The controversial parents behind the ‘world’s most beautiful girl’: How Thylane Blondeau’s French ex-footballer father and TV star mother caused outrage over daughter’s ‘sexualised’ photos at 10 years old

Earning the title of ‘the world’s most beautiful little girl’ when she was six meant Thylane Blondeau was always destined for a career in fashion. 

Now 24, the French-born model is a regular fixture on runways in Milan, Paris, and London, and her Instagram feed is littered with photos from campaigns for luxury brands – a CV that’s fitting for someone cherry-picked by Jean Paul Gaultier as one to watch. 

Thylane was four when she walked for the Parisian designer in a ‘launch’ most professional models can only dream of – but her subsequent modelling assignments often raised questions about the overly ‘sexualised’ portrayal of young girls in the industry. 

It also subjected her parents – fashion designer Veronika Loubry and ex-footballer Patrick Blondeau – to a barrage of criticism for ‘prematurely exposing’ Thylane to the ‘adult world’ after she appeared in a highly divisive Vogue Paris shoot. 

Veronika, a former TV presenter and actress, brushed off the criticism, but images of Thylane, then 10, dressed in provocative outfits and wearing heavy makeup, 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. 

Thylane is the daughter of French former TV presenter Veronika Loubry and international football player Patrick Blondeau.

The French beauty gets her looks from Veronika, who began her career in the Nineties as a newsreader on the Cinquième that pre-dated the country’s public TV channel France 5. 

Earning the title of ‘the world’s most beautiful little girl’ when she was six meant Thylane Blondeau was always destined for a career in fashion

However, her career has often subjected her parents – fashion designer Veronika Loubry (above) and ex-footballer Patrick Blondeau – to a barrage of criticism for ‘prematurely exposing’ Thylane to the ‘adult world’ after she appeared in a highly divisive Vogue Paris shoot.

At the time of his divorce, Patrick, the former captain of Olympique de Marseille, was reportedly a players’ agent and restauranteur – following an international career that included six months in the English Premier League during the Noughtie

In addition to playing the lead role in the sitcom Paradis d’enfer in 1997, Veronika earned a handful of supporting actor roles and appeared in shows liks Le Miracle de l’Amour. 

In 2005, she participated in the second season of controversial reality TV show, La Ferme Célébrités that follows 15 celebrities after they are shipped off to a farm for 10 weeks. 

The program, which was cancelled after three seasons due to low ratings, attracted criticism for its treatment of animals and presenting a ‘caricatured image of the rural world’. 

The third season, while was filmed in the Zulu Nyala reserve in South Africa, sparked controversy for promoting the ‘most appalling colonial cliches’ as academic Pap Ndiaye noted the show portrayed Africa as ‘dangerous, hostil, primitive’. 

Veronika’s stint on the show’s second season, filmed in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region, became the fifth celebrity to be booted off the French commune. 

Veronika has been married twice, with her first marriage to French windsurfing champion Robert Teriitehau ending in 1999. 

Three years later she tied the knot with former footballer Patrick Blondeau, with whom she shares Thylane and 18-year-old son, Ayrton Blondeau. 

Veronika and Patrick’s marriage of 14 years ended in divorce as Closer magazine reported their relationship became strained by the pair’s professional commitments. 

Veronika, Patrick, and their daughter, Thylane in a photograph from 2003, when the model would have been two

Thylane with her younger brother Ayrton in a snap posted by the siblings’ mother Veronika on Instagram 

A translated version of the report noted that while Veronika and Patrick’s many ‘professional obligations’ ultimately caused a gradual ‘erosion of their beautiful union’, they remain ‘best friends in the world’. 

At the time of his divorce, Patrick, the former captain of Olympique de Marseille, was reportedly a players’ agent and restauranteur – following an international career that included six months in the English Premier League during the Noughties. 

The midfielder’s short period in the Premier League didn’t quite reach the levels of success of his daughter’s current modelling career, as he managed just six appearances in the division.

Blondeau signed for Sheffield Wednesday following an eight-year spell at Monaco, where he won the Ligue 1 title in the 1996-97 season.

However, despite playing a major role for Les Rouge et Blanc in their title-winning side, his form didn’t carry over into England.

In an interview with French newspaper L’Equipe, Patrick, now 57, spoke of his regret over leaving Monaco to a club in a ‘dark industrial city’.

‘I wondered if suddenly I’d become a bad player. Tactically, nothing made sense. 

‘If it continues, I’ll lose all my football skills,’ he said. 

Veronika and Thylane in a snap the former TV presenter included in her Instagram post marking the 24-year-old’s birthday 

The mother-daughter appear to share a close relationship and routinely appear on each other’s social media profiles 

Thylane was four when she walked the ramp for legendary designer Jean Paul Gaultier 

The now-retired footballer also branded Sheffield Wednesday ‘not very professional’ under the helm of then-manager David Pleat, as he explained: ‘We work a lot less in training than in France, which is not very professional. 

‘Under [then-manager Jean] Tigana at Monaco, if we were told to arrive at 8am, we didn’t come in at 8.05. Here you can arrive at 8.30 and no one says anything.’ 

The football club reportedly said Patrick had been misquoted in a statement but he returned to France in January 1998 after just one season in Hillsborough. 

The Frenchman, who notched up two caps for his country, did return to the UK three years later to play for Watford in the First Division – now known as the Championship – following the birth of Thylane.

