Thylane Blondeau Redefines Beauty on Her Own Terms

She was just six years old when she was dubbed 'the most beautiful girl in the world' - a title that would set her for life.

Yet  has been determined to forge her own path, disowning the label, refusing to conform to industry standards and not relying on her famous parents' names to get ahead.

If anything, the Gen-Z hero, 24, has become something of an 'anti-model' with her attitude and approach to her career.  

It's all the more surprising given she grew up in the modelling world. 

Thylane, the daughter of retired footballer Patrick Blondeau and fashion designer Veronika Loubry, had already stepped onto the runway for Jean Paul Gaultier at just four years old before being crowned by Vogue Enfants in 2006.

By 10, she had become the youngest model ever to appear in Vogue Paris, with the photo shoot being heavily criticised for 'sexualising' her after she was styled in a low-cut gold dress and heels.

However, this launched a career that would see her work with global fashion giants including Miu Miu, Dolce & Gabbana, L'Oréal Paris, Versace, Ralph Lauren and Hugo Boss.

Yet despite her remarkable success, Thylane has repeatedly pushed back against the title that put her name on the map nearly two decades ago - insisting she's just a 'human being'. 

In 2018, Thylane said she distanced herself from the girl who was once declared the world's 'most beautiful'.

She revealed she didn't understand the weight of the label in her childhood, and as she grew older she tried hard not to let it define her. 

'When you're small, you don't really pay attention,' she explained to the Telegraph. 'People are like, "you know, you're the most beautiful girl in the world", and you're like, 'I'm not, I'm just playing with my iPad'.'

'Even today, people are like, "you are the most beautiful girl", and I'm like, "no, I'm still not, I'm just a human being, a teenager".'

Thylane – who on Sunday announced her engagement to French DJ Ben Attal – added that she wanted people to understand who she was as a person rather than just knowing her by her title.

She is also a staunch champion of her natural beauty.  

In August, she turned heads as she stepped out for the Miu Miu show during Paris Fashion Week.

However, her sculptured face and glowing complexion led fans to question if she had gotten any work done. 

Following the comments on her appearance, the model took to her Instagram Stories to admit that she's 'tired' of people asking or insisting she's gone under the knife.

She wrote: 'I know that in this generation people tend to do things very early, but I've never touched anything.

'You can look at photos of me when I was younger nothing has changed. 

'People love to compare and make things up but just because I wear makeup or use a lip liner doesn't mean I've had my lips or face done.

'At some point we need to stop with that.'

Thylane previously explained to the Telegraph that the key to modelling is 'personality first now. Beauty inside and outside'.

She added that she refuses to conform to the industry's physical standards, saying: 'I don't want to be skinny. Even if people are like, 'she's not that skinny, she can't do this show', I'm just like, 'ok fine, I'm not going to do that show'.

'I'm not going to be skinny and not eat for them. If I want to eat, I can eat. I eat burgers. I'm not going to change this ever.'

On whether she could see herself continuing to model in the future, she mused: 'I just want to be happy and do what I like.

'If I still want to be a model, I [will] model, and [do] acting. But I want to be happy first.'

Indeed, Thylane's initial decision to join the modelling world was not her own, having been only three years old when she was scouted on the streets of Paris and invited to walk in a Jean Paul Gaultier show.

She previously recalled her experience as a toddler when an agent for Gaultier insisted she model for the designer the following day.

'My mum said, "No, she's not with an agency, she can't do this",' Thylane said. 'Jean Paul Gaultier said, "She has to be there tomorrow." So Mum was like, "Why not?"'

The opportunity meant the world of fashion rolled out the red carpet for Thylane, who appeared in French Vogue as part of a controversial 2010 fashion spread titled 'Quel Maquillage à Quel Âge?' or, in English, 'What Makeup at What Age?'

Thylane, then only 10, was dressed in a gold dress and heels – as the images sparked backlash for 'sexualising' the pre-teen.

Her mother Veronika defended the cover at the time.

She told a French newspaper: 'The only thing that shocks me about the photo is the necklace that she's wearing, which is worth 3 million Euros (about $4.3 million).'

Veronika brushed off the criticism, but images of Thylane were met with fierce disapproval at the time.

And questions were often levelled at her parents, who have since split, about their decision to launch Thylane's career at such a young age.

Soon after, Veronika deactivated Thylane's Facebook fan page after images of her child appeared on less reputable pages than Vogue's.

A Tumblr blog dedicated to Thylane's modelling career was explicitly entitled 'f**kyeahthylaneblondeau.'

According to Blackbook.com, it featured thousands of candid shots of Thylane but has since been taken down.

