Matthew McConaughey has a sweet message for daughter Vida on her 14th birthday.
“To Vida, who never passed a flower she didn’t pick, Happy Birthday,” McConaughey, 54, wrote via Instagram on Thursday, January 4, alongside two photos of the birthday girl.
In the first snap, Vida looked at the camera while standing in a field of tall grass. The second shot captured the teenager hugging her knees to her chest and smiling while appreciating a sunset.
McConaughey, who shares Vida and sons Levi, 15, and Livingston, 11, with wife Camila Alves, added that he had a good reason for posting his daughter’s birthday tribute a day late.
“My mobile device flew out of my pocket on the roller-coaster loop at her birthday yesterday!” he explained in the caption.
Rita Wilson, who is friends with McConaughey and Alves, 40, took to the comments section to celebrate Vida.
“Such a beautiful soul this one,” Wilson, 67, wrote.
On Vida’s birthday last year, Alves commemorated the occasion with a candid photo of the then-13-year-old and McConaughey’s longtime friend Woody Harrelson eyeing the birthday cake.
“Uncle @woodyharrelson is questioning if the cake is vegan or not!!! 🫣😂 how does this go people! Time flies … 13!” Alves wrote in the caption. “You are my ray of sunshine Vida!!! Your name explains everything about you ‘life.’”
Alves and McConaughey previously gave their eldest son a memorable 15th birthday in July 2023 by allowing him to join social media. In a joint Instagram video shared by the pair, Alves admitted she was “a little nervous” about the change despite “talking about it for three years now.”
McConaughey, for his part, noted that he knew Levi could “handle” the newfound freedom and told his followers that social media was gaining “a very cool and respectful young man.”
The actor continued: “Levi, enjoy the adventure, sharing your story and expressing yourself and exchanging with the people out there.”
McConaughey admitted during a 2020 interview with Town & Country that he’s “more consistently the yes guy” when it comes to parenting, compared to Alves.
“Sometimes loving your kids means giving them just what they want. Other times, it means tough love,” he continued. “Affluent people can give their kids everything they want, but they’re not usually going to get what they need. Loving a child is a lot harder if you really give a damn.”
Alves exclusively told Us Weekly in July 2022 that she thinks parenthood has become “more challenging in a good way” as her children get older.
“When you have little ones, you are physically exhausted, right? And I feel like when you get to the teenagers … it’s almost like you need more energy,” the model explained. “You need more brain power because it becomes all very about the mind, right? It’s like a teenager [is] trying to find their identity and find how they’re going to navigate their lives.”
Alves added that watching her kids grow into young adults is “beautiful” and “inspiring.”
