Lourdes Leon — the eldest daughter of Madonna — is sharing a tiny glimpse into her world.
Now a trained dancer and model, the inspiration behind her mom’s “Little Star” opened up a bit about her life in an interview with Vanity Fair. It’s been a minute — or decade — since her regular dispatches writing the blog for Madonna’s Material Girl Collection (bon mots included: “stay in school bitches.”), and the 24-year-old shares reflections on variety of topics, from first boyfriend Timothée Chalamet to life with her mom.
Leon, whose dad is fitness trainer Carlos Leon, attended Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts in New York City, and dated her classmate and future Beautiful Boy star Chalamet from 2013 to 2014.
“I respect him a lot,” Leon, who goes by Lola, told the magazine. “We were a little item. My first boyfriend — or anything.”
Chalamet, 25, was a grade ahead of Leon, and they appeared in school productions together. It was clear he was going places, he was already appearing in Homeland at the time, and paparazzi snapped them all over NYC. Their high school breakup was covered in the news.
Both of them have been tight-lipped about their young love, though Chalamet did make rare comments about that era during a 2017 interview with Andy Cohen. Cohen brought up meeting Chalamet “when you were dating Lola,” adding that they were a “super cute couple.” Chalamet recalled the night — and dancing with Leon and Madonna — saying shyly, “I usually don’t talk about this stuff, but that was a good night.” And he said they still talked, saying she teased him about some of his first TV interviews.
As for another former schoolmate and future movie star, Ansel Elgort, Leon called him “a terrible DJ” in the Vanity Fair piece, and left it at that.
Leon, who’s dating hairdresser Jonathan Puglia, is the new face of Marc Jacobs and recalls first meeting the designer at age 12 with her mom. But she’s a trained dancer and talked about her beginnings, calling herself a “lanky kid” and saying she started ballet classes at age 3.
“My mom really went hard for that once she saw there was potential,” she said.
While much was made over her going to the University of Michigan — the same school Madonna attended for two years on a dance scholarship before dropping out and moving to NYC to pursue her music career — she lasted about as long at the school, telling the mag she transferred after seeing her first MAGA hat on campus, presumably in 2016.
She was accepted into SUNY Purchase’s competitive dance conservatory in Westchester County, NY. She said “10-hour studio days” were typical in the program, adding, “You think that your body is not capable of something until you just have to do it.”
Last summer, she choreographed and co-directed the campaign for Stella McCartney’s Adidas collaboration, noting the gig came at the right time because “it’s been really hard as a dancer in the time of COVID.”
Leon reflected on the “last presidency,” saying, “I don’t think I have one friend that’s not depressed or anxious,” after the Trump era. However, “We feel together now, and there is a sense of solidarity and responsibility for any person that doesn’t feel safe to walk down the street.”
Leon made it clear in her recent Instagram debut that she’s not here to answer questions about her mother. However, she did talk about weird gifts the Sex book author has been sent, including a leather horse condom and a bong in the shape of body parts from photographer Steven Klein.
“She doesn’t even smoke weed,” Leon said of her mom.
Leon comes off as a pop culture aficionado, calling Jersey Shore’s Jenni “JWoww” Farley her “hero” because “she was never getting too sloppy and she always looked really hot.” She’s also a fan of NeNe Leakes and has an appreciation for the Real Housewives in general, saying “I don’t think it’s horrible for women to have this show. Even when they’re screaming, I love it and it’s soothing to my brain.”
Leon’s short-term goals include getting a driver’s license. A long-term goal is a challenging acting role, saying she’d enjoy playing Mother Teresa in a film. Also just, “motivating a person or two” to realize their dreams. “I would just like to be of use.”