From encouraging a positive self-image to helping them understand complex issues like racism, parenting Black children is tough. But it’s even tougher when the parent doesn’t identify as Black and can’t rely on their personal experience to make the job easier.
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There are plenty of white celebrities who have made a conscious choice to adopt Black children, but there are a few who have made it their mission to educate themselves on the best ways to make sure their kids are as happy and healthy as possible. While no parent (regardless of race) gets it right all the time, these are a few white celebrities who are doing (or have done) their best to raise their Black children.
Kristin Davis
“And Just Like That” star Kristin Davis has two adopted children: daughter Gemma Rose Davis and son Wilson Davis, who are both Black.
During an appearance on “Red Table Talk,” Davis, who is raising her children as a single mom, had a candid conversation with Jada Pinkett Smith, admitting that being a mom of two Black children has forced her to get real about white privilege.
“You absolutely do not fully understand. There’s no doubt. There’s no way you could,” she said in the interview. “It’s one thing to be watching [racism] happening to other people, and it’s another thing when it’s your child. And you haven’t personally been through it. It’s a big issue.”
Kristin Davis
Although Davis doesn’t know what it’s like to be Black in America, she added that she puts in the work to learn as much as she can to make sure they stay connected to their community and their culture.
“Because my children are African American, I feel like it’s my duty and my job to do as much research, as much work, build as many bridges as possible because you are their community,” she said on “Red Table Talk.”
Angelina Jolie
Actress Angelina Jolie adopted daughter Zahara Marley Jolie-Pitt from an Ethiopian orphanage when she was just seven-months old, and she has been by her side ever since. Zahara has traveled all over the world with her mother, including to her native Ethiopia, where they met with the country’s first female president to talk about health and education issues in the country. Jolie has made it a point to make sure all of her children maintain a connection to their culture.
“My daughter is from Ethiopia, one of my children … And I have learned so much from her. She is my family, but she is an extraordinary African woman and her connection to her country, her continent, is her own and it’s something I only stand back in awe of,” Jolie told PEOPLE.
Angelina Jolie
In August 2022, Zahara began studying at Spelman College in Atlanta and became a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. one year later. Her mom gushed with pride about her daughter’s decision to attend an HBCU.
“Zahara with her Spelman sisters! Congratulations to all new students starting this year. A very special place and an honor to have a family member as a new Spelman girl,” Jolie wrote in a July 2022 Instagram post.
Ellen Pompeo
“Grey’s Anatomy” star Ellen Pompeo has always been open about her experience raising three biracial children with her husband, music producer Chris Ivery, who is Black. During a 2018 appearance on “Red Table Talk,” she told host Jada Pinkett Smith that she is not afraid to have conversations around race.
“A lot of people get very nervous when you bring [race] up, and I understand why they do, but I am not afraid,” she said. “And if you’re afraid to talk about it, then that’s a problem right there, and you need to talk about it more.”
Hugh Jackman
After suffering miscarriages, actor Hugh Jackman and his wife decided adoption was the best way to grow their family. Together, they adopted two children, Oscar, who is mixed-race and Ava, who is Mexican and German.
“Our motivation behind adopting was, ‘Where is the need?’” he told PEOPLE in an interview. “We just knew from talking with the people in that space when we were looking around that the biggest need is in mixed-race kids.”
Jackman added that he doesn’t believe families have to look alike, as long as genuine love is there.
“What really defines you is beneath all that,” he said.
Hugh Jackman
After the death of George Floyd in 2020, Jackman reflected on his role as a parent and how best to be there for them during a difficult time for the country.
“In difficult times when I’m unsure what to do, or how to lead my family… I reach for the words of my mentors who’ve helped guide me through life,” Jackman wrote in an Instagram post. “One of those mentors is Nelson Mandela. He said ‘Racism must be opposed by all means that it has at its disposal. No truer words have been spoken.”
Mariska Hargitay
“Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” star Mariska Hargitay is a proud mother of three, including her son August, whom she gave birth to at age 42 and her adopted children, Amaya and Andrew. Amaya is Black.
Mariska Hargitay
Hargitay says she sees her multicultural family as perfect and a true picture of what the world looks like.
“We were excited to have a multiracial family, because that’s what the world is, and we want our family to reflect a realistic microcosm of the world,” Hargitay told Good Housekeeping in an interview.
Charlize Theron
Actress Charlize Theron has two adopted daughters, Jackson (age 12) and August (age 9), who are both Black. Since becoming a parent, she has done her best to help her girls have pride in who they are while having honest conversations about the complex issue of racism in America.
“I want them to know who they are, and I want them to be so f*ing proud of who they are,” she told Elle in a 2018 interview. “Building confidence for them right now is an oath I made to myself when I brought them home. They need to know where they come from and be proud of that. But they’re going to have to know that it’s a different climate for them than it is for me, and how unfair that is. If I can do something about that, of course I’m going to.”
Charlize Theron
But Theron knows that no matter how great she is at parenting, there are some things she just can’t teach, which is why she relies on a village of Black women to advise her…and check her when she needs to be checked.
“I am so grateful to the incredible village of strong Black women in my life who I can pick up a phone to, or come over to my house, and they’ll tell me: ‘You need to stop doing this,’ or ‘these baby hairs are breaking off. What are you doing?’” Theron told Essence in an interview, “So they put me in my place, and because of them I feel this great confidence in raising my girls.”
Jane Fonda
Actress Jane Fonda adopted Mary Williams at age 14, when her parents, who were Black Panthers and friends of Fonda’s were unable to take care of her. In an essay she wrote for Oprah.com, Williams said she was immediately embraced by Fonda who told her, “If you want, you can call me Mom.” Willams said Fonda also did her best to keep her connected to her culture.
In January 1989, Jane and I traveled to Atlanta to attend the Martin Luther King Jr. Day services at Ebenezer Baptist Church-she made it clear from the beginning that although I was now part of a white family, she would keep me connected to my African-American heritage (once she even called up Diahann Carroll to get a recommendation for a good hairstylist),” she wrote.
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