Sandra Bullock Is a Mom Again! Meet Her Adorable Daughter, Laila

12/02/2015 at 07:59 AM ET
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Oscar winner Sandra Bullock opens up for the first time about fostering and adopting her 3½-year-old daughter, Laila. Subscribe now for instant access to the exclusive interview, plus the adorable family photos of Laila and brother Louis, or pick up PEOPLE on newsstands Friday!

Sandra Bullock is a proud mom — times two!

The Oscar winner, 51, reveals exclusively to PEOPLE in this week’s issue that she has adopted a daughter, 3½-year-old Laila (pronounced Lila), a little girl from Louisiana who had been in foster care.

“When I look at Laila, there’s no doubt in my mind that she was supposed to be here,” says Bullock, who adopted son Louis, 5, in 2010.

“I can tell you absolutely, the exact right children came to me at the exact right time,” she adds.

Sandra Bullock Adopts Daughter Laila PEOPLE Exclusive Cover
Cover Photograph by Bryan Randall/Getty Images


The process of expanding her family began three years ago, with Louis helping to lead the way.

“Louis spearheaded this whole journey,” she says, and while the two siblings have since formed an inseparable bond, Bullock says the first stages of bringing Laila home required patience and plenty of reassurance.

“I knew she was scared, and all I wanted was for her to know Louis and I weren’t going anywhere,” she says of her daughter, who has brought “pink and glitter in the house mixed with Legos and Batmans.”

In new family photos featured in PEOPLE, taken by L.A. photographer Bryan Randall, whom Bullock has been dating, the star — who hopes to shine a light on the 415,129 children currently in foster care in the U.S. — reveals the playful dynamic she shares with her two children.

“My family is blended and diverse, nutty, and loving and understanding,” she says. “That’s a family.”

To learn more about adoption and fostering in the U.S., go to adoptuskids.org and kids-alliance.org.

— J.D. Heyman

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Showing 83 comments

Mandi on

I think I love her a little more 🙂 She seems like a wonderful person, a friend met her a while back and said she was simply lovely. These are 2 lucky children indeed. Best wishes on your beautiful family.

lauren on

didn’t radar online report this like months ago?

bb on

Sandra has been involved in New Orleans since Hurricane Katrina. I know she’s donated money to rebuilt schools, so its nice to see she is still connected to the area in this way. I’m glad she is happy! Good for them 🙂

Congratssandra on

I love that she adopts within the US. Beautiful soul.

Peachy on

I love that she’s adopting children in the foster system. There are so many that need families HERE…some that will age out of the system never having one. : (

Mr. Mike on

Should be fun when they start attacking her for ‘White Privilege’.

tark on

Sandra’s is such a honest, kind and loving person. This world needs more people like her.

Judy Eurich on

A very nice American, refreshing to read something possitive

jennifersparisi on

As if I could not love this woman any more than I already did! A wonderful actress, a humanitarian and just a seemingly all around decent person.

In my family, there are five of us kids (although I’m really an adult now, but still). Three are biological kids and two are adopted and of different racial/ethnic backgrounds. There is not one bit of difference between any of us – we are all treated the same by my parents and the two adopted kids arrived at the absolutely perfect time and could not fit in better. In fact my sister, who is 12, is my best friend and I am 36 years old. She is the best thing that ever happened to me and I love her more than I can describe. Race and ethnicity do not make a family, love does.

Anonymous on

I know I love her a little more. Adopting a healthy newborn infant is what everyone seems to want, adopting a child out of foster care is not expensive and these kids need families, unlike the wait lists to adopt healthy newborns there are tons of kids just waiting for a family. Congrats Sandra!

Keisha on

Good for Sandy! I’m so happy she adopted another black child for her son to bond with. He needed someone who looks like him and he can have a unique relationship with.

Whatever happened to the relationship she built with her former step-daughter Sunny?

