In 2010, Sandra Bullock received a phone call that changed her life forever. โYour placement is here,โ 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 didnโt care she was there. โAll I wanted was to go was just go home and feed Louโ 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.
โKatrina happened in New Orleans, and something told me, โMy child is there.โ It was weird,โ Bullock said in an interview with Todayโs Hoda Kotb.
Years later, in January 2010, Bullock received the call she had been waiting years to receive.
โHe was unexpected, he was not planned. I got a call one day, โYour placement is here,โ and thatโs after years after having filed it, years,โ 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, โI looked at him like, โOh, there you are.โ It was like he had always been there,โ she recalled. โHe fit in the crook of my arm. He looked me in the eyes. He was wise. My child was wise.โ
The Miss Congeniality star adds, โThe beautiful thing that I was constantly told was, โThe perfect child will find you. You will find your child.โ But you donโt believe that when itโs not happening. When youโre going, โWhere is my family?โ When it does happen, you know exactly what theyโre talking about.โ
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.
โAll I kept thinking about was, โHeโs at home.โ Like, I didnโt care. I didnโt 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.โ
Only days after, her marriage to reality star Jesse James came crashing down and Bullock became a single mother to an infant.
Bullock said, โI mean, so much had happened. How do you process grief and not hurt your child in the process? Itโs a newborn, they take on everything that youโre feeling. So, my obligation was to [Lou] and not tainting the first year of his life with my grief.โ
โLouisโ got the stageโ
โNo one understands the shift in priorities about having a child in your life โฆ until you have a child in your life,โ Bullock said of shifting her focus from career to mom. โIt naturally shiftsโฆhe showed up and now, Louisโ got the stage.โ
Growing up in a healthy, happy environment, little Lou one day looked up at mom and predicted โIโm going to have a baby soon.โ
Though Bullock admits she wasnโt planning on growing her family, she listened to her son, who planted the seed.
โI 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,โ Bullock said. โItโs Louisโ way. Louis has a very strong way. Heโs a fine leader, and he led me to Lai.โ
Laila, who was living in foster care in Louisiana, is her daughter who joined the family in 2015 when she was three.
Recalling Lailaโs trauma from being in childcare, the Oceanโs 8 star said, โSheโd be in the closet with all her clothes on, sheโd be on a bookshelf, sheโd be hiding, sheโd always be ready to leave,โ the actress recalled of her daughter, adding that she always made sure Laila knew that she wasnโt โgoing anywhere.โ
She then shared 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, โMy partner said to me, โWhen sheโs been with us longer than she hasnโt been, I have a feeling weโre going to see a change.โโ
He was right. Recently, Bullock described Laila as โunafraid.โ
โSheโs a fighter, and thatโs the reason sheโs here today. She fought to keep her spirit intact. Oh my God, what she is going to accomplish. Sheโs going to bring some real change.โ
Lou, now 13, โis super sensitiveโฆHeโs wise and kind,โ the Bird Box star tells People. โI saw that when they handed him to me. There was a spiritual bigness to him.โ
Though fans will be disappointed, the versatile actor is scaling back her work schedule to again be a single mother.
Bullock last appeared in 2022โs The Lost City with Channing Tatum and Bullet Train with Brad Pitt.
โI can be creative, I can be part of a community, but right now, work in front of the camera needs to take a pause,โ she said.
What do you think of Sandra Bullock and her little family? Please share your thoughts with us and then share this story so we can hear what others have to say!
