Debi Mazar Praises Longtime Friend Madonna for Being a ‘Good Mom’ to Her 6 Kids

When you call Madonna’s name, Debi Mazar is there.

The two women, close friends for more than 40 years, first met at the N.Y.C. nightclub Danceteria, and Madonna later hired Mazar as the hair and makeup artist on her first-ever music video for “Holiday.”

Fast forward four decades, and the two’s friendship has grown to include their families, too.

Mazar, who recently turned 60, married chef Gabriele Corcos in 2002. They share daughters Evelina, 22, and Giulia, 18, while Madonna, 66, is mom to six children: Lourdes, 27, Rocco, 24, David, 18, Mercy, 18, and twins Stella and Estere, 12.

“It’s the whole process of life. We’re just two women that have careers in the public eye, and we’ve raised kids. We’re very protective and private with our family. I am, but she can only be as private as the world allows her to be,” Mazar tells PEOPLE while discussing her new series Kaos, streaming now on Netflix.

“I’m really proud of her. She’s a great mom, and we work really hard to nurture our kids and get them up and running and give them the tools for survival and education and to be warriors, as all moms do. So it’s nothing different than anybody else, really. At the end of the day, she’s just like any one of my girlfriends except she happens to be Madonna, who doesn’t stop working,” she adds with a laugh.

In May, Madonna finished her global Celebration Tour, and shortly before wrapping, she expressed her immense gratitude for her children and their support.

“On the day before our 80th show of the Celebration Tour I need to acknowledge my incredibly talented children who carried me through this Journey each of them bringing their own unique talent to the stage,” the proud mom wrote on Instagram in her caption.

As it turns out, the Celebration Tour was a family affair not only for Madonna’s children, but for Mazar’s oldest daughter, Evelina, as well.

“My daughter graduated from Marangoni, which is a fashion university in Florence. She went on tour with Madonna for a year as a wardrobe assistant. She had great credentials. She was one of the hardest workers. She came back tough as nails, because that tour was not easy,” says Mazar.

The Queen of Pop initially kicked off her Celebration Tour at London’s O2 Arena in October 2023 with an electrifying two-hour set. Over the next seven months, she traveled across Europe, North America and South America to perform.

Mazar adds that Evelina “had a really good time,” despite how demanding the job was.

“They traveled, and they were sleeping on buses and going all over the United States and Europe. So I’m really proud of her. She stuck it out. I didn’t know if she would manage,” Mazar says. “She did.”