Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Katherine Heigl shares heartwarming photo of kids in celebration of National Adoption Month

Heigl shares three children with her husband, the singer John Kelley

Annabel Nugent
Wednesday 01 December 2021 08:59 GMT
Comments
Katherine Heigl returned $3.50 per dollar paid. She was tipped as the next big romcom star but her last three films have performed badly.
Katherine Heigl returned $3.50 per dollar paid. She was tipped as the next big romcom star but her last three films have performed badly. (Getty Images)

Katherine Heigl has shared a personal post of her family on Instagram to celebrate National Adoption Month, which was in November.

The Grey’s Anatomy star took to Instagram on Tuesday (30 November) to share a series of photographs with her 4.1 million followers.

In them, Heigl is seen pictured with her husband, the singer Josh Kelley, and their three children: 13-year-old Naleigh Mi-Eun, nine-year-old Adelaide and four-year-old Joshua Bishop Kelley Jr.

The couple adopted Naileigh from South Korea in 2009, and Adelaide was adopted from Louisiana in 2012. Joshua is their biological son.

Heigl captioned the post: “November was National Adoption Month. A month to celebrate all adoptive families, and to recognise the need for forever homes for children in foster care.”

The 43-year-old went on to share statistics about adoption, such as: “There are over 122,000 children and youth across the country waiting in foster care for at least one caring adult in their life.

“1 in 5 of those youth are teens who are at high risk of ageing out of foster care which increases their risk of homelessness and human trafficking.”

Heigl went on to ask her fans to donate to the adoption organisation Raise the Future.

Earlier this month, the actor celebrated Naleigh’s 13th birthday with a touching Instagram post featuring photos of her eldest daughter throughout her life.

Reflecting on how adopting Naleigh changed her, Heigl wrote: “This girl. The girl that made me a mother. The girl that gave my life purpose. Meaning. Direction. Boundless eternal love. This girl turns 13 today. 13.

Apple TV+ logo

Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 days

New subscribers only. £8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled

Try for free
Apple TV+ logo

Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 days

New subscribers only. £8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled

Try for free

“She is officially a teenager. I can’t seem to process it. How did this happen. Wasn’t she my silly, giggling, gap toothed, rolly polly baby just a few years ago…just yesterday?”

The actor has previously said she and Kelley are open with their adopted daughters about their biological mothers.

“We have said to them, ‘This is your story. We don’t have any information about your biological fathers, but we do have a bit about your biological mothers.’” she told Hello magazine.

Heigl added that she and her husband have told Naleigh and Adelaide that they can “have as much or as little information as you want”.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in