Although the bonds between children and their parents are special in their own ways, there's something extra sweet about girl dads. Perhaps it's because being a girl dad doesn't necessarily come as naturally to a father as being the parent of a boy. It requires a little more effort from the dad to put himself in his daughter's shoes.
The best girl dads are the ones who let their daughters be completely themselves while the fathers just join in on the fun. So instead of making their daughter play a sport if they don't want to, maybe the dad plays dolls with his daughter. Or helps braid her hair. Or throws a tea party.
There are many ways to be a great girl dad, and these 15 celebrity fathers set a pretty great example.
Dwayne "the Rock" Johnson
Dwayne "the Rock" Johnson has three daughters, so he's used to doing all the girl dad things such as playing with Barbies or detangling their long hair. A few months ago, he posted a photo of the latter as he worked on the knots in his 3-year-old's locks.
"I may be bald, but I know a thing or two about hair. Mainly because I wish I had it," he joked in the caption.
Adam Levine
It's so great to see when fathers of daughters don't care about gender norms. Maroon 5 singer Adam Levine decided he wanted to match his wife and two daughters when they took their sundresses for a springtime stroll earlier this year. So he threw on a tie-dye dress too. "Girls just wanna have fun," he wrote in the caption.
Zayn Malik
Gigi Hadid and Zayn Malik recently welcomed a little girl, and Zayn was right there for her from the beginning — even catching her as Gigi gave birth at home. "It didn't even click that she was out," Gigi told Vogue. "I was so exhausted, and I looked up and he's holding her. It was so cute."
Zayn later posted a photo of him holding hands with his daughter. "Our baby girl is here, healthy and beautiful," he wrote. "The love I feel for this tiny human is beyond my understanding. Grateful to know her, proud to call her mine, and thankful for the life we will have together."
Dax Shepard
After one of Dax's two daughters with Kristen Bell got a haircut, he decided he wanted to twin with his little one. Dax posted a video of him shaving one side of his head into an undercut. He was jamming along to Sara Bareilles' song "Armour" while he did it.
"Thank you @sarabareilles for giving my daughters an anthem," he wrote in the caption. "She requested a specific haircut a few days ago, and now I want to match her."
Channing Tatum
Earlier this year, Channing Tatum wrote a children's book called Sparkella, inspired by his daughter, Everly.
In his big announcement, he wrote, "Guys, I don't know about you, but things got a little weird for me in quarantine. I ended up accidentally locking myself in my 7-year-old daughter's room. And I ended up finding my inner child. So this is what I created for my little girl. From what is, I guess, the little girl in me."
So cute. He even dressed up in fairy wings to read it.
Russell Wilson
He may be a big, burly football quarterback, but Russell Wilson is also a doting dad. We'll never forget the time Ciara Instagrammed Russell attending a ballet class with their daughter Sienna. "These two back at it again," Ciara wrote, indicating that this is a regular event for Russell. We love it.
Prince William
He may also have two boys, but that hasn't stopped Prince William from being the best girl dad too. According to People, William revealed a couple of years ago that he watched YouTube videos to learn how to do Princess Charlotte's hair. "Never try to do a ponytail!" he joked. "Nightmare."
Wife Kate Middleton added that he also finds braiding tough. "I don't have enough hair to practice on!" he responded, poking fun at his own balding head.
Dwyane Wade
The NBA star is endlessly supportive of his transgender daughter, Zaya. He recently spoke about how it was sometimes a learning curve to understand what was going on, but he jumped on board because ultimately he just loves his child.
"I really wasn't knowledgeable about the LGBTQ+ community. What it has done is it opened my eyes and my ears to something greater and bigger than me, and my daughter has allowed us gracefully to be her support system," he said about him and his wife, Gabrielle Union. "(Zaya's) the strong one in this family. She's a hero."
Mario Lopez
Last year, Mario Lopez snapped a photo of him and his daughter, Gia, all dressed up for their annual daddy/daughter dance. "#FavoriteNightOfTheYear," he hashtagged the pic. Mario also has two sons, who we're sure he loves just as much. But the bond between a father and his daughter is just such a sweet one.
John Legend
John Legend totally adores his daughter Luna, whom he's even brought to work with him on occasion. But he doesn't just love Luna; he wants the world for her. Wife Chrissy Teigen revealed how John is helping to raise Luna to be her best self.
"He is an amazing father for a girl who's becoming a woman in this day and age, because we have a firm belief she is going to take ownership of her body," Chrissy told Glamour, adding that they definitely plan to be honest about things such as sex as she gets older. "We are going to talk to her in the same way we would have loved to hear it."
Ludacris
Ludacris is a girl dad through and through, recently letting his little ones give him an "exfoliating" sand spa treatment while at the beach.
When you are a girl dad, you d— near say yes to everything," he captioned the funny video. This is the kind of fun bonding moment that his girls will remember forever.
John Krasinski
The Office star has two young daughters, and he told Access Hollywood that he's down for "anything they wanna do" when it comes to playtime. Sometimes that means hand-making scarves or getting his nails painted pink. It comes with the territory as a girl dad, and John wears it proudly.
Tim McGraw
The country singer has a whole song dedicated to his three daughters called "My Little Girl." It's all about understanding that his children will grow up and lead lives of their own, but how he'll always be there for them.
Some of the lyrics say: "You're beautiful, baby, from the outside in/Chase your dreams, but always know the road/That'll lead you home again/Go on, take on this whole world/But to me you know you'll always be/My little girl."
Kevin Jonas
Many little girls love dressing up in sparkly, colorful outfits. Kevin Jonas took things a step further for his two daughters. They now own custom dresses that say, "Not to brag but Kevin's my dad."
They're the perfect outfits for his little ones to wear backstage when he performs. Could they be any cuter?
Travis Scott
Travis Scott totally adores his daughter Stormi, whom he co-parents with Kylie Jenner. Last year he spoke about raising a daughter in this world, and he had some very wise words.
"I feel like it's way more important now to protect young Black daughters, women and make sure they have the knowledge of how to carry themselves, how to move in this world, how to be strong, how to not even be scared to take that risk on any idea, jump out on any activity," he said. "Now more than ever, it's like they have a vision. Whether it's for anything a man can do, anything a woman can do. They got the pure vision."
