Famous Celebrities You Had No Idea Were Adopted

Richard Burton

Originally named Richard Jenkins, Burton was born to a poor family in southern Wales. At the age of two, his mother passed away, leaving behind 13 children. Richard was the second youngest. Cecilia, his aunt on his father's side, took him in as his father was unfit to care for all the kids alone. In 1943, his teacher and guardian Phillip Burton informally adopted him. He took on his last name when he reached 18. 

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The More You Know

  • Leonardo DiCaprio's mom was looking at a Leonardo da Vinci painting in a museum in Italy when Leo first kicked. That's why he's named Leonardo.
  • In the early days of his career, Sylvester Stallone was so poor that he sold his dog Butkus for $50.
  • Growing up, Eva Mendes wanted to be a nun, but she changed her mind when she found out they didn't make any money.
  • Plenty of celebrities have strange habits and even phobias but One Direction singer Liam Payne might take the cake: he’s afraid of spoons… specifically used, dirty spoons.
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