The price of beauty often comes with ugly consequences for kids in front of the camera.
Thylane Blondeau, 25, the French model dubbed “the most beautiful girl in the world” at ages 6 and 17, radiated as one of the most beautiful brides on Monday, donning designer couture and cosmetics while tying the knot with groom Ben Attal, 29, in Paris.
No stranger to the spotlight, the siren, who made her runway debut with Jean Paul Gaultier during the early 2000s at age four, arrived at their wedding venue in a platinum Porsche 356 Speedster, welcomed by a throng of cheering loved ones memorializing the momentous occasion with pictures and video footage.
The flashing lights of Blondeau’s big day, however, harkened memories of the controversy that swarmed the brunette as a child superstar.
Vile claims that she was being “sexualized” by bigwigs in the fashion industry cast a shadow on Blondeau’s rise to fame, influencing her, in part, to shy away from the “most beautiful” moniker as she matured.
Blondeau’s mom, Veronika Loubry, immediately refuted critiques that her then 10-year-old daughter’s controversial 2011 spread in Vogue Paris was overly sexual.
For the editorial, Blondeau posed in a red dress, stilettos and diamonds while lying on a tiger-skin rug. The preteen, too, cut a steely stare in a gold frock with a plunge neckline dipping towards her belly button while propped up against animal-print pillows atop a plushy bed.
Shocked whistleblowers deemed the snapshots “sad” and “repulsive,” with one naysayer writing, “It’s inappropriate, and creepy, and I never want to see a nine-year-old girl in high-heeled leopard print bedroom slippers ever again.” A separate faultfinder argued that “any creepy child pornographer could plead ‘artistic license.’”
The pressure, criticisms and creepiness of working as a kiddie influencer can trigger “severe stress in childhood that has the potential to have mental and physical consequences later in life such as mental delays, heart disease, diabetes, substance abuse and depression,” according to a recent study on the mental impacts of “kidfluencing.”
The moneymaking minors dominating the multibillion-dollar space can earn an estimated $20,000 a month in ad revenue, per trending data, plus, as in the case of Blondeau, global notoriety.
But beyond the cash and the acclaim, little ones in the limelight are at high risk of being exploited by virtual perverts, warns author Fortessa Latifi in 2026 tome “Like, Follow, Subscribe,” a searing probe into the ethics, hidden costs and ramifications of growing up in the public eye.
Latifi admits to having been “shocked” by the number of “pedophiles cheering on the publishing of kid influencer content,” as reported in a 2024 New York Times investigation.
The analysis uncovered the seedy underbelly of child-centered social media accounts, many of which attracted a slew of sexualized comments from men interested in seeing young girls dance, perform gymnastics and model. Despite the unveiled depravity of the degenerates, Latifi writes that a faction of mothers who manage their daughters’ accounts “didn’t choose to change” the type of content they shared on the internet.
Blondeau’s mom, however, reportedly responded to the fashion shoot flak, saying, “The only thing that shocks me about the photo is the necklace that she’s wearing, which is worth 3 million Euros, or about $4.3 million.”
Unbothered by the Vogue backlash, Blondeau continued modeling throughout her adolescence, commanding the catwalk for the voguish likes of Dolce & Gabbana in 2015.
The glamor gal’s good looks garnered her the second “most beautiful girl in the world” crowning in 2018. But, she humbly told The Telegraph, “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.’”
Now, as a married woman in her mid-twenties, the bombshell, represented by IMG Models, continues to turn heads everywhere she goes, including her recent appearance at the Miu Miu show during Paris Fashion Week.
She’s also a brand ambassador for Lefties, a lifestyle imprint, and serves as the founder and creative director of beauty brand Enalyht.
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