John Travolta marks late ex-wife Kelly Preston's birthday with moving post
John Travolta has honoured late ex‑wife Kelly Preston with a heartfelt birthday tribute, sharing a touching video celebrating their daughter Ella’s Paris Fashion Week debut.
John Travolta has shared an emotional birthday tribute to late ex-wife Kelly Preston.
The Grease legend, 72, honoured the Jerry Maguire actress on what would have been her 64th birthday with a touching video about how proud she would have been of their daughter Ella Bleu Travolta’s latest fashion triumph.
On Tuesday (13.10.26), he shared footage from Ella's Paris Fashion Week debut at Miu Miu’s spring/summer 2027 show earlier this month.
Audrey Hepburn’s rendition of Moon River captioned the clip, with Travolta writing: “Look at your baby girl now Kelly!! Happy birthday, you should be so proud!!”
In her own tribute, Ella wrote alongside a throwback snap with her mother: “Happy Birthday mama. I love you (white heart emoji)."
Preston tragically lost her battle with breast cancer in 2020, aged just 57,
The pair also have son Benjamin, 15, while their first-born, son Jett passed away in 2009 aged just 16.
Travolta recently opened up on how he managed to navigate his grief following the tragic deaths of his wife and his son.
He dedicated his feature film directorial debut Propeller One-Way Night Coach to his Preston and their boy, telling Italian newspaper La Repubblica: “They are the model from which this film was born.”
Asked how he has coped following the passing of his loved ones, Travolta replied: “Life has certainly tested me, (but my) nature is to look for the positive, even in the face of the worst.
“I’m not made to remain absorbed in the darkness. I can look at the darkness, but I don't choose to die in that darkness.”
The film is based on his children’s novella from 1997 - which documented his first flight in 1962 - and he cast Ella in the film.
It received four separate standing ovations when it premiered during the Cannes Film Festival, with the Hollywood star even awarded with a surprise, honorary Palme d’Or.
Of the movie, he added: “I hope audiences rediscover that gaze of hope. In 1962, we weren't so overwhelmed by the obligation to always look at the dark side of life.”
Meanwhile, Ella previously said that she used her songwriting to help her grieve following her mom’s death, and even wrote the track Little Bird about her.
She explained on The Today Show: “It's different for each person going through loss, but for me personally, it was just this pure message that I wanted to give to my mum.
“Even though there can be so much support from everyone, it can also sometimes get in the way of how you truly feel and how you want to communicate those last words to that person.”
