Heidi Klum recalls being snubbed by a client because of her pregnancy

Model and television personality Heidi Klum opens with a career setback she experienced while pregnant. In a candid interview, the model recalls an instance where she felt judged, highlighting the prejudice women face in the entertainment and modeling industry.

Heidi Klum lost a client while she was pregnant

Klum and her children, Leni and Henry, are on the cover of Paper magazine, and in the interview, the 52-year-old model opened up about the challenges she faces in the industry.

As Klum recalled, there was one instance where she lost a client due to her pregnancy. “When I was pregnant, they didn’t want to work with me anymore. They thought I wasn’t sexy anymore, because I was now a mother,” she shared, adding that before having children, she was always defined as being a “sexy woman,” but that label changed to “mom” when she became pregnant.

Klum welcomed her first child, Leni, in 2004 with partner Flavio Briatore. She then had Henry in 2005, Johan in 2006 and Lou in 2009 with ex-husband Seal.

The host talks about being pregnant on television

In 2003, Klum posed for the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show while four months pregnant with Leni, a fact she revealed in 2021. She gracefully walked the runway, donning the brand’s $11 million “Very Sexy Fantasy Bra.”

Klum was also a host of “Project Runway” during the years she was pregnant, which she said was a “big deal” at the time. “You didn’t see a lot of pregnant women on TV,” she said.

One of the challenges she faced was looking presentable on camera, and she struggled to find clothes that fit her growing belly. “I’m not hiding around the house pregnant. I’m on stage, I’m on TV and it’s a fashion show, I need to have good things,” she exclaimed.

This prompted her to launch her own maternity clothing line.

Heidi Klum’s maternity fashion line

In 2010, Klum spoke about offering fashionable pieces for moms-to-be, saying, “It’s so hard when you go to the closet in the morning and you don’t know what to wear.”

At the time, she worked with Motherhood Maternity and A Pea in the Pod to create pieces including leather pants and animal print clothing, ensuring they were not only stylish but also comfortable for pregnant women to wear.

A change in the world of modeling

After Klum shared her bad experience with the anonymous customer, Henry and Leni were asked if there has been a change in the way models are perceived today.

Leni shared that there has definitely been a “major change,” sharing that Klum’s generation was stricter in terms of the criteria for being a model. “A lot has changed now, and it’s given a lot of different people the opportunity to work in the industry, so there’s definitely been a huge change,” Leni said, which Henry agreed with.

Both Henry and Leni followed in their mother’s footsteps and pursued modeling careers. While Leni wanted to be a model since she was a preteen, Klum said she was too young. However, at the age of 16, Klum said she was old enough to pursue what she wanted.

Henry is also making waves in the modeling world, walking the runway in Paris in 2025, modeling for high-end brands and appearing on the cover of SHE with his mother in January.

Heidi Klum’s projects beyond modeling

While Klum first rose to fame as a model, she also built a successful career on television, hosting “Project Runway” for several years before leaving it in 2018. She returned for season 21 in 2025 and will return for the 22nd season airing in 2026.

Additionally, Klum is also the host and judge of “Germany’s Next Top Model”, which is in its 21st season. In 2024, Klum left “America’s Got Talent” after several years as a judge to return to host “Project Runway.”

With her busy schedule, Klum explained how she manages her time, saying, “There are two of me. One is at home, on the computer, and the other goes to the office. I’m a Gemini!”