Hoda Kotb’s Daughter Saw Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman Together and Asked If They Were Married
· Thought Catalog
Updated 3 minutes ago, September 9, 2026
Hoda Kotb has two daughters because of a single phone call she made to Sandra Bullock a decade ago.
Around 2016, at 51, Kotb had convinced herself motherhood wasn’t coming. Then a show mentioned Bullock had adopted a baby boy named Louis from New Orleans. Kotb Googled Bullock’s age, saw they were both born in 1964, and burst into tears. She called Bullock and asked, “Tell me what it’s like.”
She filled out the adoption paperwork at 51. On the plane to pick up her first daughter, she texted Bullock: “I’m on the way.” Kotb adopted Haley Joy in 2017 and Hope Catherine two years later. Haley is now 9 and heading into fourth grade; Hope is 7 and starting second.
Kotb, 62, told the whole story to Bullock’s face during a Making Space conversation promoting “Practical Magic 2,” with Nicole Kidman watching. Kidman called Bullock “the angel” who made Kotb’s family possible.
Bullock, fighting tears, tried to wave it off: “It’s not gonna happen. I’m not gonna let you do this. I’m fine.”
“You don’t have to live in the box,” Kotb said. “Families come in a million different ways.”
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