Kristen Bell shares wedding post about her ‘surrogate’ daughter. Who is Hannah Anderson?

Fans of Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard are familiar with their daughters Lincoln and Delta. But have you heard of Hannah Anderson?

“Some kids you have by birth. Others you find,” Bell began an Instagram post on Sept. 18. “You see this seed and can instantly picture the beautiful garden they will become. I was lucky enough to find Hannah.”

“She came into our lives at 16, and even then she was an incredibly bright light,” the actor continued. “She served as a surrogate big sister to our girls, singing them to sleep on her guitar when they were babies. Holding space for her in our family has been such a gift to all of us.”

"We are honored to be your LA parents, @urfavesister, and Congrats on the next chapter of your life beginning," Bell added.

In her post, Bell included photos and videos from Anderson’s wedding that was held in Portland, Oregon, on Sept. 16. Lincoln, 10, and Delta, 8, who were flower girls, are shown in matching white dresses with blue bows in their hair. Bell also shared a clip of Shepard giving the bride a lap dance, which some commenters found inappropriate. But Anderson loved it.

"My favorite wedding gift," she wrote on her Instagram Story.

Shepard and Anderson forged an online friendship after he discovered her music on YouTube. At the time, Anderson was a high school student in Houston, Texas and she had recorded a cover of the song “Blood” by Middle East.

“I wept. I listened it it over and over again,” Shepard told Anderson when she appeared on his “Armchair Expert” podcast in 2018. “Then I came home and I told Kristen, ‘Oh my God, you have to watch this girl sing.'"

“I also wept when I saw it,” Bell replied. “It was so moving and sincere and honest and lovely.”

Shepard said that he and Anderson became “Twitter friends.” A few years later, when Anderson was in California to compete on “American Idol,” she reached out to Shepard to let him know that she was in town.

“I sent you a direct message, ‘Hi, I’m here. Do you want to meet me?’” Anderson recalled on the podcast episode.

Bell was quick to note that her husband had also developed an online relationship with the then-teen's parents.

Five hours later, Shepard received a “sad” update from Anderson: She had already been voted off "American Idol" and would be going back to Texas. Shepard and Bell insisted that Anderson join them for pizza before heading home.

“So you came over and then you were generous enough to play ‘Blood’ for us in the living room. And again I cried,” Shepard remembered.

“It was so funny and cute. You were beside yourself that she was in our living room, and you kept saying, ‘I manifested this,’” Bell quipped.

Anderson now lives in Los Angeles and performs under the name "Sister." In March 2020, when two of Anderson's shows were canceled due to the pandemic, Bell invited her to perform live on her Instagram.

The concert was a success. As one person wrote on Twitter, "@KristenBell just did the most beautiful live stream concert with @urfavesister and let me just tell ya, I am in TEARS. Beautiful people sharing beautiful music is good for my heart."

This article was originally published on TODAY.com