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In addition to pop hits including ‘Like A Virgin’ and ‘Material Girl’, Madonna has sung numerous chart-topping hits regarding children, childbirth, and “keeping my baby.” Clearly the queen of pop knows what it means to be a mother, and her fans have continued to cheer her on throughout her journey.
The 66-year-old material girl is a proud mother to Lourdes Leon, 27, Rocco Ritchie, 24, David Banda, 18, Mercy James, 18, and twins Stella and Estere, 11.
TOPSHOT – US Pop Star Madonna (2nd L) sits with her biological and adopted children (L to R) David Banda, Lourdes, Mercy James, and Rocco at Mkoko Primary School, one of the schools Madonna’s Raising Malawi organization has built jointly with US organization BuildOn, during the visit of Madonna on April 2, 2013 in the region of Kasungu, central Malawi. Madonna, said to be the single largest international philanthropic donor to Malawi, also supports childcare in the country which is home to nearly a million children orphaned by AIDS. She arrived in Malawi on March 31 with the two children she adopted from the small landlocked African country. Get the inside scoop on her six kids.
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Here’s the scoop on the six:
Lourdes Leon
Madonna and Carlos Leon, her fitness trainer at the time, welcomed Lourdes on October 14, 1996, in Los Angeles. So inspired by her new little one, according to PEOPLE, Madonna wrote “Little Star,” a song on her 1998 Grammy-winning album Ray of Light, in her honor.
Lourdes — who dated Timothée Chalamet in high school — is now a successful fashion icon, modeling for such iconic brands as Rihanna’s Savage x Fenty line, Burberry, Marc Jacobs, Swarovski, and Mugler.
These days, the mother and daughter duo have been told they embody each other, especially Lourdes, who is consistently seen on the red carpet with borrowed items from his Mom’s closet.
Rocco Ritchie
Rocco, son of Madonna and English film director, Guy Ritchie, was born on August 11, 2000. After the two divorced in 2008, they decided to share custody of Rocco, who has been a frequent road companion to the pop star and director their entire life as she has been on and off tour.
While on Good Morning America in 2013, the Crazy for You singer gushed that her eldest son ” [is] the showboat in the family.”
In 2015, according to PEOPLE, the Royal Drawing School alum decided to move to London full time to be closer to his father. “Moving to London had a huge effect on me,” he told Vogue Hong Kong in 2022. “It was the perfect moment; I was shifting gears from a teenage boy to a young man, and it pushed me to focus on my passion but to also get out of my comfort zone.”
David Banda
In October 2006, Madonna adopted David Banda from the Home of Hope orphanage in Lilongwe, Malawi.
Paying tribute to David on Instagram in for his 18th birthday in 2023, the pop star wrote, “It is impossible to believe that almost 18 years have gone by since We met you in Mchinji at Home of Hope Orphanage! Your name means ‘Speak the truth’! I couldn’t think of a better name for an artist! You are growing into a truly remarkable human being! We are all so proud or you!”
Mercy James
Madonna returned to Malawi in 2009 to adopt her daughter, Mercy James, born January 22, 2006.
The Michigan native told NBC News, “When I had my daughter, people accused me that I did it as a publicity stunt, I expected that. I didn’t expect to be accused of kidnapping, or of doing something illegal. I didn’t expect to be demonized.”
The League of Their Own icon also took to her Instagram when the budding gymnast turned 16 in 2022, sharing, “Happy Birthday Chifundo Mercy James! ! The Kindest, Most thoughtful, most Magical Girl on the Planet! !!!!!!!.”
Stella Ciccone and Estere Ciccone
After meeting the twins at the same orphanage where she adopted David, the singer-songwriter adopted 4-year-old twins Estere and Stella from Malawi in February 2017.
The girls, now deep into pre-teen years, much like their big brother Rocco, are brought around the world with their mother, from charitable events in their home country of Malawi to raise money for charitable ventures to Hollywood movie premiers, including the July 23 opening of Deadpool & Wolverine.