Today, most know Madonna as the blonde bombshell pop star from the 1980s and 1990s and the artist behind songs like “Vogue,” “Like A Prayer,” and “Like A Virgin.”
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Born Madonna Louise Ciccone, the artist is now in her mid-60s and a mother to six children—four adopted and two biological—including Lourdes Leon, the fashion model and artist. Her other kids are Rocco, David, Mercy, Stella, and Estere.
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So, what is the full story behind Madonna’s motherhood? Well, let’s dive in here below and find out the many twists and turns.
Lourdes Leon
Born October 14, 1996, Lourdes Leon is the daughter of Madonna and ex-boyfriend Carlos Leon, the pop star’s then-fitness trainer. Not long after her birth, Madonna wrote the song “Little Star” about Leon on her award-winning album Ray of Light.
Madonna’s eldest child, Leon is today a fashion model, businesswoman, and singer. In 2022 she released her debut single “Lock&Key” from the EP Go. She has also been part of several prominent fashion campaigns, including for Rihanna’s Savage x Fenty line. She also co-created the clothing line Material Girl with Madonna, sold at Macy’s.
Known for modeling nearly nude for Dion Lee handbags, wearing a catsuit for Mugler, and a Jessica Rabbit-like dress at the 2023 Grammy Awards, Leon is well on her way to establishing herself in the world of American culture.
Rocco Ritchie
After splitting with Leon in 1997, Madonna got together with English filmmaker Guy Ritchie (Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch) and together they had a son, Rocco John Ritchie, born on August 11, 2000. Ritchie and Madonna married the next day.
In 2008 when Rocco was 8 years old, Madonna and Ritchie divorced; years later, a bitter custody battle over their son ensued after a falling out between Rocco and his mother. The former couple eventually settled out of court. Since then, Rocco has also become a model, even appearing in his mother’s “Bitch I’m Madonna” music video in 2015 and a live performance of it soon after on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.
David Banda
Born in the landlocked East African country of Malawi on September 24, 2005, David Banda came into Madonna’s life a year later.
In 2006, the pop star started the charitable organization Raising Malawi, soon after taking a trip to the region. It was then Madonna and Ritchie decided to adopt year-old David from an adoption agency in Lilongwe. But while Malawi demanded an adoptive parent live in the country for 18 months—which created something of a legal battle for Madonna—she was later granted the right to legally adopt David, who was suffering from pneumonia at the time after enduring malaria and tuberculosis, according to Madonna.
Since then, the young man has seemed to flourish in the U.S. In 2019, Madonna told British Vogue, “He’s the one I have the most in common with. I feel like he gets me; he has more of my DNA than any of my children so far.”
Chifundo “Mercy” James
Born in Malawi on January 22, 2006, Mercy James was adopted in 2009 from an orphanage in Blantyre, months after Madonna and Ritchie split. At first, Madonna’s application for adoption was denied, but then an appeal to its Supreme Court acquiesced.
In 2017, Madonna opened the Mercy James Institute for Pediatric Surgery and Intensive Care in Malawi. In 2022, as James celebrated her 16th birthday, Madonna wrote on Instagram that she’s “The kindest, most thoughtful, most magical girl on the planet! There is no one like you!”
Earlier this year, James joined Madonna onstage, playing piano with her mom and leaving fans wowed.
Twins Stella and Estere
Madonna adopted the twin sisters Stella and Estere from Malawi when they were both 5. Born on August 24, 2012, the two graduated elementary school earlier this summer.
Check out Stella and Estere freestyle dancing here below.
Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images
