Madonna Shares Birthday Tribute to 'Little Star' Daughter Lourdes Leon

Pop icon Madonna paid tribute to her "little star" — daughter Lourdes Leon — on her 26th birthday.

In a post on Oct. 14, Madonna celebrated her oldest child.

"Happy Birthday Lourdes Maria!" she captioned a video on Instagram. "Im 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 ?????????? "

The video features sweet photos of Leon with her famous mom over the years, set to the tune of Madonna's 1998 song, "Little Star."

Speaking to Oprah Winfrey that same year while promoting her album "Ray of Light," she confirmed the song was written in honor of her daughter.

The ethereal song's chorus encourages listeners to "follow your heart and you’ll be fine/follow your dreams and take all of the time that you need."

"I feel like when my daughter was born, I was born again," she told Winfrey at the time. "I look at life with a new set of eyes."

Leon would go on to become one of six children. Madonna is also mom to Rocco, 22, David, 17, Mercy, 16, and twins Estere and Stella, both 10.

In recent years, Leon has worked as a model and recently debuted her first single. She performs electronica music under the name Lolahol, which seems to be a play on her nickname, Lola.

In 2021, Leon confirmed in Interview Magazine that she is "fiercely protective" of her famous mom. In an interview with her aunt Debi Mazar, the two recalled an incident in Italy when someone approached Leon to ask if she was Madonna's daughter and she asked, "What's your mother's name?"

"It’s really funny to me. People are always really taken aback when I say that, because it’s like, 'B-----, don’t talk about my mom if you don’t want me to talk about your mom. You want to call my mom a w----? OK, your mom is a w----.'" Leon said. "If you feel like you have the right to comment on my mother, then I’m going to do the same to you."

This article was originally published on TODAY.com