French model Thylane Léna-Rose Blondeau was cast into the international spotlight from an early age, walking her first runway for Jean Paul Gaultier when she was just four years old. It was only two years later – at age six – that she was crowned “the most beautiful girl in the world” with her portraits going viral across the internet.
It’s been over a decade since she made her debut and the now 20-year-old has continued her modelling career, working with an array of high-profile luxury campaigns for the likes of L’Oreal and Dolce & Gabbana.
thank you guys so much ❤️❤️ pic.twitter.com/07LSIEB0uK
— CHILD OF HELL (@thylaneaz) January 1, 2018
She’s come a long way since her feature in Vogue Enfants, a supplement in Vogue Paris, at the age of six. Blondeau continues to grace the lists of beauty rankings as a young adult, including her multiple appearances on TC Candler’s “100 Most Beautiful Faces” list.
The model was recently spotted at Paris Fashion Week 2022 donning a grey crop top jumper and trousers at the Miu Miu show, resembling something of a 90s look. Sharing the outfit with her 5.1 million followers on Instagram, the model wrote, “My fifth @miumiu show. Thank you so much for having me! Always so happy to watch your show!!”
So, what else do we know about this French beauty?
Her parents are famous
Born in Saint-Tropez, Blondeau is the daughter of the former French Premier League footballer Patrick Blondeau and French television presenter and fashion designer Véronika Loubry, who has over 162,000 Instagram followers herself. Her parents divorced in 2016, but Blondeau shares pictures with her mum and younger brother, Ayrton Blondeau, on her social media. When asked where her happiest place is on earth is, she replied, “Where I can stay with my mum and brother.”
Blondeau also runs in an elite close circle with Hollywood celebrities and supermodels like Kaia Gerber, Barbara Palvin, Gabriel-Kane Day-Lewis and Brooklyn Beckham. She worked together with Lewis in a Dolce & Gabbana campaign and the two are often spotted partying together at exclusive fashion parties, reports Elle UK.
She started modelling at four and was in a controversial Vogue campaign
Blondeau was scouted by fashion maestro Jean Paul Gaultier at the age of three and walked down the runway the next year. She had her first photo shoot at seven with fashion photographer Dani Brubaker, then gained worldwide attention after appearing in a controversial photo shoot for Vogue Paris in 2011. In the campaign, the then-10-year-old Blondeau donned a heavy make-up look that was widely criticised. However, her mother had another reaction to the now infamous shoot.
“I understand that this could seem shocking,” she said, according to Glamour UK. “I admit I myself was shocked during the photo shoot. But let me be precise: the only thing that shocked me is that the necklace she wore was worth three million euros!”
Blondeau has since appeared in countless magazine covers like Jalouse at 13 followed by L’Officiel Paris, Teen Vogue, Self Service Magazine and Flaunt Magazine. She signed with IMG Models at 16. She’s walked for Dolce & Gabbana and appeared in the Italian maison’s 2017 campaign alongside Zendaya, Presley Gerber and Lucky Blue Smith. She made headlines again when she sat front row at Michael Kors’ 2017 show, appearing all grown up.
She has her own clothing brand and is set to make her acting debut
The French model is also a multi-hyphenated talent. She made her first film appearance in Belle & Sebastian: The Adventure Continues (2015) as Gabriele and launched her own fashion line called Heaven May in 2018.
The model will also feature in two upcoming films, Helvellyn Edge alongside Jonah Hauer-King and The Loneliest Boy in the World opposite Evan Ross – both slated to release this year, per IMDB.
Her boyfriend is a fashion brand owner
On the romance front, Blondeau is dating Benjamin Attal, a fashion businessman with his own label called TQL Boyz Paris. The duo are reportedly engaged, with Attal changing his Instagram bio to a diamond ring emoji tagging his fiancée with a heart. He is often featured on Blondeau’s Instagram page and the lovebirds have been seen showing PDA together in public.
She recently wished her boyfriend a happy birthday and shared a collection of tender pictures on her Instagram, writing, “Happy bday my love! I’m the luckiest girl to have you in my life! Life without you does not make sense. I love you.”
She has been in major luxury campaigns and has a loyal fan base
Besides her famous Dolce & Gabbana campaign, the young model has also worked with Ralph Lauren, French perfume brand Lolita Lempicka and was selected to be the worldwide brand ambassador for L’Oréal Paris’ skin and beauty products – she often appeared at the Cannes Film Festival for this particular gig.
Blondeau is also a social media phenomenon, amassing over five million followers on Instagram alone (and over 30,000 on Twitter) with a loyal fan base who call themselves “Thylaners”. She regularly attends meet-and-greet events with her fans as well as giving them Instagram shout-outs, reports Wales Online.
However, internet fame does not faze her. In an interview, she opened up and said that her large following does not affect her. “I’m still young, I’m pleased. And I try to do everything for my ‘Thylaners’. I talk with them all the time, and often my mother helps me to answer messages.”
Note: This story was originally published on SCMP and has been republished on this website.
