There’s a new Gerber baby in town, and she is beyond adorable! Magnolia Earl, who will celebrate her first birthday on May 9, was selected as the Gerber Baby for 2020. Although Magnolia is the definition of sweet, her win is historical for a different reason: she’s the first-ever adopted baby to be featured in the campaign since it began in 1928.
Magnolia’s parents, Courtney and Russell Earl, officially adopted Magnolia last year after waiting six months. Magnolia also has two older sisters, Whitney, 12, and Charlotte, 8, who is also adopted.
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“This is incredible,” Courtney told Today. “It means that when people see our families, or if you see a family that doesn’t necessarily match, that you don’t have to question the belonging of anybody in that family.”
Russell agreed, adding that, “A family is built on love. We may all look different, but we’re one family.”
“A family is built on love. We may all look different, but we’re one family.”
On Thursday, Courtney alerted Magnolia’s birth parents to the fact that she was a finalist in the competition. “We celebrate adoption in our family every single day,” Courtney said. “The real [heroes] in this story are Magnolia’s birth parents. They chose her life, and they sent her on this incredible journey. If you could hear the joy in their voice of how proud they are of this little girl. Together with them and our community and our family, we all t love this baby girl so much.”
Magnolia joins an impressive line of “firsts” for Gerber. Lucas Warren was the first child with Down syndrome to ever grace the campaign in 2018 and Kairi Yang – the first baby of Hmong descent to be selected – beat out 540,000 contestants to win the title last year.
“At Gerber, we have always recognized that every baby is a Gerber baby,” the company said it a statement. “In the 10 years we have hosted Photo Search, we have been proud to feature babies of diverse backgrounds. This year is no exception by featuring Magnolia, our first adopted Gerber Spokesbaby.”
As the winner, Magnolia will be featured on the brand’s social media channels and marketing campaigns for a full year. Additionally, her family will receive a $25,000 prize, $1,000 of clothes from Gerber Childrenswear, $1,000 from Walmart, and free phones with a year of unlimited service from Verizon. Congrats, Magnolia!
