India’s first Miss Universe, Sushmita Sen, had to go to court to adopt her daughter, Renee, at the age of 21. She later gained custody of her daughter after inheriting her father’s estate.
Published: November 19, 2025 8:27 AM IST
Bollywood actress Sushmita Sen is celebrating her 50th birthday on November 19th. India’s first Miss Universe is unmarried and lives a luxurious life with her two daughters. Sushmita is often in the news for both her professional and personal life. In particular, the legal battle she faced during the adoption process for her daughter, Renee Sen, is frequently mentioned. She herself revealed that she had to go to court to adopt her first daughter, and that her father supported her during that time.
The actress had to go to court for her daughter
Sushmita Sen has spoken about the lengthy process of adopting her daughter, Renee, in several interviews. She spoke openly about the lengthy court battle and how her father decided to sign over his assets to her in order to appear financially strong enough to support her adopted daughter. Sushmita Sen has spoken openly about this matter and explained how difficult it was for her. At the age of 21, she was facing legal battles.
Justice was delivered after 4 years
In a conversation with Dr. Sheen Gurib on his YouTube channel, Sushmita Sen recounted how the legal battle to adopt her daughter, Renee, lasted from the age of 21 to 24. She candidly explained that she was constantly in fear, unsure of the court’s decision. “When I became legally adult at 21, I knew this was what I wanted to do,” she said. “So, from the age of 21 to 24, the legal battle began. Once it started, at least my daughter was with me in foster care, but you constantly live with the trauma of, ‘What if the family court doesn’t rule in my favor? They’ll take the child back, and now this child is calling me mother.’ I had a plan.”
How did Sushmita Sen get custody of her daughter?
The actress further spoke about her father and how she found this happiness because of his support. Talking about how the court asked her father to show “financial support” to support her child, Sushmita Sen said, “I am very proud of my father. I have my children because of him, in a country where adopting a child requires either a father or a father figure. The court told him that he had to demonstrate a strong financial position to support my child and that he had to sign over half of his property. But my father told the court, ‘I am not a very rich man, so even if you take half of it, it won’t matter. I have come to sign over everything I own to him without any conditions.’”
After Renee, she adopted a second daughter
Sushmita Sen further explained how the court warned her father that, as a single mother, she would never find a husband. However, the turning point came when her father stated that he hadn’t raised his daughter to be anyone’s wife. The actress concluded by saying that after the difficult path of adopting her first child, Renee, the process became easier the second time around when she adopted Alisah.
