Gary Coleman (1968-2010), child star of Diff’rent Strokes (1978-1985), was adopted as a baby.

Gary Wayne Coleman was born in Zion, Illinois and adopted as a baby by Edmonia Coleman, a nurse, and W.G. Coleman, a salesman for a pharmaceutical company.

Coleman was diagnosed at birth with several conditions including nephritis, a kidney disorder. His adult height was impacted by the treatment for nephritis – he was only 1.4 metres (4’ 8”) tall.

Coleman 1st appeared in a tv commercial for a Chicago bank. As a result of that commercial, he was cast in the sitcom Diff’rent Strokes as 1 of 2 African American brothers adopted by a rich white man after their mother dies.

After Diff’rent Strokes was cancelled, Coleman appeared occasionally in television series or in movies, often as a minor character, sometimes as himself.

Gary Coleman died from a head injury in 2010 at the age of 42.