Leni Klum is following in her famous mother’s modelling footsteps – and says mom Heidi Klum is also responsible for the confidence she has in front of the camera.
The 22-year-old rising star, who has already fronted a number of lingerie campaigns for Italian brand Intimissimi, revealed that she rarely feels nervous about stripping down for a shoot.
“I’m very comfortable in my body,” Leni told Daily Front Row when asked whether lingerie modelling still gives her butterflies.
And according to Leni, much of that self-assurance comes from growing up around Heidi, 53, who has spent more than three decades modelling everything from couture to lingerie and swimwear.
“Growing up with a mom who was comfortable with her body made it easy for me to be comfortable with my body,” she explained.
Leni was just 18 when she shot her first Intimissimi campaign alongside her mom, and admitted having Heidi there helped ease any initial nerves. “I was always a little nervous at first, so it was great to have her on set,” she said.
© Leni KlumThe mother-daughter duo have since appeared together in several campaigns for the lingerie brand, with Leni steadily establishing a modelling career independent of her famous surname.
But there was one early job that left her genuinely terrified – and it didn’t involve lingerie.
Leni made her modelling debut alongside Heidi on the cover of Vogue Germany in 2021, aged 16, dressed in an oversized trouser suit.
© Daniele Venturelli/Getty Images“I was so scared. I was freaking out on the morning of [shooting] it,” she recalled. While posing wasn’t the problem, speaking publicly was.
“I think I was more nervous for the interview part because I had never spoken to a journalist before,” she explained. “It wasn’t just posing in front of the camera. Luckily, my mom held my hand the whole time.”
Their professional relationship is underpinned by an exceptionally close bond away from the cameras.
© Getty Images“We’re best friends,” Leni said. “We talk and FaceTime every day. We send photos back and forth all the time.”
Although having one of the world’s most famous models as her mother comes with plenty of advantages, Leni joked that Heidi can still behave like any other overenthusiastic parent.
The young model revealed she previously made the mistake of sending Heidi photographs from shoots before they had officially been released.
“I’ve sent her photos [from shoots] in the past and tell her that this isn’t out yet … and she’ll post them on her stories and I tell her that she can’t do that,” she joked. “Now I don’t send them to her anymore.”
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