Julie on

At 3 years old, I’m guessing Sandra Bullock had nothing to do with the selection of her daughter’s name… but I’m just going to point out that Laila can be a Scandinavian variant of Helga (Bullock’s mom’s name.) And that seems like an incredibly sweet coincidence. 🙂

cds on

I’m sure she has heard of the many awful comments that racist people have made. I like that she has adopted children of color — most white folks want only white children who are infants. If you have the love, time and patience it doesn’t matter what race the child is. What’s interesting is that her photographer boyfriend has been in relationships with black women — it’s very cool that he doesn’t have a race problem.

shanana111 on

Congratulations to Sandra! I get the impression that she is a loving person and probably a great mom!
Adoption, no matter from what country, is a wonderful way to make a family. People who are against adopting internationally most likely have never adopted. Fostering a child and then adopting them is a great option, but it comes with a lot of risks as the U.S. tries everything they can to reunite the child with their birth parent(s). Many people have to give a child back after falling in love with them. Personally I’vee known a few couples who have had to relinquish a child and were heartbroken. All children deserve a family, not just children here. If it were that simple, why on earth would people travel across the world and endure so much?

Jen on

Not sure that giving us a pronunciation tip of “Lila” is helpful. I don’t know if that means Lie-la or Lee-la or even a short version of Lilian.

Kathy on

I am thrilled to see an orphaned child get a loving home! I am very happy for Sandra! I must however comment however, that it pains me to continually see stars and the wealthy adopt with such ease. It is great that your article highlights the 415,219 children in foster care in the United States in need of loving ‘forever’ homes, however if you are not one of the privileged wealthy who can skirt the process (and I am not saying Sandra herself did so) then you are hopelessly lost in an eternity of red tape, government bureaucracy and high cost. And who is suffering the most in the end? The children! Its a tragedy that working middle class in America have few to little resources to cover adoption costs and the overall process. One would think the overall priority of the foster care system would be to get children placed in loving ‘forever’ homes, but those of us who have subjected ourselves to the adoption process know better. Best wishes to Sandra and her family.

PacificGirl818 on

I truly love this woman. She is so kind and selfless. It takes a special person to adopt. You do not have to have the same DNA to love unconditionally. May God continue to bless Sandra and her children. xoxo

Hello on

Good to see another child saved from the horrors of the foster care system.

Carrie on

As the proud Mama of an adopted child of a different race I am so proud of Ms Bullock. Must tell a story. My little girl after hearing so many times that she didn’t look like me, came and said “Who do I look like?” I replied “When you give birth you look like someone on the outside. When you give love , you look like someone else, on the inside… That, will never grow old.Which is better?”

Shelia Marshall on

I love Sandra Bullock so much more … Beautiful spirit inside & out ..

CC on

See I like her even more. There are so many children of color in the foster system they need homes and I am glad they she see’s that and adopts children of color. I am a black woman and I know they black children are the least adopted children. If I had the money I would foster than adopt. So when people talk about her and Charlize Theron about adopting black children (and I am talking to everyone of every race that has something bad to say about it) they need to think about were these children would be otherwise.

HenRhee Higginz on

I’m so pleased that Ms. Bullock is happily living HER life to HER specifications! YOU GO GIRL!! Take & GIVE ALL THE LOVE THAT YOUR LIFE HAS FOR YOU!! A happy parent begets a HAPPY start for a child’s life journey… Louis & Laila have the blessing of that element in their lives (a Happy Mom & a Happy Home & Happiness in their childhood)! (y)

timegrrl on

I never understood why so many people adopt children from other countries when there are plenty of children in the US who need loving families. Her kids are adorable. I think adopting Louis filled the hole in her heart, if I remember correctly, that was when she was getting a divorce. She has always come across as down-to-earth…Good for her!

Rolyat on

I have neighbors who are both black and have 3 adopted white children. Who the hell cares what color they are. Bullock’s children will grown up with all the trappings and be given a good education. She’s single and needs children to leave that wealth too.

Momof6 on

Adopting from foster care does not cost anything except maybe $100 or so for the initial background checks. So anyone who would love to adopt but has “no money”, please call your nearest county Children & Youth to get the process started. It can’t be guaranteed that your child won’t be reunited with their family but in the meantime you love a child that needs it and they receive so much from you that they can take with them forever.

mlcme on

Louis is getting so big! I can respect her for keeping their little faces off the cover but I still want to see them!

