Famous people who gave kids up for adoption

Before Roseanne Barr starred in her own sitcom, she was a struggling teenage mom-to-be. According to People, the comedian initially “wanted to keep the baby,” but living life as a pregnant teen without a supportive family was difficult. “I got on welfare and rented a room for 50 bucks a month. I turned on the water, and cockroaches came out of the spigot. Outside, there were drunks. I just couldn’t go on there, so I went away to Denver and moved into a Salvation Army home for unwed mothers,” she said.

Nine days after her baby girl was born, Barr placed her child with the Jewish Family & Children’s Service, who reportedly had a couple “that had waited seven years for a Jewish baby.” Barr recalled that difficult day. “[The] day they came to take my baby away, I whispered to her, ‘You remember this, I’ll see you when you’re 18.’ I always knew that. I always knew we would get back,” she said.

Barr eventually did reconnect with her daughter, named Brandi Brown (pictured right). “We just held on to each other, looking into each other’s eyes and crying as I told Brandi how much I had missed her for so long,” she said (via People).