By the age of 13, Leni was eager to start modeling herself, but her mother slowed her down. “I finally wanted to start modeling myself, but my mother slowed me down
Leni Klum, the 20-year-old daughter of supermodel Heidi Klum, has revealed that she knew from an early age she wanted to pursue a career in modeling. Growing up on her mother’s photo shoots, Leni was fascinated by everything that went into creating the perfect shot, from the hair styling to the makeup, and especially how much fun her mother seemed to have.
In an interview with Glamour Germany, Leni recalled, “I was fascinated by everything on the set: the hair styling, the make-up – and how much fun my mother had during the shoot.” She admitted that she was so eager to be involved that she would sometimes jump in front of the camera or ask stylists to apply makeup once they were done with their official work.
By the age of 13, Leni was eager to start modeling herself, but her mother slowed her down. “I finally wanted to start modeling myself, but my mother slowed me down. I was too young. Today I would say: She was right!” Leni is grateful for her mother’s decision, acknowledging that she was indeed too young at the time to dive into the demanding industry.
While her modeling career has flourished, it hasn’t always been without controversy. Leni and Heidi faced significant backlash over their joint lingerie photoshoots, particularly a 2023 campaign for the Italian lingerie brand Intimissimi. Despite some criticism, Leni has remained focused on the positive feedback, maintaining a healthy perspective on social media criticism.
“I always try to remind myself that no matter what you do, there will always be someone who doesn’t like it,” she explained. “You simply have no influence on it and must not concentrate too much on the negative. Especially if you spend a lot of time on social media, this can easily happen. But there are so many more positive reactions.”
Leni also jokingly added that many of the critical comments she sees are in German, which she doesn’t fully understand, making it easier to brush off the negativity. When Heidi shared the lingerie photos of herself and Leni on Instagram, she faced backlash, with some followers calling the campaign “embarrassing” and “weird.” In response to the criticism, Heidi disabled comments on the post. She captioned the photo: “If you see me and @leniklum on billboards all over Germany … tag us and we’ll share our favourites on our stories!” Despite the challenges, Leni remains focused on the positive aspects of her career and the many fans who continue to support her.
