Heidi Klum Says Her Model Daughter Leni Will Need ‘Thick Skin’ to Follow in Her Footsteps

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Heidi Klum fully supports her 19-year-old daughter Leni Klum’s following in her modeling footsteps.

However, as she tells Glamour Germany, she cautioned her that it wouldn't necessarily be easy. While some may think that having a parent in the industry—especially one as accomplished as Klum—gives her daughter a significant leg up, the magazine's March cover star notes that it also comes with its downsides.

“I made it clear to her from the start that as my daughter she would become a public target,” Klum says. “Many people will find her cute, others will find her stupid, only because she is my daughter. People who don't like me might automatically not like her either. She must have thick skin, but my children do.”

Modeling is in Leni Klum's blood though, and Heidi Klum says her daughter began asking if she could try her hand in the industry at age 13. She decided to wait until her daughter was 16 to allow her to model, because, she says, that is when kids in the US are allowed to drive.

But that doesn't mean that she is on her own in the proverbial driver's seat.

“We discuss everything,” Klum says. “I check her offers. I help her choose outfits for events.”

However, she notes with a laugh that “most of the time she goes with the outfit that I advised her not to wear.”

And while some people may look down on her daughter for her leg up, Klum says all she wants is for her daughter to make her career her own.

“I want Leni to have her own experiences, free from any contacts that she might have thanks to me,” she says. “I hope that she can experience and get to know everything that is popular now. She has her own style and that's good. I don't want her to be like me.”

With already a Vogue Germany cover—alongside her mom—under her belt and campaigns with brands like Dior Beauty, it's safe to say that Leni Klum is well on her way to forging her own path.

Originally Appeared on Glamour