In 2010, Sandra Bullock received a phone call that changed her life forever. “Your placement is here,” said the voice on the other end.
A few weeks later, she was on a stage, accepting her first Oscar for her appearance in The Blind Side, but she didn’t care she was there. “All I wanted was to go was just go home and feed Lou” she said of her newborn, whom she had been waiting for years to arrive.
Keep reading to learn more about this incredible actor and what inspired her to adopt two children!
In 2005, after Hurricane Katrina devastated Louisiana by flooding its grounds, Sandra Bullock had a feeling that inspired her decision to adopt a child.
“Katrina happened in New Orleans, and something told me, ‘My child is there.’ It was weird,” Bullock said in an interview with Today’s Hoda Kotb.
Credit: Shutterstock
Years later, in January 2010, Bullock received the call she had been waiting years to receive.
“He was unexpected, he was not planned. I got a call one day, ‘Your placement is here,’ and that’s after years after having filed it, years,” the 59-year-old star of Speed tells CBS News.
Little Lou
Gushing over Louis Bardo Bullock, the three-month-old boy from New Orleans she secretly adopted in 2010, Bullock said, “I looked at him likе, ‘Oh, there you are.’ It was likе he had always been there,” she recalled. “He fit in the crook of my arm. He looked me in the eyes. He was wise. My child was wise.”
The Miss Congeniality star adds, “The beautiful thing that I was constantly told was, ‘The perfect child will find you. You will find your child.’ But you don’t believe that when it’s not happening. When you’re going, ‘Where is my family?’ When it does happen, you know exactly what they’re talking about.”
Weeks after Lou arrived, Bullock was on stage at the Kodiak Theatre, accepting her first Oscar for her starring role in the film, The Blind Side.
But Lou owned her center stage and she wanted to be at home, with him.
“All I kept thinking about was, ‘He’s at home.’ Like, I didn’t care. I didn’t care that I was there, I just wanted to go home. And then I was sewn in the dress. I was sewn in the dress, and I had to get myself out of the dress, but all I wanted to do was just go home and feed Lou.”
Only days after, her marriage to reality star Jesse James came crashing down and Bullock became a single mother to an infant.
Bullock said, “I mean, so much had happened. How do you process grief and not hurt your child in the process? It’s a newborn, they take on everything that you’re feeling. So, my obligation was to [Lou] and not tainting the first year of his life with my grief.”
‘Louis’ got the stage’
“No one understands the shift in priorities about having a child in your life … until you have a child in your life,” Bullock said of shifting her focus from career to mom. “It naturally shifts…he showed up and now, Louis’ got the stage.”
Growing up in a healthy, happy environment, little Lou one day looked up at mom and predicted “I’m going to have a baby soon.”
Though Bullock admits she wasn’t planning on growing her family, she listened to her son, who planted the seed.
“I realized at that time, maybe he knew something. And when I think about it, it would have been around the time that Laila was born,” Bullock said. “It’s Louis’ way. Louis has a very strong way. He’s a fine leader, and he led me to Lai.”
Laila, who was living in foster care in Louisiana, is her daughter who joined the family in 2015 when she was three.
Recalling Laila’s trаumа from being in childcare, the Ocean’s 8 star said, “She’d be in the closet with all her clothes on, she’d be on a bookshelf, she’d be hiding, she’d always be ready to leave,” the actress recalled of her daughter, adding that she always made sure Laila knew that she wasn’t “going anywhere.”
She then shаrеd a conversation she had about Laila with Bryan Randall, the father figure to her children, and her partner from 2015 until ALS claimed his life in 2023. She said, “My partner said to me, ‘When she’s been with us longer than she hasn’t been, I have a feeling we’re going to see a change.’”
He was right. Recently, Bullock described Laila as “unafraid.”
“She’s a fighter, and that’s the reason she’s here today. She fought to keep her spirit intact. Oh my God, what she is going to accomplish. She’s going to bring some real change.”
Lou, now 13, “is super sensitive…He’s wise and kind,” the Bird Box star tells People. “I saw that when they handed him to me. There was a spiritual bigness to him.”
Though fans will be disappointed, the versatile actor is scaling back her work schedule to again be a single mother.
Bullock last appeared in 2022’s The Lost City with Channing Tatum and Bullet Train with Brad Pitt.
“I can be creative, I can be part of a community, but right now, work in front of the camera needs to take a pause,” she said.
What do you think of Sandra Bullock and her little family? Please shаrе your thoughts with us and then shаrе this story so we can hear what others have to say!
You Won’t Believe What Iconic Model Twiggy Looks Like at 73!
Twiggy, known for her elfin face and big blue eyes, made a bold move when she chose a pixie hairstyle, creating a unique look that has been copied for decades.
Although Twiggy changed the fashion industry with her youthful style, she recently shared that she never actually wanted the androgynous buzzcut that became her signature look in the Swinging Sixties. She was just too shy to say no to a famous hairstylist at a fancy salon.
As she celebrates her 74th birthday on September 19, let’s take a trip back to the 1960s when Twiggy first introduced the baby doll styles we still love today!
