Showbiz

Denise Richards: 'New baby has brought so much joy'

Published Wednesday, Jul 20 2011, 19:31 BST | By Tara Fowler | Add comment

Denise Richards has declared that she is thrilled to have adopted a child.

The Wild Things actress announced that she had adopted a newborn baby girl named Eloise Joni from the US in late June. Richards said that she is happy that she made the decision to adopt.

"She's brought so much joy, and I love her to pieces," Richards told Us Weekly. "She loves being hugged and held. She's such a beautiful little baby and little soul."

Richards went on to talk about the difficulties involved in the adoption process.

"Some people think if a celebrity wants a baby, they get one the next day," Richards said. "The adoption took two years, and there were times I felt discouraged, times when I got close to adopting a baby and it fell through. But I knew the right baby would find us."

The 40-year-old reportedly had been considering adoption for a while following long discussions with her mother, who died in 2007.

Richards has two other daughters, 7-year-old Sam and 6-year-old Lola, with ex-husband Charlie Sheen.