Being multi-racial, there has been lots of talk about Tiger Woods’ background. Never really sure how to classify him, as everybody seems to want to use labels for everyone, people started questioning his origins. Was Tiger Woods adopted?
Tiger Woods wasn’t adopted. He was born Eldrick Tont Woods to Earl and Kultida Woods in Cypress, California at the end of December 1975. He explains that he sees himself as Cablinasian. A name he derived to cover the heritage he has; Caucasian, Black, Indian and Asian.
His mother named him Eldrick so he could have a name that started and ended with the initials of both his parents. His middle name, Tont, is a common name in the Thai culture, of which his mother hails. His nickname came from his father, who wanted to honor one of his friends who also had the nickname Tiger.
Mr. and Mrs. Woods
Not only is Tiger, himself, multi-racial, but so were both of his parents. His father is of African American, Native American, and Chinese descent. Born and raised in the United States, Earl went to college in Kansas State, playing baseball well enough to garner the interest of the top team in the Negro Leagues. Earl turned down the offer, however, opting to finish school instead, and then enrolled in the military.
It was during Earl’s time in the military that would later play a big part in Tiger Woods’ life, mainly him being born. Earl met Kultida Punsawad, who is of Thai, Chinese, and Dutch descent, while he was on a tour of duty in Vietnam. It was during his time in the military that he also met his friend that Tiger would be named after.
Tiger was the only child born to Earl and Kultida, though Earl had other children from a previous marriage. Originally Earl didn’t want any more children, but in Thai tradition, it required he and Kultida to have a child, so they did.
Adoption in the United States
While Tiger Woods wasn’t adopted, there are a lot of children out there that are looking for forever homes. According to the Adoption Network, there are currently 480,000 children in the foster care system in the United States. An unproportionate amount of those children are of African American heritage.
More than 60% of children in the system spend 2 to 5 years being fostered before they get adopted, and some never get adopted. International adoptions are still prevalent, though the numbers appear to be declining as the regulations surrounding them are tightening. In 2006 there were over 20,000 international adoptions, and in 2018 that number dropped to just over 4,000.
Around 140,000 American children are adopted each year in the United States, with the average age of children waiting to be adopted is 8 years old. Around 2% of the American population has adopted, while over 33% have thought about it.
Tiger’s Family
Tiger Woods has always been close with both of his parents, who remained married, up until his father’s death in 2006. Tiger didn’t take his father’s death very well, as one would imagine. There are a lot of people who speculated that that was when his life started going downhill, which would eventually lead him to scandal, divorce, and dropped sponsorships.
Tiger has 2 half-brothers and a half-sister from his father’s first marriage, before meeting Kultida. His half-siblings appear to be multi-racial as well.
From 2004 to 2010 Tiger was married to Swede Elin Nordegren. During their marriage, they had two children together, a daughter named Sam, and a son named Charlie. Both kids split their time these days between Mom and Dad, keeping safe during the pandemic. Tiger and Elin have been able to repair their relationship to the point the two are great friends which is fantastic news for their kids.