She was raised not knowing her birth mother was a global music icon. Over thirty years after being placed for adoption, she uncovered the truth β and what followed was an extraordinary reunion that rewrote both their lives.
This woman’s mother is one of the most revered singer-songwriters of her time β a visionary whose poetic lyrics and distinct voice have left an indelible mark on music history. With unforgettable tracks like “Both Sides Now” and “Woodstock,” her artistry has stood the test of time.
However, before the world knew her name, this musical star was a struggling art student, unwed, and pregnant at a time when such circumstances brought immense shame. It would take thirty-two years β and a series of twists no one could have predicted β for mother and daughter to finally find each other.
In 1965, this woman’s birth mother, known back then as Roberta Joan Anderson, was a twenty-year-old student at the Alberta College of Art in Calgary, western Canada.
Her biological grandfather worked as a grocery store manager, while her biological grandmother was a teacher in Saskatchewan. That year, her biological mom found herself pregnant by a fellow art student who was unwilling to settle down.
With abortion off the table and no support from her family, the future musical star kept the pregnancy a secret. “The main thing at the time was to conceal it. The scandal was so intense. A daughter could do nothing more disgraceful,” she later said, adding:
After giving birth in a Toronto hospital, this woman’s mother endured a harsh and unforgiving system. Due to complications, she stayed in the hospital for ten days and spent that time with the baby she named Kelly Dale Anderson.
“I have no money. I have no home. I have no job. When I leave the hospital, I have no roof over my head,” this woman’s mother said. Despite her desperation, she tried to find a way to keep her child.
To create a family unit, she entered what she would later call “a marriage of convenience” with American folk singer Chuck Mitchell. He also worked in the entertainment industry before the pair started performing together and became friends, then lovers.
This woman’s mother planned to raise her with Chuck and build a life in Detroit. But within a month, both she and the folk singer realized the foundation was too shaky.
The famous singer-songwriter admitted that after marrying Chuck, he wasn’t comfortable raising another man’s child; as a result, she felt betrayed by her husband and started working independently before divorcing him.
“One month into the marriage, he chickened out, and I chickened out. The marriage had no basis, except to provide a home for the baby,” the singer-songwriter revealed.
With the adoption agency pressuring her to act quickly, she made the heartbreaking decision to sign Kelly Dale over. “It says in the papers that at the hearing I became emotional, which I’m sure I did. I don’t remember any of this. I blocked it all away,” this woman’s mother shared.
As the years passed, she found solace in the belief that she did the right thing. “I gambled,” she later reflected. “I took what was behind the curtains. I gambled that the people who came forward to take this child wanted this child and felt like there was a hole in their life without this child.”
Roughly three years after the adoption, this woman’s mother’s music career began to take off. Her 1968 debut album, “Song to a Seagull,” marked her arrival.
By the following year, her song “Both Sides Now” became a hit for Judy Collins. She released “Clouds,” which also featured “Chelsea Morning.” Although she had made peace with her decision, the memory of her daughter often surfaced unexpectedly. She worried about the baby’s health, recalling her poor diet during pregnancy. “It comes to you at funny times, like when a friend’s child falls off a bike,” this woman’s famous mother revealed. Over the years, this woman’s mother made attempts to find her daughter but met dead ends. Then, four years before their eventual reunion, a roommate from her mother’s art school days sold the adoption story to a tabloid. “It hurt like hell,” the musical star admitted. However, the betrayal led to widespread publicity that ultimately changed everything. “Impostors came out of the woodwork,” she said.
One waitress named Kelly even went home and asked her mother if she had been adopted. Fortunately, the real Kelly Dale β now known as Kilauren Gibb β was already searching too. At twenty-seven and pregnant herself, Kilauren learned from her adoptive parents that she had been adopted. She reached out to Canada’s Children’s Aid and was placed on a waiting list. On January 31, she received a package containing general information about her birth parents.
