Madonna

When: October 2006
What: Madonna traveled to Malawi and filed papers to adopt a boy she found in an orphanage there named David Banda. The seemingly selfless gesture still attracted criticism: Madonna found her actions questioned after it came to light that David wasn't exactly an orphan (he had a father who at first contested the adoption), and that Malawi had laws requiring residency in the nation before an adopted child could be moved. The adoption wasn't finalized until May 2008. Madonna also started a foundation called Raising Malawi and made a documentary about the plight of the country's orphans called I Am Because We Are.