Heidi Klum's Daughter Leni Getting Ready To Start New Chapter In Fashion Career

Heidi Klum is a proud mom! She recently announced that her 18-year-old daughter Leni is getting ready to go off to college in New York City to further her career in fashion.

The "America's Got Talent" judge, 49, recently discussed this new chapter in her daughter's life with ET. "I am [so proud]. You know, she has her head screwed on right. Right now, college is on top of the list. It's not modeling and she's really excited for that next chapter in her life," she said.

But with this exciting new chapter comes a big change for Heidi, Leni, and the family. Klum is also mom to Henry, 16, Johan, 15, and Lola, 12, with ex-husband Seal.  "Unfortunately, she is moving away from home," Heidi said. "Which is obviously sad but at the same time that she's got enough to go for it. She's moving to New York. I started in New York, so she knows New York inside and out because we shot 'Project Runway' there for so many years. So, she knows it well because I always move my family to New York when we were still filming. So, I think she's going to have a good time, but my heart will be sad."

Leni graduated from Pacifica Christian High School in Santa Monica in June and will begin college in the fall. The specific college she plans to attend has yet to be announced. The young model also plans to continue pursuing her modeling career on the side while attending classes. Leni began her career in fashion in 2020 when she appeared alongside her famous mom on the cover of German Vogue, and then her runway debut came just eight months later when she walked the runway in Dolce & Gabbana's 2021 Alta Mode show in Italy.

Heidi is supportive of her daughter's New York City journey for a few reasons, one of which is because she knows what it takes to be in this industry. "I think any industry has positive and negative sides. This industry, we see the traveling. If you travel too much, it's hard to travel on your own a lot. I remember my heydays when I was not filming in one spot, like when I was young, I was with two kids with all the stickers from every place I went. And you were alone all the time," Heidi told ET. "You meet some strange people here and there. But you meet strange people in other jobs too. So I feel like, you know, everyone learns their lesson as they live and get older and get more experience. You get only experience with learning."

When asked on ET what mistakes Heidi maybe has made in her career that she wants to help her daughter to not make or avoid, Heidi responded, "I think she needs to make the mistakes. You don't want to tell them everything already." She also explained that she instills in her daughter that it's important to be happy with the person you see in the mirror.