Who isn't a Sandra Bullock fan? She has always kept a low profile, avoided Hollywood drama, and starred in everyone's favorite films.
Every time I watched her on screen I'm captivated by how great of an actress she is. I thought that if anyone had achieved their calling, it was her.
But that's not how she felt.
Sandra had money and fame but there was something missing.
There was a void in her life that she couldn't quite figure out until one day the world made it apparent to her in the harshest way possible.
In an emotional interview with Hoda Kotb from the Today Show, the 53-year-old actress opened up about how she became a mom of two and how this decision influenced her life.
A Life Changing Decision
Sandra told Hoda that Hurricane Katrina convinced her to adopt her first child, Louis.
She was in her early 40s at the time and wasn't sure if she was ready to become a parent.
"I did think, 'Maybe not.' Then [Hurricane] Katrina happened," she looked away, her eyes welling up with tears, "Katrina happened in New Orleans and something told me, 'My child is there.' It was weird."
It took a couple years until her adoption papers were finalized, and during that time she found it difficult to be in the spotlight.
"It was the process of filling out forms, being judged, being-- you know, having-- sort of being in the spotlight, you know, about who you are as a human being, that is awkward."
But once she had her first child in her arms, nothing else mattered, and she felt something she had never felt before.
"I looked at him like, 'Oh, there you are.' It was like he had always been there. He fit in the crook of my arm. He looked me in the eyes. He was wise. My child was wise," she recalled of that sweet moment.
"The beautiful thing that I was constantly told was, 'The perfect child will find you. You will find your child.' But you don't believe that when it's not happening. When you're going, 'Where is my family?' When it does happen, you know exactly what they're talking about."
And it was three-year-old Louis who convinced Sandra to adopt a second child in 2015.
The Oscar-winning actress was spending time with friends who were discussing their daughters when Louis interjected the conversation and said, "Yeah, I don't have daughters. But I'm going to have a baby soon."
Coincidentally, that was right around the time that Laila was born.
"Maybe he knew something," Bullock said. "He led me to Laila."
The Reality Of Motherhood
The Blind Side actress says she has only one major priority in life: her two kids.
"Everything is about them being okay, being in school, having what they need, their moments. I need to be there for every single moment they have. It's harder for me to leave them than I think it is for them when I leave," Sandra shared.
Sandra recently finished filming Oceans 8, but she says she hasn't worked much, and doesn't plan on it.
"I keep looking at them going, "I got nothing but you." You know, I told them where they can go to college. I said, "These are the places that I feel comfortable living. So you have these choices."
Sandra strongly believes that it was the spirit of her mother who led her to her children: "She had a hand in things."
She also admitted that motherhood has changed her life, giving her a newfound purpose:
"Being a mom I finally realize this is what I was supposed to do when I grow up."
Sandra's heartwarming story about motherhood was also accompanied with a powerful message:
"There's No Box"
"I hope me telling my story let people know that there's no end game."
Sandra wants women to know that there's no "window" or "box" that you can become a mother. This process can happen at any point in a woman's life, regardless of biology.
"There are hundreds of thousands of children that are ready to be your child. You're a forever parent the minute you accept the love of that child," Sandra said, tearing up.
"And it's amazing to me how we can take away people's happiness by telling them this is the box you have to stay in. There is no box."
Sandra inspired Hoda years ago to adopt, and I have no doubt that she has inspired thousands of other women in America.
Watch Sandra's full interview here.
Have you ever considered adopting a child?
For more stories about adoption, check out 12 celebrities who have spoken out about being adopted and how it's affected them.