Bet she’s a great mom!

Shelia on

Every woman is not blessed to give birth and for those that are not, well they are blessed to adopt. My husband was adopted by the most wonderful family and it did not make his adopted mother any less of a mother because he did not come from her womb. There are so many children out there that need love and family. Congratulations to you Sandra Bullock and all other adopting families for your unselfish acts of love, compassion, and kindness. May God continue to bless you all

Kelly on

Laila is such a lovely name. Sandra seems like someone who would be such a great Mom.

mezeus on

Why can’t the woman having abortions realize that there are people like you around ?

mezeus on

Why can’t women having abortions realize that there are people like you around ?

Jen on

@Kathy,
Adoption from foster care is free. There are no costs associated aside from those absorbed by the state. In fact, in many situations, adoptive parents are provided with a subsidy until the child is 18 or 21 similar to the foster care reimbursement they received.

Adoption from foster care is obviously not without risk and the possibility of heartbreak, but cost should not be a factor.

Ladybug on

Congrats! These are 2 lucky kids.
Christmas will be fun at the Bullock home this year.

polly on

Lovely! If only ALL kids in foster care could get in loving homes. So many are in foster homes where the only reason the people took them in was for the money! How scary is that? There has to be a better way. Glad this lucky girl found her forever home! She won the lottery of love!

Anonymous on

sandar bullock does not date black men.she has no business adopting that race. why did she never have a baby.hmm. . i cant stand her. also the fact she may talk the talk. whocares. . .Idontlike intracially kids w/whites.. of blalcks etc. disgrace. . to whites.

Stacy on

congratulations regarding the adoption of your daughter

Allie on

Sandra bullock is my hero.

Shalla on

She’s wasting her good genes by not having a bio child when she can. However, it’s wonderful she’s given two children a loving home.

Deanna on

I love her! How awesome to share the love with another child. I pray many blessings on her family.

lisa on

I see a black man in Sandra Bullocks future. She has already put it out in the atmosphere. Heck, that Jesse guy treated her like garbage and slept with a bevy of hoes. Go get you a black man Sandra who’ll worship you because they sure don’t give a damn about their own women

Ruby on

I love her. The faceted that she adopted two children and gave the a loving ho,e is so amazing. God bless you Sandra.

Anonymous on

Congratulations on your beautiful family Sandra. Blessings and much love to you.

Anonymous on

She was recently interviewed on Ellen or somewhere and asked if she was adopting a second child. She flat out denied it. Wow. What a lie that was! Now the truth comes out. Why didn’t she just admit it?

Anonymous on

Being a white kid up for adoption in America sucks…

Anonymous on

Maybe the kids won’t grow up to b thugs!!!!!

Kate on

Plastic Hollywood mom like her face sorry but this is a trend right now with the rich and famous and they don’t raise them the nanny does also , I raised three kids and kids can be very mean and nasty in school I can only imagine what these will go through in middle school.

crazyhens4u on

Yeah, right. She liked to the media to protect the adoption and the child…but she altruistically makes the announcement now…and has the new boyfriend take the photos and her publicist arranges for People to have the exclusive. Just as the Oscar campaign season kicks into high gear. Right. Now pull my other leg.

Carol on

Some of you on here saying that kids in U.S. Should be adopted over other countries r disgusting. It’s just geography. Just because they r from another country doesn’t mean that they don’t deserve a family too or should wait behind kids here. It’s no ones business how families r formed. For some the foster care system, or private adoption is best for them. For others it’s a calling to look overseas for adoption.
ALL kids deserve a loving family, no matter where geographically they live.

reneadijab on

Those are some lucky and loved children. Cheers to them all!

Anonymous on

You know the economy has really turned around when celebrities are able to buy more minority children again.

