View gallery

Madonna is celebrating her oldest daughter today! The Vogue singer took to Instagram on Lourdes Leon‘s 26th birthday to gush over her stunning first child. “Happy Birthday Lourdes Maria!” she wrote alongside a row of celebratory emojis. “I’m so Proud of the Woman, Artist, Human—-You have Become! Never forget who you are, little STAR…….shining brighter then all the Stars in the Sky @lourdesleon.” The pop icon completed the post with a row of star emojis. The loving caption accompanied a video slide show of pics, beginning with a stunning black and white headshot of professional model Lourdes. The collection was accompanied to her song “Little Star” and included several pics of Madonna snuggling her growing daughter through the years.

Plenty of the Queen of Pop’s 18.5 million followers took to the comments section to gush over Lourdes’ big day and Madge’s heartfelt comments. “Our little star. Your millions of gay god fathers wish you a very happy birthday, Lourdes. It’s been a joy watching you grow up,” quipped on follower, while another wrote, “She’s so beautiful and talented! You did good Momma! Happy Birthday Lourdes!” A third reacted, “The Apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.” Julia Fox also jumped into the discussion, writing, “Happy birthday lola baby !!!!” alongside a lipstick kiss emoji.

Madonna welcomed Lourdes on October 14, 1996, with then partner, fitness trainer Carlos Leon. She is the oldest of Madonna’s six children, including little brothers Rocco Ritchie, 22, David Banda, 17, and sisters Mercy James, 17, and twins Stella and Estere Ciccone, 10. Lourdes opened up in an interview in October of 2021 about how she was raised, insisting that she didn’t get any “handouts” during her upbringing with the massive star.

“We don’t get any handouts in my family,” she told Interview magazine for an article published on her 25th birthday. “Obviously, I grew up with extreme privilege. There’s no denying that. But I think my mom saw all these other kids of famous people, and she was like, ‘My kids are not going to be like this.’” Lourdes also said she had been entirely self-sufficient, paying for her own college and apartment.