Kristen Chenoweth Tells Her Adoption Story After Watching Lion

Nicole Kidman has said that her work in Lion, in which she plays the mom of an adopted boy (Dev Patel) seeking his birth parents, was inspired by her own experience as an adoptive mother. Kristen Chenoweth, who has been on the other side of the equation as an adopted child, reveals the film also spoke to her. "As I’ve grown, I’ve watched the conversation and perceptions about adopted kids and families shift, but nothing has quite captured the truth, both the good and the ugly, of adoption like the film Lion," she wrote for The Huffington Post. "It’s an honest look at adoption and the not uncommon feelings surrounding identity that come up for many people." In particular, she said she relates to the boy Saroo's curiosity about his origins and the confusion that can come from identifying with more than one family. "On the one hand, you share the unconditional love for your parents that they have for you, not to mention eternal gratitude for the life they’ve given you. But as Saroo shows, there’s often a lingering thought about where you came from," she explained. "We all yearn for our truth; who we are, where we come from, maybe where we get certain quirks or talents (for me I long wondered where my voice came from since my mother very well knows it was not from her). But finding those truths is the most personal of journeys, coming to each of us at different times and in different ways." But Chenoweth makes clear she only has positive feelings about her family situation. She's grateful to her adoptive family for taking care of her and to her birth family for making the decision that gave her the best life possible. "I often say adoption is a full-circle blessing and I truly believe it," she concluded. "Adopted children were not abandoned, we were chosen. That is one of the core messages of Lion, serving as a beautiful reminder that love knows no boundaries."