Adoption Fan on

@Kathy, check your facts. Adoption through the foster system is free. My two youngest children were adopted out of foster care and we do still receive a subsidy from the state for them that we put in a trust for their futures. Yes, a lot of heartache can come out of foster care…but the beautiful, healthy, happy children I got in return outweighs all the pain it took to get them. I would do it again in a heartbeat for my boys.

m on

Way to go Sandra, so happy you added to your family. Thanks for rescuing some kiddos that really needed it.

Valarie on

Love the name Laila! Congrats.

Michael on

‘Two lucky children’,indeed. Congradulation to Sandra Bullock for adopting another fortunate child.

Danielle on

Such horrible racist comments makes me sad that some people here are actually raising children.

lilk on

she is on the cover of the mag with her back …so is she still not allowed legally to show laila’s face ?

Willman on

Blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy. Ms. Bullock, the Lord will bless you and show you mercy.

Bonni on

I’m sure that she’s a very nice lady, but she needs to be more careful in choosing her roles. Her 2013 hit, The Heat, features a scene (I was used in the tv promotions) that pokes fun at a person with albinism, calling him “scary.” As the grandmother of a young boy with albinism, I know first hand that it is not a joke and there is nothing scary about”albinos (people with albinism is preferred ) I imagine she would not appreciate people making fun of her children, no matter what the reason. Maybe she needs to be more sensitive to other people’s children.

ldstep on

Boy…..just when I thought I couldn’t admire and love this woman more. She has a huge heart, unselfish nature and a tremendously giving spirit. Just a lovely, lovely human being!

BethAnne on

I’m just curious how many of you know what forced adoption is? Although this child may have come from a broken home, often children are removed for all of the wrong reasons. Title IV funding has become a tool that is abused by the CPS system to gain federal funds. Children belong with their biological families if at all possible. I recommend you do a little research on forced adoption, medical kidnapping, and Title IV funding.

Stacey on

Well this just made me cry! So sweet! Beautiful family!

msliftbig on

Good for her and those kids! I wonder if she wants anymore children?

Owen on

Wunderbar!!!!!!!!!!!!

Me on

Enough! How many more days is this news going to be a news??

fixcps on

There is another side to this story that needs to be told..

Did you know that 90 percent of federal spending for child welfare REQUIRES children be REMOVED from their home and sent to foster care, then if they are adopted away from family, the feds pay the states a BONUS? There are ZERO incentives paid by the feds for family services?

Did you know that this has lead to much corruption within CPS? Did you know that caseworkers can LIE and in most states are immune from prosecution? Did you know that unless you can afford a private attorney families caught in the system are thrown into a kangaroo court? That more often than not the caseworkers treat the family horribly that causes them to fall into despair, which CPS then uses as reasons to terminate rights.

Did you know that only 17 percent of children are removed from their homes for ‘abuse’. Most are removed for ‘neglect’, which can be for serious reasons, but also for trivial ones, such as allowing your child to walk to the park.

Did you know the odds of children that have been in the foster system? Did you know that they are 3 times more likely to have a ‘bad outcome’ such as incarceration? This was proven by an extensive MIT study. Did you know that 60 percent of youth that get into prostitution or trafficking have been in the foster system?

The perception that children are removed for ‘horrible abuse’ and sent to ‘loving foster homes’ is just too often not true. Some foster parents are loving, but many do it for the money. The rate of abuse in foster care is worse than in their bio families but is largely covered up because after all, the government placed the children in these homes.

The government funded solution, adoption away from family, is also flawed. Some of these families have happy outcomes, but also, this is often not the case. And about ten percent of the time, the results are so bad the family will send the children back into the system. Most children feel the loss of their family for the rest of their lives. And the family they were taken from will also mourn their loss.

The Casey organization is a foundation formed by UPS founder Jim Casey that has spend 1/2 billion to improve the outcomes for children. Their stated goal is to reduce and eventually REMOVE the need for foster care. The senate has held hearings on how the system is funded and possible changing it, but government works at a snails pace. There was a hearing August 4, 2015 where Senator Weyman said in the hearing that the question he gets over and over again from foster children is “Why did you do NOTHING to help my family?”

