“Growing up with a mother like me is a challenge,” Madonna said in the translated interview with Vanity Fair. Madonna, 64, graced the cover of the magazine in Italy, Spain, and France as part of its annual “Icons Issue,” and inside, the “Ray of Light” singer spoke about the “challenge” of raising six children. “It was the hardest thing, the toughest battle. It was perhaps the most complicated clown performance to handle,” she said, per the Google translation.
Madonna – the proud mama of sons Rocco, 22, David, 17, and daughters Lourdes, 26, Mercy James, 16, and 10-year-old twins, Estere and Stella – said that parenthood is no cakewalk. “Even today, I struggle to understand how to be a mother and do my job,” said Madonna. “Because, however it goes, whoever you are, having children and raising children is a work of art. And nobody gives you a manual. You have to learn from your mistakes. It’s a job that takes a lot of time. And it’s tiring because there’s never rest.”
“The thing that makes me happiest is seeing how each of them has found their creativity,” added Madonna. Lourdes, who Madonna had with Carlos Leon, has recently embarked on a dynamic music career under the Lolahol moniker. “I have never encouraged my daughter Lola to make music or my son Rocco to paint. But I’ve always exposed them to art, to music,” said Madonna. “I’m happy with how they are today. And I’m proud of their work.”
Madonna shares Lola with her ex, former backup dancer Carlos Leon. The Material Girl and her former husband, director Guy Ritchie, welcomed Rocco in 2000. The “Music” singer adopted her other children from Malawi: David in 2006, Mercy in 2009, and the twins in 2017.
At the start of 2023, Madonna got some family time during a trip to Africa. Madonna said that she and her six children were “dancing under the full moon with the Masai and good music,” referencing the Maasai tribe in Kenya. In a clip that she posted to Instagram, Madonna and her six children each dance along to her song, “Back That Up To The Beat.”
Though, family bonding isn’t always extravagant trips to Africa. “Last night we played Pictionary……….. I’m trying not to be a sore loser,” Madonna wrote on another social media post, one that showed her attempting to draw on an oversized sheet of paper.