David Bowie‘s widow, Iman, and his daughter, Lexi, are among those paying tributes to him on his birthday.
- READ MORE: An oral history of David Bowie’s ‘Blackstar’
Today (Thuesday January 8), marks what would have been Bowie’s 79th birthday, as well as the 10th anniversary of his final album, ‘Blackstar‘. He died two days later in January 2016, following an 18-month battle with cancer.
To mark his birthday, Bowie’s wife, Iman, shared a black and white photo of him smiling, alongside the caption: “A million feeling, A thousand thoughts A hundred memories…. YOU! Happy Heavenly Birthday.”
His daughter, Lexi, also shared her own tribute, posting an old photo of herself and her father on his birthday. “Da big 79 today. Happy birthday pops, miss ya!” she wrote.
In 2023, Lexi also posted a sweet home video to mark the seventh anniversary of Bowie’s death, showing her and the late icon playing keyboard together. In 2018, both Jones and her mother honoured Bowie’s passing by sharing tattoos in his memory.
As well as his family, others have been paying tribute to the late rock icon, including Ash‘s Charlotte Hatherly, who shared a photo from the time the band toured with him in 2002.
“Meeting my hero at 23. Forced myself to say hi and get my photo taken,” Hatherly wrote. “We talked but I walked away in a fog, not remembering a word that was said and struggling to even remember what he looked like IRL. But here we are frozen in time – thank you to whoever took this photo!”
Director and photographer Anton Corbijn also shared a tribute to Bowie, taking to Instagram to post a portrait he shot of him in 1980. “It’s 10 years without this beautiful person. His music lives on and i’m grateful for all that he left,” he wrote.
Presenter Matt Everitt also shared a touching tribute, sharing: “I couldn’t even start to describe the impact he had on almost every aspect of my life, and the incredible joy his music, style, humour and creativity have brought me over the years.”
“From the 10 year old me, completely spellbound by the cover of ChangesOne, to the man making that announcement on @bbc6music on 10th January 2016, and onward for the rest of my life. Thank you,” he added.
See more tributes below.
10 yrs ago today, David Bowie released his final album “Blackstar”. A masterful record dealing with death, mortality, and transcendence made while he was dying of cancer. It’s one of the most profoundly moving albums I’ve ever heard and my favorite record of the 2010s ★ pic.twitter.com/exEkWGTzDq
— 𝕶𝖆𝖑𝖊𝖎𝖉𝖔𝖘𝖈𝖔𝖕𝖊 𝕰𝖞𝖊𝖉 𝕲𝖎𝖗𝖑 (@thejunebugfreak) January 8, 2026
He would’ve been 79 today Happy birthday David Bowie you literally changed so many lives and left such an influential legacy ♥️ pic.twitter.com/ETJVp59Ooi
— Chelsea 👩🎤 (@idksorry01) January 8, 2026
Happy heavenly birthday to the legendary David Bowie.
He would have been 79 years old. pic.twitter.com/lycINOECMM
— 🎸 Rock History 🎸 (@historyrock_) January 8, 2026
In other news, Bowie’s ‘Heroes’ has enjoyed a huge spike in streams after soundtracking the closing moments of the Stranger Things finale.
The show’s co-creator Ross Duffer revealed that the song was chosen after it was suggested by Joe Keery, who plays Steve Harrington on the show and also releases music under the alias Djo.
Meanwhile, the British Library is hosting an event to honour Bowie later this month, with Jehnny Beth and Tony Visconti among the guests set to appear. It will take place on 17 January and is titled ‘David Bowie In Time’.
Elsewhere, Bowie’s last years are set to be explored in a new Channel 4 documentary, provisionally titled The Final Act, while the BBC have also announced a Bowie doc for 2026 in the form of Bowie In Berlin.
