Ten Grammy Awards and induction into the Hall of Fame in 1997, the Canadian-American singer Joni Mitchell can be described as one of the greatest songwriters ever. The creator of ‘Chelsea Morning‘ had most of her songs focus on social and philosophical ideals as well as themes of womanhood, joy, romance, and disillusionment.
The singer did not have an easy life. She came up with the decision to be a performer when she was bedridden due to polio. She had also dropped out of school and hung out with the rowdy set until she understood that she was getting close to the criminal world. The artist became pregnant at the age of 22. Unable to provide for her child, she had to give her up for adoption. And, the mother and daughter met after 30 years.
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The Truth Behind Joni Mitchell Giving Up Her Daughter For Adoption
It was in 1993 that the public came to know about the adoption story. It was sold to a tabloid by a friend of Joni Mitchell’s from her art school days back in the 1960s. The singer discovered that she was pregnant by her Calgary ex-boyfriend Brad MacMath in late 1964. “He left me three months pregnant in an attic room with no money and winter coming on and only a fireplace for heat. The spindles of the banister were gap-toothed—fuel for last winter’s occupants,” Mitchell recounted.
Soon after giving up her daughter for adoption, the singer found fame. But by then it was too late to get back the child. The grief and regret fueled her to create one of her successful albums, ‘Blue’. “Why I wrote those songs on Blue, the point is that soon after I’d given up my daughter for adoption I had a house and a car and I had the means and I’d become a public figure,” the singer shared.
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Meeting Her Daughter Again
The creative genius had always been in search of her daughter. Finally, it was in 1997 that the mother and daughter got a chance to meet. The daughter was named Kilauren Gibb by her birth family. Mitchell shared the elation she felt when she finally met her daughter. But the two haven’t had a smooth relationship. In 2001, police were called to Gibb’s residence as she had slapped her daughter. Joni later explained how her daughter had abandonment issues and that they were dealing with them. Though the singer says that the two have reconciled, it seems that there is a lot that the duo needs to work on.
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