Heidi Klum turns 50: her path from model to business woman and mother

She was born in the North Rhine-Westphalian town of Bergisch Gladbach, today there is hardly a person in the world who does not know Heidi Klum. Starting with the first competitions, cover shoots and catwalk jobs to her own show and a permanent jury seat in a US talent show – the model has not only gained a foothold in the fashion industry, but also in the entertainment world. She is also the proud mother of four children and a passionate wife – today, June 1st, she will be 50 years old.

That’s how it all started

At the time, Heidi Klum did not consider skipping her schooling for modeling. She passed her high school diploma with flying colors at a comprehensive school in her place of birth, but she canceled her training as a fashion designer in Düsseldorf. With her victory in the “Model ’92” competition, which took place on the RTL “Late Night” show by Thomas Gottschalk (73) and Holm Dressler, she laid the foundation for her internationally successful modeling career. After that, Klum went to the USA…

There she walked the catwalk for the first time in 1997 as a “Victoria’s Secret” angel and posed for the cover of the US magazine “Sports Illustrated” in 1998 – Klum’s big breakthrough. The magazines “Vogue” and “Elle” also became aware of the Bergisch-Gladbach native, who was still brunette at the time.

Further advertising jobs followed, both for jewelry and clothing as well as for perfumes, beauty products and confectionery. The name Heidi Klum developed into its own brand, so that designers named their own collections after the model. Her book “Naturally Successful” was published in 2005.

The fact that Klum landed on the “Forbes” list of the highest paid models in the world just three years later is not surprising after this rapid rise. The following year, Vogue dedicated a complete 140-page June issue to her.

Your “GNTM” empire

At that time, Heidi Klum was no longer just a pure model, but also a media entrepreneur and entertainer. Together with the German private broadcaster ProSieben, she launched the casting show “Germany’s next top model” in 2006 – the 18th season is currently running.

Over the years, the format, which is mainly shot in Klum’s adopted home of Los Angeles, has also made models such as Lena Gercke (35), Barbara Meier (36), Stefanie Giesinger (26) and Rebecca Mir (31) known. Many celebrities from the fashion and music scene were guests as jurors or coaches, including Wolfgang Joop (78), Michael Michalsky (56), Kylie Minogue (55), Alessandra Ambrosio (42), Winnie Harlow (28) and Toni Garrn (30). Music acts like Tokio Hotel, Zoe Wees (21), Rita Ora (32) or Wincent Weiss (30) appeared in the grand finale, which Klum has always moderated since the beginning of the show.

Established in the USA

Heidi Klum also owes the prominent guest list to her successful career in the USA. There you saw her not only in small cameo appearances in productions like “Sex and the City”, “The Devil Wears Prada”, “How I Met Your Mother” or “Desperate Housewives”.

She also produced and hosted the US talent shows “Project Runway” and “Making the Cut” together with US fashion consultant Tim Gunn (69). She received an Emmy for the former format in 2013. For ten years, Klum has also been on the jury of the talent show “America’s Got Talent” – the US equivalent of “Das Supertalent”.

Passionate mom of four

Despite her numerous projects, Klum’s family life never fell short. Her job as a thoroughbred mother is a priority for the 50-year-old. On Instagram she regularly shows photos of birthdays.

Klum’s eldest daughter Leni (19), who came from her previous relationship with Formula 1 manager Flavio Briatore (73), who was 23 years older than him and was adopted by Heidi’s future husband Seal (60), is now studying interior design in New pulled York. But Leni also works diligently on her modeling career. The 19-year-old is the only one of Klum’s children to be shown in public.

With Lou (13), Johan (16) and Henry (17), whose biological father is Seal, Heidi still respects privacy.

She gets support from her husband Tom Kaulitz (33), with whom she has been officially in a relationship since 2018 and has been married since February 2019. She seems to have finally found happiness with the Tokio Hotel guitarist, who is 17 years her junior. Before their 50th birthday, the two spent a romantic vacation in France. As an exception, Kaulitz is responsible for the celebration itself this year, as Klum revealed a few days ago in a question and answer session on Instagram …

By the way, the 50 does not seem to bother the entertainer much. She recently clarified that 50 is “just a number” for her: “Inside I don’t feel like 50.”

Birthday party on ProSieben

Of course, Heidi Klum’s milestone birthday on June 1st will not take place without a special program on television. Her house and yard broadcaster ProSieben dedicates a “Heidi Day” to her, meaning: Throughout the day, clips are repeatedly broadcast in which famous companions congratulate the birthday child. The Heidi homage really gets going from 1:10 p.m. with the top 3 of the “best makeovers from 18 seasons of ‘Germany’s next top model'”.

From 7:10 p.m., viewers can then watch the model’s remarkable career in the special “Happy Birthday, Heidi”. With archive footage and interviews, it shows how the girl from Bergisch Gladbach became an internationally successful top model and a world-famous TV personality.

And because June 1st is a Thursday, primetime also belongs entirely to Heidi Klum: As in the previous weeks, ProSieben will broadcast a new episode of “Germany’s next top model” from 8:15 p.m.