John Travolta Shares Special Message to Daughter Ella on Her First Birthday Since Kelly Preston’s Death

John Travolta celebrated his daughter in a sweet way over the weekend. As Ella Bleu Travolta celebrated her 21st birthday, the actor took to Instagram on Saturday to pen a sweet message to mark the milestone occasion, which was also Ella’s first birthday since her mother, Kelly Preston, died.

In a post shared with his millions of followers, Travolta shared a rare photo of his daughter. In the image, Ella smiled amid a flowery backdrop. It was shared alongside a caption reading, “Happy 21st birthday to the most beautiful, kind, human being and artist I know. Your dad adores you!” The post generated even more kind messages for the birthday girl, Tommy Lee writing, “Happy bday not so much kiddo.”

With birthday messages pouring in, Ella, who was recently cast in in Get Lost, took to her own account on Sunday to thank everyone for the sweet messages. In a video shared to her account, the 21-year-old said she “really wanted to thank you all so much for the beautiful birthday wishes on my birthday yesterday. You guys mean the world to me and it really helped make it all the more special, so thank you guys. I’m sending you all love and happiness.”

Ella’s 21st birthday marked her first without her mother, who passed away in July at the age of 57 following a two-year battle with breast cancer. Travolta and Preston married in 1991 and shared three children – oldest daughter Ella, 10-year-old son Ben, and Jett, who died after suffering a seizure in 2009 at age 16. Travolta shared news of his wife’s passing on Instagram, writing “with a very heavy heart” that his wife “lost her two-year battle with breast cancer.” He said that she “fought a courageous fight with the love and support of so many.” Ella also shared a tribute to her “courageous, strong, beautiful and loving” mother, writing that “anyone who is lucky enough to have known you or to have ever been in your presence will agree that you have a glow and a light that never ceases to shine and that makes anyone around you feel instantly happy. Thank you for being there for me no matter what.”

Ella’s is just the latest birthday the family has celebrated in the near year since Preston’s passing. To mark his son’s birthday in November, Travolta shared an adorable image of himself and Ben, and Ella also shared a tribute to her father to mark his 67th birthday in February, calling him “the most incredible man I have ever known.”