In 1966, Twiggy, born Lesley Hornby in Britain, was seeking a trendy new look to kickstart her modeling career. At only 5-foot-6, she was considered too short to make it in the competitive fashion world.
Reflecting on her upcoming 74th birthday, the former supermodel recalled getting her shoulder-length hair styled for test photos at London’s House of Leonard. There, she met the famous British stylist Leonard Lewis, known professionally as Leonard of Mayfair.
Lewis was searching for models to try his new crop haircut, and Twiggy was the perfect fit.
In a recent guest appearance on Jessie Ware’s podcast, “Table Manners,” Twiggy, the former style icon, revealed that she never wanted to have her hair cut short.
“I went in to have it shampooed and set, and Leonard saw me. He said, ‘Let me try my new haircut on you,’” Twiggy told Ware during the podcast. “I’d been growing my hair, and for a moment, I wasn’t sure if I wanted it cut. But I was in this very fancy salon in Mayfair and felt too shy to say no, so I just nodded.”
The next day, Twiggy went back to the salon and sat in Leonard’s chair, preparing herself for the change.
“I was there for seven hours. He cut it, then I went out, had it colored, and came back for more cutting. It was crazy,” she said with a laugh.
Although the androgynous look wasn’t what Twiggy was aiming for, she quickly understood why Leonard was a famous stylist.
After Leonard perfected Twiggy’s short blonde haircut, British photographer Barry Lategan took her pictures.
“Leonard put one of the photos up in the salon, and a journalist from the Daily Express named Deirdre McSharry saw it while getting her hair done,” Twiggy explained. “That’s how it all started. When that haircut and photo happened, it was a pivotal moment for me.”
The pixie cut made her large blue eyes stand out, and she emphasized them with mascara on her lower eyelashes.
In a chat with Vogue, Twiggy shared the inspiration behind her famous eye makeup: “I was always experimenting with makeup at home. I had a rag doll with spiky eyelashes, so I bought false eyelashes and created my own unique look.”
Twiggy, the former supermodel, shared that when she was young, she liked to rebel a bit. On weekends, she would wear makeup and miniskirts to Saturday night mod clubs with her friends, even though her school was very strict.
“I went to a grammar school where we wore uniforms, and makeup wasn’t allowed,” Twiggy said. “So on weekends, my friends and I would play with makeup like most teenage girls.” This is how her unique makeup style developed, especially her iconic eye look.
A few weeks after the photoshoot for the Daily Express, some now-famous black-and-white pictures of Twiggy appeared in the paper with the headline “Twiggy—The Face of ’66.” This launched her modeling career.
The next month, Twiggy did her first shoot for Vogue, and her life quickly became very busy. She became a major figure in mod fashion and inspired many women. While still a teenager, she even became the first celebrity to have a Mattel Barbie doll modeled after her.
Over the next few years, Twiggy became closely associated with the famous British designer Mary Quant. Mary Quant changed fashion with short skirts, giving women the freedom to show their legs.
After a few years of modeling, Twiggy retired in 1970 and started acting in movies and on stage, as well as singing.
Twiggy starred in several movies, including “The Boy Friend” in 1971, a role that won her two Golden Globes, and “Club Paradise” in 1986, where she acted alongside Robin Williams.
She also judged on “America’s Next Top Model” and created a fashion line for Marks & Spencer. She appeared in many of the brand’s billboard ads.
In 2011, Twiggy released an album called “Romantically Yours,” which features cover songs like “Blue Moon,” “They Can’t Take That Away from Me,” and “Right Here Waiting.” Her daughter, Carly Lawson, born in 1978, sang on some of the tracks.
Still active in the fashion world, the beautiful Twiggy was an ambassador for L’Oreal and works with other brands as a designer.
These days, the famous Twiggy is busy with her own podcast called “Tea with Twiggy.” Each week, she talks with her famous friends in a relaxed and personal way.
Despite all her success, Twiggy, one of the most well-known faces of her time, says her greatest achievement is her relationship with her amazing daughter.
Twiggy’s daughter, Carly, lost her father, actor Michael Witney, when she was just five years old. He passed away during Carly’s fifth birthday celebration. After that, Carly was raised by her mom, Twiggy, and Twiggy’s second husband, Leigh Lawson, whom she married in 1988.
“Family is my number one priority,” said Twiggy, who is also a grandmother. “It always has been, even when Carly was little. If something didn’t work for Carly, I didn’t do it. We went everywhere together, and that’s why we’re so close now. The other day, Carly said, ‘I can’t remember a time when you weren’t there, Mum,’ and that’s because I was always there. Even when I traveled, she came with me.”
Many women envy Twiggy for how well she pulled off that pixie cut in the 1960s! She looked gorgeous then and still looks amazing now.
What do you remember about the Swinging Sixties? What’s the most daring hairstyle you’ve ever tried?
Share your stories and let’s show Twiggy some love on her birthday!
If you enjoyed reading about how Twiggy’s style has evolved, check out how Catherine Deneuve looks today. She also had her big break in the 1960s.
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