Hoda Kotb Adopted 2 Daughters After Assuming Motherhood Had Passed Her By. Sandra Bullock’s Adoption Was the Reason She Changed Her Mind

09 Sep 2026, 09:30 · Thought Catalog

Making Space

Updated 12 minutes ago, September 9, 2026

Kotb filled out the adoption paperwork at 51, shortly after telling herself she’d “missed the window” and calling it her “cross to bear.”

The turning point came at home in front of the TV, when a show mentioned that 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.”

Laughter takes over during a candid moment on Making Space, as the blonde-haired woman in a blue sleeveless dress and her dark-haired co-guest in an olive blouse react with open-mouthed delight to something just said.

She adopted Haley Joy in 2017 and Hope Catherine two years later. From the plane on her way to get Haley, she texted Bullock: “I’m on the way.”

Hands clasped together, the two guests share a warm, connected moment side-by-side on Making Space, both smiling as the brunette appears mid-sentence.

Kotb, 62, told the 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, said, “It’s not gonna happen. I’m not gonna let you do this. I’m fine.”

A quieter, more reflective beat on Making Space as the two women sit with intertwined hands, the brunette leaning slightly toward her companion while speaking.

Kotb has a daughter heading into fourth grade and one into second. “You don’t have to live in the box,” she said. “Families come in a million different ways.”

A wide shot of the full Making Space interview setup, with the host holding notes and facing her two guests — a blonde woman in blue and a brunette in olive — across a coffee table of pink and red roses.

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