Lourdes Leon shares advice from mom Madonna

Lourdes Leon is more than just the daughter of the Queen of Pop. She’s finally at a place in her life where she’s owning every inch of her destiny — by herself.

Leon, the first child of Madonna, recently sat down with mom’s longtime bestie Debi Mazar in a revealing chat for Interview magazine. It it, she talks about the world she’s creating for herself, stepping into her identity as an artist and the toxicity that is Instagram.


Lourdes Leon, seen here for Rihanna’s Savage X Fenty Show Vol. 3, is stepping into the spotlight on her own terms. (Photo: ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images)
“I want to create a world in which models have more agency over what they’re doing, and they’re not just silent clothing racks,” Leon said. “That’s the age that we’re coming into in the fashion world: models as personalities and artists.”

Leon, who goes by “Lola,” made her runway debut in 2018 when she walked in Gypsy Sport’s Spring 2019 show. This year, she made her second runway appearance as part of Rihanna’s Savage X Fenty Vol. 3 fashion show for New York’s Fashion Week.

She also made headlines at this year’s Met Gala when she showed off her armpit hair, which she’s never been shy to do. Despite the criticism she received from what she called «misogynistic trolls, the model says she takes all of it with a grain of salt — a lesson instilled in her by her mother.


«We don’t get any handouts in my family, said Leon, who paid for college tuition and her apartment on her own dime. «Obviously, I grew up with extreme privilege. There’s no denying that. But I think my mom saw all these other kids of famous people, and she was like, ‘My kids are not going to be like this.'

“She’s very much like, ‘Proceed with caution and think about what you want to be known for,’” she said of heeding her mom’s advice. “I’ve thought a lot about that recently, because as a ‘model,’ you’re basically relying on your looks. It can feel very overwhelming, and can potentially cause a lot of insecurity. Obviously, you’re not going to look the same your whole life. My mom is very insistent on making me think about what I want to be known for beyond my looks. That’s not what I want people to remember me by. It’s not real.”