However, once again, the midfielder would not stay long, and after just one season, he would return to France, where Thylane would make a name for herself as a young model.

Following his retirement from football, Patrick devoted himself to running his restaurant in Aix-en-Provence while raising his son Ayrton, who was eight at the time of his parents’ divorce in 2016. 

Meanwhile, Veronika runs a fashion boutique in her hometown of Aix-en-Provence, while promoting her clothing collections on Instagram as well as managing her daughter Thylane’s modelling and acting career. 

From her very first gig walking for Gaultier to promoting Thylane’s latest beauty brand, Veronika has remained by her daughter’s side at every step of the way. 

The French beauty gets her looks from Veronika, who began her career in the Nineties as a newsreader on the Cinquième that pre-dated the country’s public TV channel France 5

French TV stars Cachou (L) and Veronika Loubry dance on the steps of the Palais des Festivals as they arrive 16 May for the screening of “La Classe de Neige” by French director Claude Miller

Blondeau signed for Sheffield Wednesday following an eight-year spell at Monaco, where he won the Ligue 1 title in the 1996-97 season

However, despite playing a major role for Les Rouge et Blanc in their title-winning side, his form didn’t carry over into England

She was three when an agent for the legendary fashion designer Jean Paul Gaultier picked her out of a crowd in The Champs-Elysees in Paris and sent her strutting down a runway. 

Recounting that fateful moment her life changed, Thylane previously told The Telegraph: ‘My mum said, ‘No, she’s not with an agency, she can’t do this.’

‘Jean Paul Gaultier said, ‘She has to be there tomorrow.’ So Mum was like, ‘Why not?’

Thylane was later named ‘the most beautiful little girl in the world’ by Vogue Paris supplement Vogue Enfants in 2007. 

Then six, Thylane was photographed wearing a white dress as she ran through a field of wheat for the cover shot that was emblazoned with the words ‘l’échappée belle’ or ‘the beautiful escape’ and captivated readers across the world. 

The same year, Thylane topped TC Candler’s list of ‘The 100 Most Beautiful Faces’ in the world and the title became inextricably wound up with her identity. 

However, Thylane’s then-nascent modelling career came under public scrutiny after she was cast in what many felt was an inappropriate photo shoot for a 10-year-old, as Veronika staunchly defended her  while calling out ‘bad people in the USA’ for highlighting the Vogue Paris editorial. 

Thylane became the youngest ever model to pose for Vogue Paris, for an issue guest edited by Tom Ford, but her outfits and expressions triggered fierce debates about the sexualisation of young girls in mainstream media. 

Thylane was 16 when L’Oreal unveiled her as a brand ambassador, with the French-born model following in the steps of global superstars like Eva Longoria, Jennifer Lopez, and Helen Mirren

Thylane became the youngest ever model to pose for Vogue Paris, for an issue guest edited by Tom Ford, but her outfits and expressions triggered fierce debates about the sexualisation of young girls in mainstream media

 Thylane with her mother Veronika Loubry at the 17th NRJ Music Awards at Palais des Festivals on November 7, 2015 in Cannes, France

The images were part of a controversial fashion spread titled ‘Quel Maquillage à Quel Âge?’ or, in English, ‘What Makeup at What Age?’

Blondeau, then only 10, was dressed in a low-cut gold dress and heels, shooting the camera a sultry gaze in one widely circulated photograph. 

In another, the preteen is dressed in a red and white dress, Louboutin heels, and diamond accessories, with a full face of makeup. 

The editorial sparked widespread outrage and condemnation from parents, child psychology experts, and readers – even as Veronica appeared to dismiss the criticism. 

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 ($4.3 million).’ 

Soon after, however, 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.

Thylane during Milan Fashion Week in 2019

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. 

The St. Tropez-born supermodel has been a regular fixture of the TC Candler list, founded in 1990 by British film critic TC Candler, since she won the 2007 awards, aged six,  and even reclaimed the top spot in 2018. 

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

The awards pride themselves on being the most ‘diverse’ beauty awards and fans wait eagerly for the winners to be revealed in TC Candler’s annual announcement video on YouTube. 

The video that declared Thylane 2018’s winner racked up over two million views in just two days.

Taking to Instagram, a delighted Thylane thanked the competition for the award, admitting that she ‘couldn’t believe it’.

Sharing a snapshot of the viral video, she wrote: ‘I just can’t believe it myself, thanks so much @tccandler and everyone who voted.’ 

She continued: ‘I never thought I was once number one!’

Six years later, she 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.

She also stormed the L’Oreal Paris catwalk show at Paris Fashion Week the same year.

Thylane was 16 when L’Oreal unveiled her as a brand ambassador, with the French-born model following in the steps of global superstars like Eva Longoria, Jennifer Lopez, and Helen Mirren. 

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.

By 2018, Thylane was already a well-regarded supermodel, with brand deals, couture campaigns, and prestigious runway shows all under her belt.

Today, the 24-year-old has worked for some of the biggest names in the industry – from Miu Miu and Dolce & Gabbana, to Versace, Ralph Lauren, and Hugo Boss. 

Since she earned worldwide fame as the world’s most beautiful girl, Blondeau has mingled with the creme de la creme of the industry, including Jourdan Dunn and Gigi Hadidi, as well as famous nepo babies like Brooklyn Beckham, who used to live next door to her in the exclusive London neighborhood of Kensington.

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.’

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