The number of families adopting from China has increased in the last decade as thousands of Chinese children join American families. Parents from all backgrounds have adopted from China, including celebrities, politicians and entrepreneurs. The following list of adoptive parents represents only a fraction of the celebrities whose families have grown their families through Chinese adoption.

Jeanne Marie Laskas is an acclaimed author and Washington Post columnist, who also writes regularly for Ladies Home Journal and GQ magazines. Jeanne Marie is also an adoptive parent to two beautiful daughters who came from China. Her adoption story has been featured in the 2000 holiday issue of Good Housekeeping and she was asked to be a speaker at many conferences on adoption.

Meg Ryan, film actress
US Weekly reported that Meg Ryan has adopted a baby girl from China, who will be returning home to California on January 23, 2006. Meg Ryan has joined Hollywood's adoption trend. Ryan has a teenage son, Jack, from former husband Dennis Quaid. Other Hollywood stars who have discovered the thrill of adoption include Angelina Jolie, Diane Keaton, Sharon Stone and Nicole Kidman.

Peggy Kerry, United Nations NGO liaison and sister of Sen. John Kerry. Peggy Kerry and her husband live in Greenwich Village, New York City, with therir seven year old daughter, Iris, Chinese name Fang Fang, who was adopted from Chongqing, China, in March of 2001.

Cindy Hsu, CBS news anchor
Cindy Hsu is the Emmy award-winning anchor at WCBS Channel 2 in New York, the flagship station of the CBS television network. Cindy also hosts the daily segment "Parent 2 Parent." Best of all, she is a Gladney parent, and adopted her daughter Rosie from China in 2005.

Steven Curtis Chapman, singer/musician, Grammy Award winner
Steven and his wife Mary Beth adopted three daughters from China, doubling the number of children in the family—Shaohannah, 6, Stevey Joy, 3, and Maria Sue, 2—and started a foundation to help other families adopt. The foundation Shaohannah’s Hope is aimed at reaching the church with God’s call to care for orphans and to help more people experience the miracle of adoption by reducing the financial barriers.

Dan Marino, pro football player for the Miami Dolphins
Marino and his wife Claire married Jan. 30, 1985, and together they have had four children: Daniel Charles (13-years-old), Michael Joseph (11), Joseph Donald (10) and Alexandra Claire (7). The couple also adopted a Chinese girl, two-year-old Niki Lin, in December of 1998. The adoption took almost a year to be finalized, with Claire spending 10 days in China before returning to the family's Weston home with the child.

Other celebrities:
Leroy Chiao, American astronaut
Robert Jones, pro football player for the Green Bay Packers and Dallas Cowboys
Nyle Maxwell, Mayor of Round Rock, TX
Faith Popcorn, Entrepreneur
Tracie Noles-Ross, Artist/painter and lecturer
Senator Sam Brownback, Senator from Kansas