Gwyneth Paltrow shares rare photos of her daughter Apple on her 16th birthday

• Gwyneth Paltrow celebrated her daughter Apple Martin's 16th birthday on Thursday with a series of photos on Instagram.
• In the pictures, Apple, whom Paltrow shares with ex-husband Chris Martin, posed in a white floral dress while sitting on a couch.
• "I can't believe I'm actually writing these words but... happy sweet sixteen my darling girl," Paltrow wrote. "You are the light of my heart, you are pure joy."
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In celebration of her daughter Apple Martin's 16th birthday on Thursday, Gwyneth Paltrow posted a series of Instagram photos of the teenager along with a sentimental message.

The 47-year-old Goop founder shared three photos of Apple sitting on a couch and wrote, "I can't believe I'm actually writing these words but... happy sweet sixteen my darling girl."

"You are the light of my heart, you are pure joy. You are wickedly intelligent and you have the best, most dry, most brilliant sense of humor. I have the best time being your mom," Paltrow wrote. "Thank you for choosing me. I adore you to the moon and back a zillion times."

The "Shakespeare in Love" actress doesn't often post photos of Apple or Moses, both of whom she shares with her ex-husband Chris Martin. The recent photos, however, revealed how much Apple has grown to resemble Paltrow when she was a teenager.

And although celebrities like Emma Roberts, Kate Bosworth, and Kate Hudson shared their love for Apple on Paltrow's birthday post for her daughter, the Oscar-winning actress hasn't always received such a positive reaction on photos of her children.

In March 2019, Paltrow shared a selfie of her and Apple together on a ski lift. Although Apple's face was covered with goggles and a ski helmet, she commented, "Mom we have discussed this. You may not post anything without my consent."

Paltrow responded, "You can't even see your face!"

The exchange between the mother-daughter duo ignited a conversation about whether or not parents should share pictures of their children online.

When Apple's 15th birthday arrived two months later, Paltrow created a birthday post for her daughter and included a screenshot proving that she received her daughter's consent before sharing any pictures.

The screenshot, which Paltrow posted after a candid shot of her daughter with a flower in her mouth, showed that Apple had sent her mother "apple approved" photos in preparation for her birthday.

"Oh why thank you," Paltrow responded via text. "Don't need to break the old Internet again, now do we?"

Although Paltrow has consistently written kind words about her daughter on her past birthdays, she's also shown Apple's playful side. The lifestyle guru, whose company sells vagina-scented candles, shared her mock to-do list, which was created by Apple, on Instagram.

"Make more vagina eggs and candles," the handwritten note read.

Paltrow captioned the post, "Apples interpretation of my to-do list #quaranteen."