Canadian pop-punk singer Avril Lavigne has welcomed her first child, a baby girl, announcing the news on Instagram on Friday.
Lavigne, 42, shared a three-photo carousel in black and white. In the caption, she said their "princess" had arrived, adding pink bow, crown, baby bottle and heart emojis.
The first photo shows the newborn's hand held between two adults, with their faces outside the frame. Another shows Lavigne cradling her daughter against her chest, the baby dressed in a leopard-print outfit and matching headband. The third shows two pairs of adult checkered Vans slip-ons next to a tiny pair of baby shoes, all lined up on a skateboard, a playful nod to her signature hit "Sk8er Boi."
The announcement caught many fans by surprise. Lavigne had not publicly said she was expecting, and she had not posted on Instagram in more than a year before sharing the news. She has not identified the baby's father or confirmed a current relationship, and she has not shared the baby's name or birth date.
Her private life has long been closely guarded. In a podcast interview in May 2024, she said she had never really dated much, and she declined to say whether she was seeing anyone. She also said she was looking for a trustworthy partner and good compatibility.
The singer spoke about wanting children more than a decade ago. In 2013, when she was 29, she told reporters she hoped to have one or two.
Lavigne was born in Belleville, Ontario, in 1984. She signed a two-album recording contract at 16 and rose to global fame with her 2002 debut album, Let Go, which included "Complicated" and "Sk8er Boi." Her second album, Under My Skin, released in 2004, became her first to top the Billboard 200 in the United States and went on to sell 10 million copies worldwide.
She has continued to release music since then, including Goodbye Lullaby in 2011, a self-titled album in 2013, Head Above Water in 2019 and Love Sux in 2022. Her hits also include "I'm With You," and she is an eight-time Grammy nominee.
The post gave no further details about the baby, and the singer has not commented beyond the Instagram caption.
