US singer Madonna and her husband Guy Ritchie adopted a 12-month-old baby boy from Malawi in October amid huge controversy over the speed and legality of the process -- and the role of the child's natural father.

Madonna(48) was given interim custody of David Banda after she had been in impoverished Malawi for barely two weeks. The baby was flown to Britain soon after.

David's father, Yohane Banda, was quoted as saying he did not realise his son would be taken out of the country for good.

But Banda, who lives in a village with no school, running water or electricity, has recently said he now supports the adoption.

"I know Madonna loves the child," he said. "I want to encourage her to keep on loving David."

The 18-month custody order that allowed Madonna to take David out of Malawi has sparked heated debate about adoption laws in a country where the number of orphans has surged as a result of Aids.

A legal challenge is now underway from rights groups who claim that existing legislation in Malawi does not allow for international adoption.

Ewan McGregor (35) and his wife Eve Mavrakis adopted a four-year-old girl from Mongolia last year in far less public circumstances.

McGregor, who rose to fame starring in the 1996 film 'Trainspotting', met the girl, reportedly called Jamiyan, during his 2004 round-the-world motorcycle trip.

She was living in a shelter for homeless children in the Mongolian capital Ulan Bator when McGregor visited in his role as a UN goodwill ambassador.

The adoption process may have been completed with little media attention, but it was reportedly a bureaucratic struggle for McGregor and his wife, who also have two biological daughters.

Meg Ryan, star of 'When Harry Met Sally', adopted a baby daughter from China early last year after 10 years of trying to adopt from the United States and India.

Her battle might be even more difficult today as Ryan, who is divorced, adopted Daisy True, as she called her daughter, before China introduced new rules favouring married couples.

Actress Mia Farrow adopted several foreign children between the 1970s and 1990s, including Soon-Yi Previn from South Korea.

Soon-Yi became notorious when she married Woody Allen, who had been Farrow's long-term partner after Farrow's marriage to Andre Previn.

Another actress who has adopted a foreign child is Frances McDormand, star of 'Fargo', who has an 11-year-old son from Paraguay.

Jolie is familiar with the particular challenges of bringing up adopted foreign children as she already has a five-year-old son, Maddox, from Cambodia, and a two-year-old daughter, Zahara, from Ethiopia.

Other celebrities who have adopted children include Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman, who are now divorced, Sharon Stone, and Steven Spielberg.

AFP