Madonna's 6 children – custody battle, adoption drama and following in her footsteps
Queen of Pop Madonna has six children Lourdes Leon, 28, Rocco Ritchie, 25, David Banda,19, Mercy James, 19, and twins Stella and Estere Ciccone, 12.
(Image: Instagram)While Madonna may be a global icon and is recognised as the Queen of Pop her day job pales in comparison to her role as a mother. The star, 67, has two sons and four daughters in total with four of her brood being adopted. In January 2023 the star told Vanity Fair motherhood "has been the most difficult, the hardest battle". She said: "Today I am still struggling to understand how to be a mother and do my job. Because, whoever you are, having children and raising them is a work of art. And no one gives you a manual. You have to learn from mistakes. It is a profession that requires a lot of time. And it is exhausting because there is never rest."
In June that same year her offspring rallied around when she found herself hospitalised with a "serious bacterial infection". Following her recovery she took to Instagram to express her gratitude. “As a mother, you can really get caught up in the needs of your children and the seemingly endless giving. But when the chips were down, my children really showed up for me. I saw a side to them I had never seen before. It made all the difference,” the material girl wrote.
But just who are Madonna's children and what do they all do? Express.co.uk has everything you need to know.
Madonna's eldest child was the result of her relationship with fitness trainer Carlos Leon. The music icon had discussed her desire to be a mother for years and was 38 when she welcomed her daughter. As a child she was the apple of her mother's eye and Madonna wrote the song Little Star, on her 1998 Grammy-winning album Ray of Light, for her.
Now fully grown Lourdes is a successful model who has worked for Rihanna's Savage x Fenty line, Burberry, Marc Jacobs, Swarovski and Mugler to name just a few, and has been featured in Vogue and Vanity Fair. She also followed in her mother's footsteps in August 2022, with the release of her debut single "Lock&Key."
While she admits Madonna was "a control freak" when she was a child she says she has since come to admire "how empowering to other women and ahead of her time she has always been."
Madonna's eldest son's father is her ex-husband, director Guy Ritchie, to whom she was married from 2000 until 2008.
They have had their ups and downs over the years and for a time he decided he wanted to live with his father in London, which led to a custody battle with Guy. However in 2012 he told talk show host Ellen DeGeneres: "She's a good mother … She's very strict but in a good way."
Nowadays Rocco is forging a career as an artist having also dabbled in acting and modelling. The most recent exhibition of his work took place in Miami with Madonna, revealing the "collection of paintings called ‘Pack A Punch’ [were] inspired by Muay Thai fighters."
(Image: Getty)
The first child to be adopted by Madonna was David Banda. In 2006 she and then husband Guy Ritchie decided to adopt the then 1-year-old from Home of Hope, an orphanage in the capital city of Lilongwe. It was a complex process as Malawi requires adoptive parents to live in the country for at least 18 months to become a resident, and residency is a prerequisite to legal adoption. The adoption was finally approved on May 28, 2008.
The star has always claimed to have a special bond with her son, and 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."
David appears to be following in his mother's footsteps and has frequently featured in her performances in recent years. His sense of style has also drawn attention and Madonna adressed this during an August 2022 appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
"He can put on any outfit and look swag as you know what," she said. "It's really irritating. He wears my clothes and looks better in them. He can even wear a dress and look butch."
(Image: Getty)
Madonna's second daughter came into her life a year after her divorce from Guy Ritchie. She applied to adopt Chifundo "Mercy" James as a single mother from an orphanage in Blantyre, Malawi in May 2009. The High Court initially rejected her application, but she was later approved to adopt the child on June 12, 2009.
In July 2017, Madonna paid tribute to her daughter when she named a hospital after her when she opened the Mercy James Institute for Pediatric Surgery and Intensive Care, the first pediatric surgery and intensive care center in Malawi.
Madonna gaave an insight into Mercy's personality when she paid tribute to her on her 16th birthday. Taking to Instagram she wrote: "Happy Birthday Chifundo Mercy James. The kindest, most thoughtful, most magical girl on the planet! There is no one like you!"
Mercy is a talented pianist and has performed on stage with her mother during her Celebration Tour.
(Image: Getty)
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