Mark Wahlberg Jokes Daughter, 18, Is 'Doing Tattoos' and Says He Has 'No Authority' Over Her

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Mark Wahlberg is embracing life as a teen dad.

Appearing on Live! With Kelly and Ryan Monday, the actor opened up about how his three oldest — Brendan, 13, Michael, 16, and Ella Rae, 18, are all teenagers and daughter Grace Margaret will join them in January, when she turns 13.

When host Ryan Seacrest asked Wahlberg what the teens were up to, he shared that Ella is getting ready to finish school and looking at colleges.

"My 18-year-old, now I literally have no authority over her until she realizes she needs me financially," he joked. "She's doing tattoos and all this stuff but she's now really focused on academics, which is great. It took her a while to get there."

After she graduates, the actor plans on touring colleges with her. "She's going to graduate mid-year and then we're going on tour," he shared. "She's picking the most random places — San Diego State, Clemson — so we're going to go to all these places."

mark Wahlberg and daughter Ella
mark Wahlberg and daughter Ella

rhea wahlberg/ instagram

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Kelly Ripa — whose oldest has graduated college while her other two continue their studies — offered a word of advice to Wahlberg. "Don't say a word. Do you hear me? You don't say a word."

"That's the motto with my oldest daughter and my wife!" he replied.

Ripa later added, "If you think whatever school is the best place, you shut it. Because you will talk them right out of that school."

"I will take that advice because we're literally going from one school to the other," Wahlberg said.

Rhea and Ella Wahlberg
Rhea and Ella Wahlberg

Rhea Wahlberg Instagram

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Earlier this year, Wahlberg shared his praise for Ella's boyfriend, even sharing a sweet tribute on Instagram for their first anniversary.

"Happy 1 year anniversary Ella and James 🙏❤️🙏 I'm so happy for you guys! I couldn't be more proud of you Ella!! I love you guys. ❤️🌹," Wahlberg wrote alongside a photo of the couple smiling together.

Wahlberg previously raved that he and wife Rhea Durham, 43, find him to be a  "great young man," even going to the gym with James.

"Ella is a lucky girl and I'm a lucky dad! He is a great young man," he captioned a post from that occasion. "I used to work out to keep the boys away from my girls, and now I'm working out with the boyfriend. Imagine that."