Philomena Lee

Philomena Lee
Born (1933-03-24) 24 March 1933 (age 91)
Newcastle West, County Limerick, Ireland
Occupation(s)Nurse (retired), activist
Known forSubject of The Lost Child of Philomena Lee
Spouses
John E. Libberton
​
​
(m. 1959; div. 1983)​
Philip Gibson
​
(m. 1984)​
Children3 (including Michael A. Hess)

Annie Philomena Lee (born 24 March 1933)[1] is an Irish woman whose life was chronicled in the 2009 book The Lost Child of Philomena Lee by Martin Sixsmith. The book was made into a film titled Philomena (2013), which was nominated for four Academy Awards, including Best Actress for Judi Dench's portrayal of Philomena, and Best Picture.

Lee is now an advocate and spokesperson for adoption rights.[2][3] Lee has created The Philomena Project in order to raise awareness about adoption laws and find ways to improve them. In February 2014, she met Pope Francis to discuss adoption policies.[4][5][6]

  1. ^ Sixsmith, Martin (2 July 2010). The Lost Child of Philomena Lee: A Mother, Her Son and a Fifty Year Search. Macmillan Publishers. p. 14. ISBN 978-0230744271.
  2. ^ "Philomena Lee to tell world conference about her forced adoption in Ireland". TheJournal.ie. 4 September 2014. Retrieved 6 September 2014.
  3. ^ Buckley, Dan (5 September 2014). "Philomena Lee: 'I can still see my son's little face'". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 6 September 2014.
  4. ^ Child, Ben (31 January 2014). "Philomena Lee starts campaign for law change on adoption rights". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 September 2014.
  5. ^ "What Is The Philomena Project?". The Philomena Project. Archived from the original on 7 September 2014. Retrieved 6 September 2014.
  6. ^ "Steve Coogan and Philomena Lee meet Pope Francis". BBC. 6 February 2014. Retrieved 6 September 2014.