It’s been a minute since a model has captured our attention like Leni Klum, who is following in the footsteps of her supermodel mother Heidi Klum. The Daily sat down with the 22-year-old beauty to talk about stepping into the family business, what she’s learned from her mom, and everything she’s been cooking this summer.
Was modeling something you’ve always wanted to do? Yes! I would go to work with mom all the time [growing up], and I saw how happy she was and how fun her job was. As a child, I would force her glam team to do glam on me. That started at around 4 years old! There are photos of me as a baby in the makeup chair. I begged her at around 12 years old that I wanted to model and do what she did. She finally let me do it at 16. What was the appeal for you? Watching how happy she was. On set she was smiling and laughing all the time. That’s work for her and she loves it! You’re now signed with IMG Models. What are your goals in the fashion business? I want to be happy with the job that I’m doing. I know there are a lot of people who aren’t. I want to be excited to go to work and be excited on the set and love what I’m doing and look forward to it. That’s my main goal right now. That’s a great goal! What have been some of your favorite memories so far? I love building relationships with brands. I love working with brands like Intimissimi. It’s now my fifth year with them. I just did the Guess campaign, which was amazing. It’s also the people I meet through work, which is so special to me. How did the Guess gig go? The shoot was amazing. We shot it in London. It came out just a few weeks after we shot it, which I was so happy about. I always try to keep everything a secret, which is difficult. Being on set with them was great. I grew up wearing Guess, so I was familiar with the brand. It’s almost like a full circle moment after wearing the brand and growing up with it, and now I’m working for them. It was so special. Guess is known for putting emerging stars in their campaigns. How did it feel to get that job? Originally, I was shocked. Am I reading this right? Obviously, I was 100 percent doing this! I was so excited. I remember looking back at the e-mail multiple times, looking at the shoot day, because I was so excited to get on set and meet everyone. I got the photos back almost immediately, and I loved everything. It was really cool. When modeling for brands like Intimissimi, are you nervous shooting in lingerie? I’m very comfortable in my body. Growing up with a mom who was comfortable with her body made it easy for me to be comfortable with my body. The first time I worked with them, I had just turned 18, and my mom was on set and that helped. I was always a little nervous at first, so it was great to have her on set, like for the Vogue Germany cover.’ Yes! You started with a bang on the cover of German Vogue with your mom. I was so scared. I was freaking out on the morning of [shooting] it. But there was nothing to freak out about. I had the best day. I was grateful my mom was there. I think I was more nervous for the interview part because I had never spoken to a journalist before. It wasn’t just posing in front of the camera. Luckily, my mom held my hand the whole time.
Lenii Klum and Heidi Klum (Getty Images)
What are your interests outside of work? I love to cook! I want to go to culinary school. I just graduated from college, so that’s next. I cook most of my meals and have so much fun with it. What’s your favorite…