Ella Travolta shared an emotional tribute for late mom Kelly Preston on Mother’s Day nearly five years after her death.
Preston and John Travolta’s 25-year-old daughter took to her Instagram Story on Sunday, May 11, to share throwback family photos.
“Happy Mother’s Day to the strongest, most beautiful, loving, funny, smart woman I know,” Ella wrote alongside pics of Preston holding her when she was a baby. “I love you.”
In addition to Ella, Preston and John, 71, also shared son Benjamin, 15, and son Jett, who died at age 16 while on vacation with his family in 2009. Preston died at age 57 in 2020, two years after she was diagnosed with breast cancer.
“She fought a courageous fight with the love and support of so many,” John wrote via Instagram while announcing Preston’s death in 2020. “Forgive me in advance if you don’t hear from us for a while. But please know that I will feel your outpouring of love in the weeks and months ahead as we heal.”
A source told Us Weekly at the time that Preston was “the heart and soul who kept the family united” and that she and John were “true partners.” John has continued to celebrate Preston’s memory on her birthday and Mother’s Day in the years since.
John later opened up about the candid conversations he’s had with son Benjamin about loss.
“Ben, you always love the truth and I’m going to tell you the truth about life. Nobody knows when they’re gonna go or when they’re going to stay,” John told Kevin Hart during an interview in 2021. “Your brother [Jett] left at 16. Too young. Your mother left at 57. That was too young. But who’s to say? I could die tomorrow. You could. Anybody can.”
He added. “So let’s look at it like it’s part of life. You don’t know exactly. You just do your best at trying to live the longest you can.”
Ella, meanwhile, recently honored her mother with her debut EP, Colors of Love.
“[My mother’s death has] definitely been something that I had wanted to communicate and had been thinking about, obviously, for many years,” she shared on Today in November 2024. “I think 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 mom.”
Ella’s music video featured home videos of herself and Preston. “There was a lot of crying, but they were happy tears,” Ella said about compiling the footage. “And I wanted it to be a celebration, too, of her life ‘cause it’s all those best, most happy moments. And that’s how I remember her.”
Despite how emotional the experience was for Ella, she was happy to have her dad’s support as a producer on the project. “I love working with my dad. If I could always do it, I would,” she added at the time. “He’s amazing and he’s so protective because he’s been in the movie industry and the music industry forever, so he knows how to protect me, in that sense.”
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