Mark Wahlberg Celebrates Daughter Ella’s 22nd Birthday

Mark Wahlberg’s little girl isn’t so little anymore!

The 54-year-old actor took to Instagram to celebrate his daughter Ella‘s 22nd birthday, sharing a throwback baby photo of his daughter when she was still in the pacifier stage. 

“Happy birthday, Ella🥳🥰❤️ I’m so proud of you!! 🙏❤️🙏,” Wahlberg captioned the photo of himself holding the baby Ella. 

His wife, Rhea Durham, commented on the post, “Our girl 🎉🎈🥳.”

The couple is also parents to sons Michael, 19, and Brendan, 16, and daughter Grace, 15. 

In the past, Wahlberg has acknowledged that Ella’s birthday can be a bittersweet day for him. While it’s the anniversary of when he first became a parent, it’s also the same day that his sister Deborah died unexpectedly of a heart attack at age 43. 

On Ella’s 18th birthday in 2021, Wahlberg shared a pair of images on his Instagram account paying tribute to both his daughter and his big sister.

“Happy B day my Ella❤️🎁18 years old 😚wow how time flies. So proud of you!! Always A [bittersweet] day. Missing my big sister Debbie💔 Ella’s Guardian angel. 🙏❤️🙏😇,” Wahlberg wrote alongside the two throwback images; one featuring him with Ella as a baby and another of him and Deborah.

Ella is currently a student at Clemson University in South Carolina, across the country from her family, who now live in Nevada, where they relocated in 2022. 

“To be able to give my kids a better life and follow and pursue their dreams — whether it be my daughter as an equestrian, my son as a basketball player, my younger son as a golfer — this made a lot more sense for us,” Mark said on The Talk in 2022. 

At the time, Wahlberg added, “Every free moment that I have, I’m at home.”

The dedicated dad got plenty of praise this past Father’s Day from his wife, who wrote a sweet tribute online. 

“We are all so grateful for who you are and how you love us. 💙🙏🏼,” she wrote at the time. “We love you back even more 🥰🫶🏼”