Leigh Anne Tuohy

Leigh Anne Tuohy and her family

My Hero is Leigh Anne Tuohy. She’s my hero because she put others’ needs in front of hers, and sacrificed a lot of what she has for others sake. She adopted a son named Michael Oher, who beat the odds and became a college football star. After all the challenges Michael Oher faced, such as loss of a father, poverty, and orphanage and foster homes, Leigh Anne helped him through it to defy all odds.

Leigh Anne was born in Memphis, Tennessee, and she went to a Catholic school, the same one her son and daughter attended, Briarcrest. She then attended the University of Mississippi, where she met her future husband Sean, whom she married in 1981. They went on to have two kids. They found a young man on the side of the road in shorts and a t-shirt late one night and took him in, his name was Michael Oher.

Michael grew up with 12 other siblings and his father was murdered at an early age. Nobody really knows what happened to Michael in his early childhood because there was nobody around, and his mother doesn’t remember it because of her drug addiction. He was dumped into foster homes again and again and switched schools often. When he was 16, he was at a Catholic school and then was seen by Leigh Anne late one cold night in shorts and a t-shirt. She then took him in and eventually saw him as a son, finally adopting him.

Leigh Anne currently lives in Memphis, Tennessee, with her husband Sean. She has two kids that were born through her and her husband, named Sean Jr. and Collins. They later adopted Michael, who they loved so much they [Leigh Anne and Sean] called him “our child”.

Leigh Anne is important to me because she has taught me to not judge a book by its cover and to always have an open heart. She has made a difference in my life because she was so loving and caring to others.