Growing up with one of the world's most recognisable supermodels for a mother has its perks — but, as Leni Klum has discovered, it also comes with the occasional headache.

The 22-year-old rising model, who has been quietly building a career of her own through campaigns for Italian lingerie brand Intimissimi, has revealed that Heidi Klum's enthusiasm for her daughter's work once got a little out of hand. Leni made the mistake of sharing unreleased shoot photographs with her mum before they were officially out — and Heidi promptly posted them to her Instagram Stories.

"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. Now I don't send them to her anymore."

It is the kind of overeager parenting that would make any publicist wince — but Leni told Daily Front Row the anecdote with obvious warmth.

Two women pose together on a red carpet at a formal event, one wearing a pink satin gown and the other in a black dress.
Heidi Klum and daughter Leni stole the show at the 2025 Venice Film Festival's *La Grazia* premiere, twinning in custom corseted Intimissimi gowns — Heidi in blush pink, Leni in black.

The pair, she says, are exceptionally close, speaking and FaceTiming every day and exchanging photographs constantly. "We're best friends," she said simply.

Confidence Built at Home

That closeness has shaped Leni's professional life in ways that go well beyond leaked campaign shots. When asked whether posing in lingerie still gives her butterflies, her answer was notably relaxed. "I'm very comfortable in my body," she said — and she credits that ease directly to her mother.

"Growing up with a mom who was comfortable with her body made it easy for me to be comfortable with my body," she explained. Heidi, 53, has spent more than three decades in the industry, modelling everything from couture to swimwear and lingerie, and Leni says watching that at close quarters gave her a head start most models simply don't have.

A four-panel grid of lingerie campaign photos: top left, a young brunette woman in pink floral lingerie posed against a pink floral backdrop; top right, a young brunette woman in white lace lingerie standing beside a blonde woman in lavender lingerie against a grey backdrop; bottom left, a young brunette woman and a blonde woman in satin robes posed together on a white bed with an ornate gold headboard; bottom right, a young blonde woman in magenta lace lingerie holding a patterned robe against a beige backdrop.
Leni Klum alongside her mother, supermodel Heidi Klum, in campaign imagery for Italian lingerie brand Intimissimi.

Leni was just 18 when she shot her first Intimissimi campaign, with Heidi appearing alongside her. The mother-daughter pairing has since featured in several campaigns for the brand, helping Leni establish a foothold in an industry where famous surnames can be as much a burden as a boost. "I was always a little nervous at first, so it was great to have her on set," she said of those early jobs. The celebrity world is full of famous offspring trying to forge their own identities, and Leni appears to be approaching it with clear-eyed pragmatism.

'I Was Freaking Out'

The job that truly tested her nerve, though, had nothing to do with lingerie. Leni made her modelling debut in 2021 at the age of 16, appearing with Heidi on the cover of Vogue Germany — dressed, as it happens, in an oversized trouser suit. The posing, she says, was fine. It was everything else that frightened her.

"I was so scared. I was freaking out on the morning of it. I think I was more nervous for the interview part because I had never spoken to a journalist before. Luckily, my mom held my hand the whole time."

Four years on from that cover, Leni is considerably more comfortable talking to the press — and, by the sound of it, considerably more careful about what she shares in the family group chat before a campaign drops.

For anyone tracking the next generation of names to watch in entertainment and fashion, Leni Klum looks increasingly like a safe bet.