Sandra Bullock Said She ‘Would’ve Been Knocked Up at 17’ Had Her Mom Not Kept Her ‘Under Lock and Key’
Sandra Bullock is one of the most famous celebrity moms in the world today. Several years ago, the Bird Box star adopted her two children, Louis and Laila, and lobbied for more people to embrace adoption.
Although the Award-winning actress waited until she was in her 40s to adopt her kids, she actually wanted to be a mother long before. In fact, she personally believes she would’ve been a mother at 17 if her mother hadn’t kept her under such intense restrictions as a teen.
Sandra Bullock would’ve been pregnant at 17, if not for her mother
Bullock shared her adolescent desire during a 2018 interview with Entertainment Tonight.
“I would have been pregnant or knocked up at 17,” the Oscar winner shared. “I wanted to be a mom at a very young age. So I kind of felt the drive and the desire to.”
Her mother’s strict parenting style prevented Bullock from making her dream come true.
“My mother knew that and she kept me under lock and key,” Bullock said.
She waited until she was 46 to adopt her first child
Instead of having kids, Bullock focused on her career and became one of the most bankable actresses in Hollywood. She won an Oscar in 2010 for her performance in The Blindside, and her films have collectively grossed $4,838,762,422 at the box office, according to The Numbers.
However, after winning her Oscar in 2010, Bullock announced that she’d adopted her son Louis. According to Today!, she’d seen the devastation happening in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina and knew she wanted to adopt a child from there. Several years later, she found Louis and knew it was meant to be.
“I looked at [Louis], and I just said, ‘Oh, there you are,’” Bullock said. “It’s like he had always been there. It’s like he fit in the crook of my arm. He looked me in the eyes, and he was just — he was wise. My child was wise. The beautiful thing that I was constantly told was, ‘The perfect child will find you. You will find your child.'”
In 2015, she adopted a second child, her daughter Laila.
Sandra Bullock hopes she’s inspired others to remain open-minded about adoption
Since adopting her children, Bullock’s life has changed dramatically. Now her life revolves around her kids, not so much her career.
“Everything is about them being ok, being in school, having what they need, their moments,” Bullock said. “I need to be there for every single moment that they have. It’s harder for me to leave them than I think it is for them when I leave. I don’t leave that much, and I don’t work that much anymore either. … So my priorities are my kids, my kids, my kids. My family. My family. That’s it.”
Bullock hopes her open-minded approach toward having children inspires more people to adopt children that are in need.
“There are hundreds of thousands of children that are ready to be your child,” she said, crying. “You’re a forever parent the minute you accept the love of that child. And it’s amazing to me how we can take away people’s happiness by telling them that this is the box that you have to stay in. There is no box.”
