Why Sandra Bullock Kept Her Daughter's Adoption Private

The actress opens up about protecting her little girl.

ByABC News
December 2, 2015, 12:29 PM

— -- Sandra Bullock broke the news to the world today that she had adopted another child, a little girl, Laila, 3.

Laila joins Bullock's son Louis, 5, and the Oscar winner explained why she kept the latest adoption a secret until now.

“You feel it’s very much like witness protection,” Bullock, 51, told People magazine of keeping everything under wraps. In fact, the actress fostered Laila for some time and was worried the adoption might not be finalized if revealed too early.

“Unbeknownst to me, a photographer had followed us and taken a photo of us," Bullock said of one instance. "The next day, I learned that a photo of her was being shopped around for sale to every outlet around the world. I had promised and legally agreed to protect her from something like this, and here I was chasing down lawyers -- having them, begging them to keep her safe."

She continued, "the last thing I wanted was to bring more harm to her because of the nature of my job."

In another portion of the interview with People that was published today, Bullock said now that Laila's adoption is complete, "there’s no doubt in my mind that she was supposed to be here."

“I knew she was scared, and all I wanted was for her to know Louis and I weren’t going anywhere," Bullock said, adding that her two kids are already very close.