Parker Tears Up Discussing Daughter’s Adoption
By WENNFriday, December 18, 2009
WEEDS star MARY-LOUISE PARKER fought back tears during a U.S. TV interview on Thursday (17Dec09) when she recalled the first time her son met his adopted sister and welcomed the African girl with open arms.
The actress became mum to Ethiopian girl Caroline ‘Ash’ Aberash in 2007, a little sister for her biological son William, now five.
She admits she didn’t really discuss the adoption with her child, whose father is actor Billy Crudup, until the legal documents had been approved and finalised. But the timing luckily coincided with her son’s desire to have a younger sibling.
She said, “I waited and one day he said, ‘Mummy, a little brother or sister is something I don’t have, so I think we should turn around and go to the pet store and get one.’ I was like, ‘I don’t think they have those at the pet store…’ But my paperwork had already gone through so I was like, ‘I think I’ll do that’.”
Parker decided to take William with her to meet Ash for the first time and she reveals it is one of her most treasured memories, because the boy was so accepting of his new sister.
The actress confesses she was a little overwhelmed by the whole adoption process, and her son actually helped her cope with the big life change.
Fighting back tears on The Bonnie Hunt Show, she explained, “One of the most amazing, magical things was my son, when he saw her, he was just immediately like, ‘I’m your brother,’ and, in a way, I learned from him.
“It’s like, ‘There’s this child, my child, and you have an afro (hairstyle), what do I do with you? You’re malnourished, what do I do?’ But he was just like, ‘You’re ours!’ And a month later he’s hitting her over the head with his (toy)!”
But Parker has no regrets about taking on such a big task as a single mother: “It’s crazy and hard and she’s a little crazy! But it’s amazing and magical and it wouldn’t be my family without her.”
