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Madonna and her daughters Estere and Stella at the premiere of 'Deadpool & Wolverine'© WireImage for Disney

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Madonna reflects on her daughters' return to Malawi eight years after their adoption

Stella and Estere were adopted from Malawi in 2017


Maria Loreto
Senior Writer
MARCH 25, 2025 12:56 PM EDT

Madonna is sharing a rare look inside the life of her twin daughters, Estere and Stella. The pop icon is opening up about the charity work her family does, including her daughters' relationship with Malawi, the country where the two were born and adopted from in 2017.

Madonna and her daughters Estere and Stella at the premiere of 'Deadpool & Wolverine'© WireImage for Disney
Madonna and her daughters Estere and Stella at the premiere of 'Deadpool & Wolverine'

"The girls have a lot of empathy for vulnerable children in need of life-saving medical care and they are very grateful to be living in a country where medical care is readily available for people," said Madonna to PEOPLE

Madonna has been working for years with Raising Malawi, an organization she founded in 2006 with the hopes of providing healthcare, education, and more to kids in need in the area.

It was through this organization that she met her daughters, resulting in their adoption in February 2017. 

Madonna adopted her twin daughters in 2017© Grosby Group
Madonna adopted her twin daughters in 2017

“We are so much closer because we have a common goal, and that is making Malawi a better country for kids to grow up,” she said. 

Around that time, Madonna opened the first pediatric hospital in the country, called the Mercy James Centre

Madonna's decision to embrace adoption

Madonna often shares photos of her family life, showing some of the activities that she and her kids are up to© Madonna
Madonna often shares photos of her family life, showing some of the activities that she and her kids are up to

Over the years Madonna has opened up about her kids and her decision to adopt. In an interview with PEOPLE in 2017, she discussed the experience of adopting a child and knowing that you want to have them in your life and become their parent. “It’s inexplicable,” she said. 

“It’s like saying, ‘Why do you fall in love with the people you fall in love with?’ You look into the eyes of somebody, you feel their soul, you feel touched by them — that’s it.”

Madonna has two biological children, Lourdes, 28, and Rocco, 24, and five adopted ones, including David Banda and Mercy James, who are both 19. Stella and Stere are 12 and have joined their mother on plenty of trips and adventures, including various concert performances of Madonna's Celebration tour.

Madonna has six children: Lourdes, Rocco, David, Mercy, Stella and Estere© Penske Media via Getty Images
Madonna has six children: Lourdes, Rocco, David, Mercy, Stella and Estere

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