Stelle Ciccone: From Humble Beginnings to Being Madonna’s Adopted Daughter

Most of us are familiar with Madonna and the impact she’s had on the music industry. She holds the record for best-selling female artist of all time.
Plus, Madonna has sold over 300 million albums worldwide.
Yet, her personal life is more of a mystery to fans. For example, few people know that Madonna has six children. Two of whom are biological and four are adopted.
Some of them have managed to carve out their own unique identity in the spotlight. That includes Stelle Ciccone.
In this article, I’ll cover the fascinating life of the Queen of Pop’s daughter.
Stelle Ciccone Profile
Before I dive into the ins and outs of Stelle’s life, here are a few details about her:
- Full Name: Stelle Ciccone
- Date of birth: August 24, 2012
- Place of birth: Malawi
- Nationality: Malawian-American
- Gender: Female
- Parents: Patricia and Adam Mwale (biological parents), Madonna (adoptive mother)
- Siblings: Estere (twin), Rocco Ritchie (adoptive brother), David Banda (adoptive brother), Mercy James (adoptive sister), and Lourdes Leon (adoptive sister)
- Eye color: Dark brown
- Hair color: Black
- Height: About 4 feet
- Zodiac sign: Virgo
Stelle Ciccone Overview
Stelle’s story starts in Malawi circa 2012. At the time, Adam and Patricia Mwale had two beautiful twin girls and named them Stelle and Estere.
Although, life wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows. A few days after the birth of the twins, Patricia passed away due to complications of a cesarean section.
This left the girls in the care of their father. Yet, because of his low standard of living and the girls’ young age, he had to make a change.
Adam decided to find a better living situation for the twins. So, he brought them to an orphanage in Malawi.
While this was a tragic, heartbreaking event, it would open up countless doors for the girls.
That’s because it was in that orphanage that Stelle and Estere met Madonna. The pop icon later adopted the two girls in 2017.
Stelle Ciccone’s Adoption
In February 2017, Madonna made headlines when she announced she’d be adopting two Malawian girls.
Although, it wasn’t until June of the same year that the adoption became official. This news was incredibly divisive and created a lot of buzz.
On the one hand, many people were ecstatic that the young girls would get the chance to live a life of financial security.
This meant Stelle had the chance to grow up in a safe, nurturing environment with access to the best education available.
Yet, some people criticized Madonna for taking advantage of Malawi’s lax adoption laws. On top of that, Adam Mwale contested the adoption.
The biological father claimed that he was under the impression that Madonna would only take care of his girls on a temporary basis.
However, after a thorough investigation by the Malawian legal team, they determined that Adam was an unfit parent.
For starters, he abandoned the girls at the orphanage. Plus, he remarried about two years after Patricia’s death.
That meant that he had about two years to reconsider his daughters’ positions in the orphanage, but decided not to.
So, Madonna was awarded full custody.
Since then, the pop icon has donated millions of dollars to several charities in Malawi. In addition, she established the Raising Malawi charity organization.
This is all in an effort to assist the country’s residents.
Stelle Ciccone Residence
Stelle has lived all over the globe throughout her life. For the first four years, she lived in an orphanage in Malawi, along with her twin sister.
Then, after Madonna adopted her, she moved to New York City. While this is currently her main residence, Stelle frequently travels abroad with her adoptive mother and siblings.
For instance, they’ve been to Lisbon, Paris, and London, just to name a few locations.
Stelle Ciccone’s Siblings
Stelle has five siblings, two of whom are boys and three are girls.
Her eldest sister, Lourdes Maria Ciccone Leon, was born in 1996. She’s Madonna’s first biological child.
Since then, Leon has made quite a name for herself in the limelight. She’s a fashion model and a dancer.
Plus, she followed in her mother’s footsteps and dabbled in singing and making music.
Moving on, in the year 2000, Madonna had another child and named him Rocco. After that, the Queen of Pop adopted four children.
It started with David Banda in 2006. Then, three years later, Madonna adopted Mercy James.
Both of them were born in Malawi, just like Estere and Stelle.
Wrapping Up
Stelle Ciccone is one of Madonna’s six children. In 2017, the Queen of Pop adopted Stelle, along with her twin sister Estere.
While the adoption was contested, Madonna is determined to ensure the girls get the best quality of life possible.
Other than Estere, Stelle has four siblings. That includes Lourdes and Rocco, who are both Madonna’s biological siblings.
Besides that, the pop icon also has two other adoptive children, David and Mercy.