{"id":501521,"date":"2026-02-24T19:01:13","date_gmt":"2026-02-24T19:01:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/501521\/"},"modified":"2026-02-24T19:01:13","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T19:01:13","slug":"supermodel-heidi-klum-reveals-she-was-labelled-not-sexy-by-a-client","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/501521\/","title":{"rendered":"Supermodel Heidi Klum reveals she was labelled ‘not sexy’ by a client"},"content":{"rendered":"

H\ufeffeidi Klum<\/a> has opened up about the bias she was subjected to as a pregnant woman within the fashion industry<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Looking back on her earlier career as a model and host of hit reality show Project Runway<\/a>, she recalled a number of challenges she faced \ufeffwhile visibly pregnant on-screen.<\/p>\n

Speaking to Paper<\/a>, the businesswoman and mother-of-four said during that time, she ended up losing a client who believed she was “not sexy anymore” due to the natural bodily changes she went through.<\/p>\n

\"HeidiHeidi Klum has claimed she was called “not sexy” by a client while pregnant. (Getty Images for The Recording A)<\/p>\n

“I remember I had one client. When I was pregnant, they did not want to work with me anymore,” the German model said.<\/p>\n

Klum did not name the client, however she revealed their refusal to continue working with her post-pregnancy was a pivotal moment that spawned a popular business venture.<\/a><\/p>\n

“So that’s why I started having a pregnancy line because of that, because it’s like, what am I gonna wear? I’m not hiding in the house pregnant,” she continued.<\/p>\n

“I was pregnant with all my kids always on the show, and it was a challenge for me, because pregnancy clothes were really hard to find at the time.”<\/p>\n

READ MORE: David Beckham takes daughter Harper on lavish ski trip amid family feud<\/a>\ufeff<\/p>\n

READ MORE: Paul Mescal left red-faced following scathing callout from BAFTAs host\ufeff<\/a><\/p>\n

READ MORE: \ufeffKylie Jenner ‘sneaks in’ to BAFTAs to meet beau Timoth\u00e9e Chalamet<\/a><\/p>\n

\"HeidiKlum alleged the client refused to work with her after she fell pregnant. (AP)<\/p>\n

“I’m on the stage, I’m on TV, and it’s a show about fashion, I need to have good things!”<\/p>\n

She refers, of course, to Lavish by Heidi Klum \u2013 a maternity line with a focus on elevated, trendy pieces, and Loved by Heidi Klum \u2013 which featured more comfortable, everyday wear.<\/p>\n

According to Klum, the industry’s perception of a model shifts when they venture into motherhood<\/a> \u2013 and are often labelled as a mother first, and model second as a result.<\/p>\n

“I was defined before children as being a sexy woman, and now with a child, as being a mom,” she admitted.<\/p>\n

For a daily dose of 9honey, subscribe to our newsletter here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"VENICE,Klum’s daughter, Leni, has shared insight into the changes the industry has seen in recent times. (Getty)<\/p>\n

And while Klum considered herself a pioneer within the model-turned-mom space, being visibly pregnant in that line of work in the ’00’s came with more than its fair share of associated stigma.<\/p>\n

“I have to say… you didn’t see a lot of pregnant women on television. It was a big thing at the time,” she admitted.<\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Heidi Klum’s bonkers Halloween costumes through the years<\/p>\n

But thankfully, according to Heidi’s daughter Len\ufeffi Olumi Klum<\/a>, 21, the perception within the industry has seen a shift in recent times to a more inclusive, receptive stance.<\/p>\n

Leni, who is now a model in her own right, discussed her own experience within the industry as part of the newest generation of models.<\/p>\n

“I think there’s definitely been a major shift,” she told Paper. <\/p>\n

“Before, with my mom’s generation, it was a stricter kind of criteria you needed to fit into.<\/p>\n

“I think a lot has changed now, and it’s given many different people an opportunity to be in the industry.”<\/p>\n

FOLLOW US ON WHATSAPP HERE<\/a>: Stay across all the latest in celebrity, lifestyle and opinion via our WhatsApp channel. No comments, no algorithm and nobody can see your private details<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"H\ufeffeidi Klum has opened up about the bias she was subjected to as a pregnant woman within the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":501522,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[64,63,447,134],"class_list":["post-501521","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-celebrities","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-celebrities","tag-entertainment"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/501521","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=501521"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/501521\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/501522"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=501521"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=501521"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=501521"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}