him as a teenager.

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Melissa Gilbert - She was adopted at one-day-old by actor and comedian Paul Gilbert.

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Ric Flair - The professional wrestler revealed in his autobiography 'To Be the Man' that he was adopted by a couple of Americans of German origin while still a newborn.

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Babe Ruth - When he was seven, the future baseball star was sent to an orphanage, where he was partially raised.

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Marilyn Monroe - After her mother was diagnosed with mental health problems and deemed unfit to care for her children, the actress was adopted by Albert and Ida Bolender of Hawthorne, California.

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Michael Oher - The former American football player was adopted at age 17 after years spent in foster homes and sometimes with no home at all.

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Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi - The reality TV star was born in Santiago, Chile, and was adopted at a young age.

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Alonzo Mourning - The former basketball player was raised by an adoptive mother after his parents divorced when he was 10.

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Bill Clinton - Clinton was born to a widowed mother and sent to live with his grandparents. He is one of only two presidents in US history to have been adopted (Gerald Ford is the other).

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Truman Capote - The writer's parents divorced when he was a young boy. His mother’s relatives raised him for years.

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Lance Armstrong - The former professional cyclist was adopted by his stepfather when he was three.

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Trace Cyrus -

Miley Cyrus' maternal brother was adopted by his stepfather when he was four.

See also: Famous people who picked careers their parents disapproved of 

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