Vanessa Ray, renowned for her role as Officer Eddie Janko on Blue Bloods, and her husband Landon Beard, have joyously welcomed a new addition to their family through adoption. The couple embraced parenthood with the arrival of their baby boy, Isaac Ray Beard, born on November 7.
The decision to adopt was deeply influenced by Ray’s experiences while filming the police drama. In a touching revelation, she shared, “I was at work one day, honestly I was about to do a family dinner, and I just had this overwhelming sensation of family and what I love about our life and all of these things.”
Moved by this profound moment, Ray reached out to her husband, expressing, “I think we’re supposed to be parents” and suggested adoption. One of the first people she confided in was her Blue Bloods co-star Bridget Moynahan, who connected Ray with Peter Hermann, offering invaluable guidance as Hermann and his wife Mariska Hargitay had navigated the adoption process.
Ray and Beard embarked on the adoption journey, seeking advice from Hermann and filling out extensive paperwork. Remarkably, within a week of posting their request on an adoption website, they were matched with a potential birth mother, and Isaac was born just three weeks later.
While the rapidity of the process caught them off guard, Ray credits her friends for rallying to help prepare for the new arrival. The Blue Bloods actress expressed gratitude, saying, “We had everything that we needed from our friends. We didn’t have to buy anything. We really didn’t right away, at least for the first three months.”
Isaac, born just before the strike’s end, has already become a cherished part of the Blue Bloods family, meeting cast members including Will Estes, Bridget Moynahan, Donnie Wahlberg, Marisa Ramirez, and Tom Selleck. Ray happily shared, “He’s already a real part of the family.”
