How Madonna's Son David Banda Is Following In Her Footsteps

While pop music icon Madonna may be one of the biggest stars on the planet — indeed, one of the most well-documented figures of the modern era – her infinite, decades-long professional saga has arguably overshadowed her deep, intimate, and fascinating personal life. Over time, Madonna has scored seven Grammy Awards from 28 nominations, and has sold over 300 million records – making her one of the best-selling musical artists of all time. 

Throughout all that success, however, she has also become the matriarch of a large family. Though  Madonna has been married and divorced twice, she has had a number of noteworthy relationships and six children, four of whom were adopted.

Perhaps her most notable adoption took place in 2006, when she decided to adopt a boy while doing philanthropy work in Malawi. Upon the adoption's finalization in May 2008, this boy, David Banda, would become Madonna's third child. And in the years since, David has been unafraid to show just how much he has taken after his mother — in more ways than one. 

While part of Madonna's iconic — and nearly deistic — status comes from her eccentric sense of style and fashion (with many even crediting her for being one of the largest fashion influences in America since her rise to fame in the '80s), much of her fashion sensibility has clearly rubbed off on her son, David Banda. 

In May, for instance, David made headlines for his appearance alongside his mother at the WBA World Lightweight Championship game, in which he seemed to take after the likes of Harry Styles or Kid Cudi by unabashedly wearing a red dress. This is not the first time he showed off a dress, either: in May 2021, Madonna posted a video on Instagram of her then-15-year-old son in a long, cream-colored silk gown. 

David was also unafraid to show off his sense of style in a video his mother posted to Instagram for Thanksgiving 2021, in which he showed off a white blouse with a flamboyant bow-tie neckline, as well as some ostentatious yellow Gucci flares for trousers. 

Apparently, a strong sense of fashion is not the only thing David Banda took from his famous mother. In an August interview with Jimmy Fallon, Madonna spoke about her son's many talents, and even hinted that he may take after her specialty: music. 

"You know, he makes music now, too," Madonna said. "He's gonna end up being one of your guests." She went on to comment on his sense of fashion, stating jealously that "he can put on any outfit and look swag as you-know-what. It's really irritating." While his music career is not yet off the ground (David has yet to release any albums or singles), fans did get to see a glimpse of his artistic prowess at a school play, "She Kills Monsters," in February when Madonna posted a series of photos of him onstage to Instagram. "Today isn't Monday........It's Son Day!" she wrote in celebration of her son's performance. 

In addition, the singer has said that she believes David is more like her than any of her other children. Highlighting his "focus and determination," Madonna said that David "is the [child] I have the most in common with" in a 2019 British Vogue interview. "I feel like he gets me; he has more of my DNA than any of my children so far," she said. "Let's see what happens — it's still early days for everyone."