Redeem now - Princess Sarah Culberson of Bumpe, Sierra Leone, was adopted and raised by an American family.
- She spoke to Insider about how a search for her biological parents led her to discover she's a royal.
- Disney is in the early stages of turning her memoir, "A Princess Found," into a movie.
Princess Sarah Culberson was born to an African man and a white American woman in April 1976, and was placed in foster care as an infant before she was adopted by Jim and Judy Culberson, a white family living in Morgantown, West Virginia.
This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. Have an account? Log in.Culberson — a princess of Mende tribe of Bumpe, Sierra Leone — had no idea she was African royalty until she was 28, when she had a conversation with a friend that changed her life forever.
"My friend said, 'Where are you holding back in your life?' Culberson told Insider. "I said, 'I'm terrified to find my birth father."
Culberson, 45, said her adoptive family surrounded her with unconditional love, but she had lingering questions about her identity. She started searching for her birth mother at 21 but learned she died of cancer 10 years earlier. A question mark remained about her birth father.
Culberson said she took her friend's suggestion and hired a private investigator for $25, who found a promising lead after three hours. The investigator suggested Culberson send a letter.
"I didn't expect to hear from anybody," Culberson said. "Four days later, I got a phone call."
The woman who called Culberson was her father's sister, who lived in Maryland. Culberson said her uncle took the phone and explained that her biological father is chief of the royal family of the Mende tribe.
"He says, 'Do you know who you are?'" Culberson told Insider. "'Your great-grandfather was a paramount chief. You are a princess.'"
After talking with her uncle, Culberson said she spoke on the phone with her birth father, Joseph Konia Kposowa.
"The first thing he said was, 'Please forgive me. I didn't know how to find you after you were placed in adoption,'" Culberson said.
Culberson traveled to Bumpe six months later and was greeted by hundreds of people in a homecoming celebration that lasted several days.
Princess Sarah inherited responsibility as a royal
Culberson said that when she arrived in Bumpe in 2004, Sierra Leone was recovering from an 11-year civil war. Schools were reduced to rubble, homes were destroyed, and many people were missing limbs. She added that in her time as a royal, Bumpe has endured natural disasters and the 2014-2016 Ebola outbreak, and the city has felt the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
"All I knew was Disney princesses or the Queen of England," Culberson told Insider. "I learned that being a princess is about being committed to and responsible for your community."
Culberson launched the nonprofit organization Sierra Leone Rising, which has rebuilt Bumpe High School, created Mask on Africa, installed solar lanterns, and helped distribute clean drinking water.
Since embracing her royal roots, Culberson says she's felt 'grounded'
More than a decade since Culberson discovered her royal roots, Disney is looking to make a movie based on her memoir, "A Princess Found," produced by Stephanie Allain. A Disney spokesperson told CNN in June that it's "in the early phase of development."
Culberson told Insider that embracing her royal heritage has "grounded" her. She encourages people wanting to connect with their roots to "be gracious" with themselves.
"It's so powerful for people of color, specifically African Americans, to see our lineage and know it doesn't start with slavery," Culberson said.
"I had a lot of preconceived notions," Culberson continued. "When we give ourselves the opportunity to step away from that, it gives us freedom and other people freedom to show up as who they are."
Learn more about Culberson on her website.
Representatives for Disney did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
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