Tag: Church Choir

Kinship Adoption

Jamie Foxx with Grandmother Talley

Jamie Foxx was born Eric Marlon Bishop (1967) in Terrell, Texas, to Louise Annette Talley and Darrell Bishop, who worked as a stockbroker and had later changed his name to Shahid Abdula. His mother was an adopted child. At just 7 months old, he was is abandoned by both his parents, leaving him to be raised and officially adopted by his maternal grandparents, Mark and Esther Talley. His grandmother had a profound impact on her adopted son and Foxx credits her as being inspirational.

“My grandmother was 60 years old when she adopted me. She ran a nursery school and had a library in the house. She saw me reading early, saw I was smart and believed I was born to achieve truly special things,” Foxx said of his grandmother. He has said that he had a very rigid upbringing that placed him in the Boy Scouts and the church choir and started piano lessons at the age of three at his grandmother’s insistence. Although strict, Estelle undeniably provided Jamie with a loving and nurturing home and was an incredible support to him. He was appreciative that his grandmother was there to give him the care and support he needed to become successful in life but, that never stopped him from wondering about his biological parents and why they left him. It was a constant struggle to comprehend that they never reached out to him. Jamie was only seventeen when his grandfather, Mark Talley, died. Estelle Talley died in October 2004 at the age of ninety-five.

Foxx had difficulty forgiving his birth father, seemingly unable to put his grievances with the man to rest, despite attempts at reconciliation. Foxx did successfully reconcile with his biological mother and also developed a bond with her husband, George Dixon, the stepfather who Foxx refers to as his “pops”. It was interesting to find our that Foxx’s grandparents had also adopted his birthmother. I have long noted that adoption tends to run in families. That is certainly true in my family.

His relationship with his birth mother has progressed quite far since the days when she was unable to care for him. She has been living together with Foxx in the same house for quite a while along with his stepfather. His relationship with his stepfather was an inspiration for the character of Walter McMillian in the movie Just Mercy. His father was incarcerated unjustly for 7 years. It was this that sparked the beginning of their living arrangement. He sent his father a letter while he was in prison promising to rescue him from the situation he was in when he was finally released from prison. That is a promise he has kept even though his mother, Louise and Georg had divorced. They both continue to live with him today.

The Search Is For The Truth

Tim McGraw with pregnant wife Faith Hill

This is how it feels to be adopted –

“I had a spirit that was completely outside what my family was. I didn’t know anyone I was related to, biologically, which gives you a sense of not ­knowing who you are.”
~ Audry Faith Perry aka Faith Hill

“There was a period of time when I first moved to Nashville, like the first couple of years, that I was just simply lost. That’s when I went on the search for my birth family.”

“The first time I met my biological mother, I just stared at her. I’d never seen anybody who looked anything like me. It was the awe of seeing someone that you actually came from. It fills something.”

While her adoptive family hadn’t shared her level of musical interest, her birth mother’s sister and mother had been members of their church choir, just like Hill. My own mom’s musical compositions tended to be religious and were often performed by a church choir. In addition, the discovery that Hill’s biological mother was an artist helped her understand why she’d been drawn to a creative career.

Meeting her birth mother also brought new facts to light. Her birth mother had gotten pregnant while having an affair with a married man. Sounds a lot like my dad’s adoption story.

“Meeting her birth mother was the most profound life-altering experience for her. After that, her world turned upside down. I was part of her old world, and she had to let that world go.”
~ Daniel Hill, ex-husband

Her second husband, Tim McGraw discovered that the man raising him wasn’t his biological father. Very much like a dear friend of mine who only recently also made such a discovery.

“Having been adopted, I really have a strong sense — a necessity almost — for stability. A foundation where my family is concerned.” Her close ties with the family that raised her didn’t change when her biological mother and brother entered her life. And when she and McGraw had three daughters together, Hill took time off from her career in order to be with them as they grew up.

Hill never forged a deep bond with her birth mother, who passed away in 2007. This is not actually an unusual result with adoptee reunions nor is how Hill appreciated her biological mother’s actions, at one point noting, “I know she must have had a lot of love for me to want to give me what she felt was a better chance.”

I believe that BOTH of my grandmothers were also motivated by such a love when they made those difficult choices.