In a message posted on the Facebook page, which has since been reactivated and is currently up-to-date with Thylane's latest projects, Veronika blamed 'bad [people] in the USA' for drawing unwarranted attention to Thylane's photos.

'Something's going wrong,' her message read, as Veronika expressed her 'deepest' desire to protect Thylane from 'the buzz'.

In 2016, Thylane marked Mother's Day with a sweet Instagram post in which she described Veronika as her 'twin'.

'Happy momaa's day to my twin my best friend my everything,' she wrote, with a hashtag that read #no-silicone, in an apparent reference to Veronika's decision to embrace her natural beauty.

Today, the pair are closer than ever, as Veronika celebrated Thylane's 24th birthday with her own tribute post that included baby pictures, home videos, and highly stylised magazine pictures of the model over the yeatrs.

She gushed: 'You have been my happiness for 24 years I am so proud of you, proud, very, very proud of everything you have accomplished.

'I support you and will support you all my life,' Veronika added.

Yet despite Thylane's strong bond with her mother, she has not used her name to get ahead, not mentioning her in interviews or when trying to secure jobs.  

Since she earned worldwide fame as the world's most beautiful girl, Thylane has mingled with the creme de la creme of the industry, including Jourdan Dunn and Gigi Hadid.

Thylane made her adult runway debut in February 2017, when she walked for Dolce & Gabbana at Milan Fashion Week. The debut was such a success the designer duo invited her back to walk for them again in September 2017.

Thylane was also chosen as a brand ambassador for L'Oréal, and named the face of a perfume by French designer Lolita Lempicka.

She shared screen space with Zendaya, Lucky Blue Smith, and Presley Gerber, when Blondeau was chosen to be a part of Dolce & Gabbana's Spring 2017 campaign.

And despite the many luxuries that came with her moniker, Thylane was robbed of a so-called normal childhood.

By the age of 16, Thylane had already modelled for Vogue Paris, walked the red carpet at Cannes Film Festival and landed brand ambassador for L'Oréal Paris.

She then moved to Kensington High Street, living next to her 'good friend' Brooklyn Beckham, while she also had a place in St Tropez.

Now Thylane has moved back to France where she resides with her fiancé, but still hasn't lost her 'most beautiful girl in the world' title.

Today, she juggles her career as a model and social media influencer with her role as an entrepreneur.

Her most recent venture is a beauty and haircare brand, Enalyht, which has as its tagline: 'Born from need. Made with care.'

On her Instagram, Thylane posts sultry selfies and behind-the-scenes snaps of her jet-setting lifestyle, showing off her darker hair but still with the same pout and piercing blue eyes.

She models her wardrobe and gives fans glimpses of her dog as well as her red-carpet looks and luxury holidays.

And with all the star power behind her, she's challenging industry expectations and previously revealed she would not be adhering to size zero beauty standards.

The model has also used her platform to share a private health battle that affects women the world over.

In 2021, she revealed she .

The French beauty explained that on Instagram she had surgery in 2020 after an ovarian cyst 'exploded in my stomach.'

Sharing photos of herself in her hospital gown and an image of her scan, Thylane went on to explain that she began experiencing pain again three months after her first surgery.

However, when she sought medical treatment, she was told that the pain she was experiencing was 'all in your head'.

Thylane said she had to go to A&E 'because my belly was hurting so much I couldn’t handle it anymore and they said that everything was fine and that I had a lil kyste [cyst] and I will have to do a check up in 2-3 months.'

'The day after this I had this appointment with an amazing doctor who directly saw that I had a kyste [cyst] of 5,6 cm who was touching my ovary so he sent me to do an IRM and an hour after this, the doctor called me and ask me to go straight to the hospital to do an emergency operation.'

'From this experience I’ve learned that when you’re body hurts, don’t let it slide and take care of it, you must see different doctors until some of them find the problem and heals it.

'Any pain even the little ones can hide something way more important.'

Most recently, she announced her engagement to French DJ Ben Attal on Sunday. 

They unwound at the five-star Four Seasons Astir Palace Hotel in Greece, where guests are invited to immerse themselves 'in a serene beachfront escape where sea, land, and culture come together in perfect harmony' – all for an eye-watering £600 per night.

It was here, in the exclusive grounds of the Four Seasons, that an ecstatic Thylane gave social media followers their first look at her engagement ring – a sparkling oval diamond, set in a solid gold band and worth more than £30,000 – shortly after accepting her boyfriend's outdoor proposal.

Captioning an array of photos, the model wrote: 'I said yes to my best friend. Here's to forever.