Lourdes Leon

Early life and education

Lourdes Maria Ciccone Leon was born at Good Samaritan Hospital in Los Angeles, California, on October 14, 1996, She is the eldest daughter of American singer, songwriter, and actress Madonna, and personal trainer and actor Carlos Leon. Her mother is of Italian and French-Canadian ancestry, while her father is of Cuban heritage. She has multiple siblings from her parents' subsequent marriages and adoptions, respectively, including a paternal half-brother, a maternal half-brother, Rocco, from her mother's marriage to British film director Guy Ritchie, as well as a maternal brother, a sister and twin sisters all born in Malawi. Speaking about her life, El País mentioned "it was documented even before she was born."

While still very young, Leon appeared at some events and works by her mother, including her performance at the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards, throwing petals on the stage, and provided backing vocals at MDNAs track "Superstar" in 2012, which her mother wrote about her.

Her mother put her in ballet classes beginning at age three after she expressed an interest. Leon grew up in New York City and went to Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School, a performing arts school in Manhattan. Among other students, actor Timothée Chalamet also attended the school and she regards him as her first boyfriend. After graduating, she began college at the University of Michigan's Ann Arbor campus, but transferred to New York's Purchase College after reportedly seeing her first MAGA hat on campus. She also told Interview magazine, "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'".

Career

Leon's first forays in fashion began in 2010. She and Madonna created Material Girl, a teenage clothing line sold exclusively through Macy's stores. Leon made her modeling debut starring in a perfume ad campaign for Pop by Stella McCartney, also featuring Grimes, Amandla Stenberg, and Kenya Kinski-Jones. She has further appeared in campaigns for Marc Jacobs, Miu Miu, Calvin Klein, Tom Ford, Burberry, Savage X Fenty, Gypsy Sport, Dion Lee and Mugler. In 2018, she made her runway debut at New York Fashion Week. She appeared on the September 2021 cover of American Vogue with models Anok Yai, Ariel Nicholson, Bella Hadid, Kaia Gerber, Precious Lee, Sherry Shi, and Yumi Nu. In 2023, she became the face of a limited edition flavor Coca-Cola's 3000 Zero Sugar, and made her first makeup campaign as one of the faces of Make Up For Ever.

Leon, using the stage name Lolahol, made her musical debut in August 2022 via Chemical X, an imprint of record label Mad Decent. Her first release was "Lock&Key", followed by "Cuntradiction" in November, both from her five-track debut EP Go, an experimental music project launched on November 9, 2022, in collaboration with American multi-instrumentalist, producer, composer and vocalist Eartheater. On October 11, 2023, she released "Spelling". Its visuals paid homage to Madonna's video for "Frozen" (1998). Leon also made her first major musical performance debut at IFEMA's Brava Madrid Music Festival on September 23, 2023.

Influences

Leon has cited various British artists of the late 1990s and early 2000s as influences, including PJ Harvey, Massive Attack and Amy Winehouse. She commented about Winehouse: "She really didn't give a shit about optics of who she was and was just there to make music".

Speaking about Madonna's music and influence, Leon said: "My experience with my mom's music has changed so much as I've gotten older, because I'm increasingly able to recognize how influential and amazing this woman is, and how empowering to other women [...] she has always been". She has also taken inspiration from Madonna while building a career in fashion, denoting her advice: "It's not about the money or your face or how hot you look. It's about what you're bringing into the world and what you're going to leave behind".

Discography

Extended plays

• GO (Chemical X, 2022)

Singles

• "Lock&Key" (Chemical X, 2022)
• "Cuntradiction" (Chemical X, 2022)
• "Spelling" (Chemical X, 2023)
• "Boy Next Door" (Chemical X, 2023)

References

References

1. O'Brien, Lucy. (2018-07-27). "Madonna: Like an Icon". Transworld.
2. (October 15, 1996). "Madonna Gives Birth to Daughter". [[Los Angeles Times]].
3. LaCroix, Emy. "Madonna's 6 Children: Everything to Know".
4. Porcel, María. (October 16, 2023). "The sealed fate of Lourdes Leon: Madonna's daughter has flipped the nepobaby concept on its head". [[El País]].
5. (September 2, 2009). "Madonna's daughter Lourdes (aka Lola Leon) copies her mom's 'Like a Virgin' look in upcoming video". [[New York Daily News]].
6. Hyde, Marina. (July 31, 2009). "Madonna v the Jacksons: this could get nasty". [[The Guardian]].
7. Hennemuth, Britt. (April 21, 2021). "Lourdes Leon Is Ready to Express Herself".
8. Park, Sabrina. (October 15, 2021). "Lourdes Leon Says Her Mom, Madonna, Was a "Control Freak"".
9. Overhultz, Lauryn. (July 1, 2023). "Madonna's kids reportedly by her side amid hospitalization: Who are Lourdes, Rocco, David and Mercy?". [[Fox News]].
10. (June 23, 2010). "Madonna's clothing line: Now you can dress like a Material Girl". [[The Denver Post]].
11. Wagoner, Mackenzie. (July 10, 2016). "Watch Grimes, Lourdes Leon, Amandla Stenberg, and Kenya Kinski-Jones Take the Ultimate Road Trip".
12. Samaha, Barry. (February 16, 2021). "Lola Leon Stars in the Marc Jacobs Spring 2021 Campaign".
13. Munzenrieder, Kyle. (January 15, 2019). "How Lourdes Leon, The Latest Miu Miu Girl, Became Fashion's Quietest It Girl".
14. Militano, Hannah. (2022). "Lourdes Leon Follows in her Mother Madonna's Footsteps with New Music".
15. Rucker, Jael. (October 28, 2022). "Meet Lourdes Leon: Muse, Fashionista and Artist". [[Yahoo!]].
16. Fisher, Lauren Alexis. (September 11, 2018). "Madonna's Daughter, Lourdes Leon, Just Walked Her First Fashion Show".
17. Singer, Maya. (August 5, 2021). "Generation America: The Models Changing an Industry".
18. Schmidt, Audrey. (August 17, 2023). "All About Madonna's Daughter Lourdes Leon".
19. Gallagher, Alex. (August 25, 2022). "Madonna's daughter shares first single as Lolahol, 'Lock&Key'".
20. Wang, Steffanee. (November 9, 2022). "Lola Leon Released Her First-Ever Music Project, 'Go'".
21. Krol, Charlotte. (November 9, 2022). "Madonna's daughter Lourdes Leon releases debut EP 'Go' and sensual 'C**tradiction' video".
22. Bell, Sadie. (October 11, 2023). "Lourdes Leon Reveals Her New Music Video Is an 'Homage' to Mother Madonna's 'Frozen': 'I Revere Her'".
23. Skinner, Tom. (September 26, 2023). "Watch Madonna's daughter Lourdes Leon perform at Madrid festival as Lolahol".
24. Ross, Charley. (November 15, 2023). "Lourdes Leon pays tribute to the female artists who came before her: 'They ran so we can walk, and do things in a safer environment'".