Having a supermodel as a mother comes with some serious upsides. These include, but are not limited to: a live-in catwalk coach, networking expert, and provider of an aspirational gene pool, all of which make closing shows and fronting campaigns as natural as stepping into mom’s statement-making shoes.
Sure, “nepo babies” are nothing new, but it makes sense that the world of modelling would lend itself particularly well to such a legacy, with the fashion world always abuzz when the torch is passed to a new generation. These aren’t just regular daughters, they’re super-daughters—and they’re out to prove that modelling is an inherited skill.
Here, a look at the young, up-and-coming models who get it from their mamas.
1 / 9
Grace Burns
Welcome to the model-verse, Grace Burns. Daughter to Christy Turlington and filmmaker Edward Burns, she starred alongside her mother in a Carolina Herrera campaign this past spring, followed by a June runway debut at the British Vogue X LuisViaRoma’s show in Florence. The 19-year-old donned a white custom Victoria Beckham dress, black laced limbs, a slicked-back knot, and a coordinated red lip and mani moment—a ’90s chic combination that harked back to Turlington’s era of world domination.
2 / 9
Kaia Gerber
Kaia Gerber may be Cindy Crawford’s progeny, but she’s spent the past several years cementing her status as a super in her own right. To begin, Gerber made her modelling debut at 10 years old with Versace. But it was her first fashion month in 2017 that separated the then 16-year-old from the proverbial pack, as she dominated New York runways before making her couture debut at Chanel a few months later. Gerber has since covered every major magazine, owned the runway scene, tried her hand at acting, and served as the face of countless campaigns, from Saint Laurent to Celine to Alaia.
3 / 9
Lily McMenamy
With Kristen McMenamy as a mother, a touch of quirk is all but expected. Thankfully, the quality is found in spades in 29-year-old Lily McMenamy, who rose to fashion fame around a decade ago as a muse to Marc Jacobs (a designation that she still enjoys). These days, you can catch McMenamy in the most idiosyncratic of campaigns and runway looks, generally carrying on her mother’s legacy of out-of-the-box (and appealingly off-kilter) styling, beauty, and attitude.
4 / 9
Sailor Lee Brinkley-Cook
Sports Illustrated mainstay Christie Brinkley’s daughter Sailor is following in her bikini-clad footsteps: After making her editorial debut with Teen Vogue in 2013, Cook has featured in SI Swimsuit twice, taken to runways alongside her mother, and more.
5 / 9
Ming and Aoki Lee Simmons
Ming and Aoki Lee Simmons have been starring in their family’s campaigns and runway shows—first Baby Phat, then mother’s own Kimora Lee Simmons line—since they were kids. These days, both daughters continue to work in the family business, from helping to relaunch Baby Phat to collaborating on the brand’s first-ever beauty line, Shimmer Dreams.
6 / 9
Anna Cleveland
Walking one’s inaugural runway at five years old is a pretty clear sign that you’re destined for a career in fashion. That model was Anna Cleveland, daughter of the 1970s supermodel and muse to the likes of Salvador Dali, Pat Cleveland, and the show was Moschino. Next came a strut down Karl Lagerfeld’s catwalk at 13 (that walk alongside her mother) and a true debut in the 2010s as a muse to Moschino’s most recent creative director, Jeremy Scott. The spring of 2015 saw Cleveland walk 20 shows in a single season, after which a slew of covers and campaigns ensured a modelling career entirely her own. Cleveland continues to model, and recently wed Dazed Media founder Jefferson Hack. Fashion royalty, anyone?
7 / 9
Georgia May Jagger
One cannot discuss super-daughters without mentioning Georgia May Jagger, whose gap-toothed grin and colour-changing mane has helped make her an instantly recognisable fashion fixture. Daughter to Mick Jagger of The Rolling Stones and era-defining model Jerry Hall, Jagger came up during the “It girl” era, kicking her modelling career into high gear in 2011 with the help of Karl Lagerfeld, who had Jagger close Chanel’s resort show on a motorcycle. Since then, Jagger has consistently featured at fashion week both on and off runways, and continues to nab covers and brand campaigns from Tommy Hilfiger to Missoni to Wrangler.
8 / 9
Lily-Rose Depp
With parents like Johnny Depp and Vanessa Paradis, a career path of one-part-actor, one-part-model makeup is pretty much a given. Lily-Rose Depp’s presence and sense of style have landed her parts in movies like The King and The Wolf (while her recent turn on HBO’s The Idol sparked plenty of conversation and controversy) as well as a wealth of aspirational red carpet moments. Depp is a favourite of Chanel—she’s been a brand ambassador since she was 16 years old—and is a beacon of modern French girl, and at times welcomely weird, dressing.
9 / 9
Leni Olumi Klum
Leni Olumi Klum has no qualms about being a super-daughter. After making her modelling debut alongside mother Heidi Klum on the January 2021 cover of Vogue Germany, Klum has continued to nab international covers and campaigns, including a coveted courtship with Dior Beauty.
This story was originally published on Vogue.com.