Please present the other side of the story. According to Casey studies, perhaps 1/4 of children taken from their homes didn’t need to be removed at all, and another 1/4 of removals could have stayed at home and used family services.

Thank you for your consideration

Lucy on

I have always admired Sandra Bullock as and actress. I now admire her for fostering and adopting children who need love and stability in their lives. Family is loving and caring for and about one another no matter what the outside looks like. It’s the inside that counts.. Way to go, Sandra. Much love to you and your beautiful family.

Jewell Rawlings on

I really did not like the cover of People showing the back of Sandra Bullock’s daughter’s head and her son’s masked face. Next time you decide to do a cover story on a celeb and their children, try to find a celeb who does not mind and is comfortable showing their kid’s face such as Beyonce, Jennifer Garner, Gwen Stephani, and Jessica Alba, to name a few. I am glad she is happy being a mother. Good for her!

Dick Fitswell on

I am a very endowed white man.
If Sandra needs to birth a white baby , she would love how GOOD
I could make her FEEL making one!

KellyM on

Those pics are just adorable! Congrats Sandra on expanding your beautiful family 🙂

Dehliaa on

My sincere happiness for my favorite actress! So happy for her now and her life seems to be going right. One of each in children is the best of both worlds. Batman and Leggos, ballet slippers and tutu’s, blues now opens up with pinks. What I’ve admired about Sandra is her openness to be normal, forth right, and funny. An actress is an actress, but her life seems more forgiven now. Things happen, they are challenging, painful, hard, easy, but eventually things right itself out. May good things continue to be in her path.
A fan~

Bob on

An ill woman with an indifference to her own race

Anonymous on

I love her!! Lucky children that get to call her mom.

Marty on

Yeah – I’m waiting for the cover story when a black celebrity adopts a white child … anyone? … anyone?

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redrorie on

I became the mother of a toddler at age 50. Of course I didn’t look like Sandra Bullock. Best wishes for happiness and good health and many blessings.

Gail C. on

Sandra Bullock is a sweet soul! We need more people like her.

Christine on

I would like to say 20 some yrs. ago my mother and step father adopted all together 6 black children 3 r brother’s and sister the other 3 2 girls and a boy u don’t have to have money to foster or adopt a child in fact the state pays u to foster and still pays after u adopt they also will pay for that childs collage ; this is in N.Y. State so maybe the ones looking to foster or adopt a child might wanna look a little harder ; I love Sandra Bullock even more now

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Anonymous on

I love Sandra! I have a 10 year old and where we are from everything so black and white nothing in between. I do not see color, its all about what’s in the heart and I made the decision to move because I want my daughter to grow up around diversity.

curvadoras usadas on

Interesante articulo . Aprendo algo con cada blog todos los días. Siempre es grato poder devorar el contenido de otros bloggers. Me gustaría usar algo de tu blog en mi blog, naturalmente dejare un enlace , si no te importa. Gracias por compartir.

Marie Cosgrove on

Sandra is a role model for all of us who want children. Let us all love and care for the underprivileged and vulnerable children in the world. My (Our) volunteer is to help poor women and girls learn skills to help them get out of poverty so they can afford to educate their children and make a better world. Nepal and Northern Uganda are the places we are concentrating on now. We send treadle sewing machines and materials and creative and eco friendly ideas for sewing. Empowering women.
May your happiness Sandra be contagious and spread around our world

deb elwell on

what wonderful thing sandra is doing by Adoption . Sandra is a awesome person she is giving these kids the love they need i say God bless her she is a real women good inside and out .You go Sandra ❤ .

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Jenn Ricketts on

An amazing woman!!! I have so much love for her before and so much more now. A wonderful human being to love with out reservation, truly remarkable. I am truly touched!!
I am 53 have no children as I have had to step in and raise my sister”s children after she was murdered all my focus was placed on them understandably..
The children were 2 and 7 years at the time of her death . going back and forth as well between criminal and Family court to fight for their safety making history I was awarded custody of the the children.
I miss her every day,the only regret I have is how she was taken away
from us robbed of a life with her beautiful children.

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