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Joni Mitchell Finds Daughter Print-ready version

by Marcus Errico
E! Online
April 3, 1997

It was a family reunion of sorts for singer Joni Mitchell, who has tracked down the daughter she gave up for adoption more than 30 years ago. "Apparently her daughter was looking for her, too, so there's sort of a fairytale ending," Mitchell's dad, Bill Anderson, told the Associated Press.

Anderson would not reveal the name of his granddaughter, who reunited with Mitchell 10 days ago. But he did say that there was a family resemblance between mother and child. "We've seen pictures, and you can see the similarities."

The legendary folk chanteuse announced in December that she was desperately trying to find her long, lost daughter. Mitchell had the baby--whom she named Kelly--in Toronto in 1965, with photographer Brad McMath. Neither McMath nor Mitchell had seen their daughter since giving her up for adoption shortly after birth.

The 53-year-old Mitchell, a member of both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame, said she had some pressing reasons to find her child. The singer wanted her now elderly parents to have a chance to meet their granddaughter--an opportunity they will now have in coming weeks. "We're quite happy. (She and Joni) have been together, and we're looking forward to meeting her later," Anderson said.

Mitchell also wanted to warn her now 32-year-old daughter of potential health threats. At age 9, Mitchell was stricken with polio and doctors told her she would never walk again. Despite overcoming the childhood affliction, Mitchell now suffers from a related neurological disorder called post-polio syndome.

A spokeswoman for Mitchell's record label, Reprise Records, said the singer would not issue a formal statement until next week.

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Added to Library on December 31, 2001. (4378)

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