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David Bowie’s daughter Lexi shared her discomfort with being defined by her father’s legacy rather than her own identity
On Thursday, May 14, she candidly opened up about the “very weird feeling” she gets when people try to comfort her by bringing up her father’s legacy
She explained that while she knows it’s a platitude shared with “good intentions,” it typically “lands strangely with me”
David Bowie’s daughter is opening up about being compared to her father.
On Thursday, May 14, Alexandria “Lexi,” the daughter of the late singer and songwriter and supermodel Iman, candidly opened up about the “very weird feeling” she gets when people try to comfort her by bringing up her father’s legacy. The 25-year-old explained that while she knows it’s a platitude shared with “good intentions,” it typically “lands strangely with me.”
“It’s a very weird feeling when people try to comfort me and say, ‘don’t forget who you are, you’re David Bowie’s daughter,’ ” she began her post. “I know it’s said with good intentions, and I hear it quite often, but it always lands strangely with me.”
Alexandria “Lexi” Zahra Jones’ Instagram Stories post
Credit: Lexie Jones/Instagram
She continued, noting that she’d rather be reminded of who she is outside of her father’s legacy, adding that the commonly used phrase can feel like it “minimizes” her as an individual.
“I’d rather be reminded of who I am than who I’m related to. Who I am is not based on him,” she added. “And if you really sit with that sentence for a second, even if it comes from a good place, it can feel like it minimizes me as an entire individual. Like I’m being reminded of someone else before I’m being reminded of myself.”
She concluded, “I just wanted to say that because I’ve thought about it for a long time, and I hope it makes sense.”
Bowie and Iman welcomed Lexi in 2000. He also shared son Duncan Zowie Jones with his ex-wife, model and actress Angie Bowie. The singer died on Jan. 10, 2016, of liver cancer.
In February 2026, Lexi shared a video on Instagram in which she discussed the challenges of growing up with two famous parents, alleging that she was forced to enter a treatment center at the age of 14 while struggling with depression, an eating disorder and substance abuse.
After that, she was sent to a boarding school in Utah, which meant she wasn’t there when Bowie died. Reps for both Iman and Bowie’s estate did not immediately respond to PEOPLE for comment.
“I had the luxury of speaking to him two days before, on his birthday,” Lexi said. “I told him I loved him and he said it back, and we both knew.”
David Bowie and his daughter Lexi Jones
Credit: Lexi Jones/Instagram
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She later set the record straight following her claims about her previous allegations about being taken to the center after Bowie was diagnosed with cancer in a post shared to her Instagram. The 25-year-old began by acknowledging that she has seen what people have been saying about her sharing her story and wants to clarify things.
“I’ve seen a lot of interpretations of what I shared, and I want to clarify something important. My story was never meant to place blame on my parents,” she began. “I love my parents deeply, and I don’t hold resentment toward them. They were trying to help a child who was struggling in ways none of us fully understood at the time.”
“I never shared this to create a narrative of family conflict,” Lexi continued. “What I was trying to talk about was the experience of being a young person inside the teenage treatment system and how it feels while it is happening. Those feelings can exist at the same time as love for the people who were trying to help you. Both things can be true.”
She went on to explain her reasoning behind sharing her story publicly.
“I shared my experience because many people who have been through similar programs carry confusion and silence around it,” Lexi said. “Hearing from others who related has already shown me the message reached who it was meant to reach.”
“I’m not asking anyone to speculate about my family or assign fault to anyone in my life,” she added, before continuing, “My intention is conversation and understanding about a system, not judgment of individuals. I spoke about something that shaped me in hopes someone else might feel less alone in theirs.”
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