Lourdes Leon

Leon's parents, Carlos Leon and Madonna in Argentina (1996)

Leon was born in Los Angeles, California, on the afternoon of October 14, 1996, to American singer, songwriter, and actress Madonna Ciccone and personal trainer and actor Carlos Leon.[1] Her mother is of Italian and French-Canadian ancestry, while her father is of Cuban heritage. She has multiple siblings from her parents' subsequent marriages and adoptions, respectively, including a paternal half-brother, a maternal half-brother, Rocco, from her mother's marriage to British film director Guy Ritchie, as well as a maternal brother, a sister and twin sisters each born in Malawi.[2]

Her mother put her in ballet classes beginning at age three after she expressed an interest.[3] Leon grew up in New York City and went to Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School, a performing arts school in Manhattan. Among other students, actor Timothée Chalamet also attended the school and she regards him as her first boyfriend. After graduating, she began college at the University of Michigan's Ann Arbor campus, but transferred to New York's Purchase College citing witnessing supporters of Donald Trump among the student body; she continued studying dance intensively at Purchase.[3]

Lourdes and Madonna (on the chairs) during the Celebration Tour in London, 2023

As a model, Leon made her debut starring in a perfume ad campaign for Pop by Stella McCartney, also featuring Grimes, Amandla Stenberg, and Kenya Kinski-Jones.[4] She has further appeared in campaigns for Marc Jacobs,[5] Miu Miu,[6] Calvin Klein, Tom Ford, Burberry, Savage X Fenty and Mugler.[7][8][9] In 2018, she made her runway debut at New York Fashion Week.[10] She appeared on the September 2021 cover of American Vogue with models Anok Yai, Ariel Nicholson, Bella Hadid, Kaia Gerber, Precious Lee, Sherry Shi, and Yumi Nu.[11]

In 2010, Madonna and Leon created Material Girl, a teenage clothing line sold exclusively through Macy's stores.[12] She made a cameo appearance in Madonna's alternative video of "Celebration".[13][14]

Leon, using the stage name Lolahol, made her musical debut in August 2022 via Chemical X, an imprint of record label Mad Decent.[15] Her first release was "Lock&Key", followed by "Cuntradiction" in November, both from her five-track debut EP Go, an experimental music project launched on November 9, 2022, in collaboration with Eartheater.[16][17] On October 11, 2023, she released "Spelling". Its video's visuals paid homenage to Madonna's video of "Frozen", as she stated: "It's an homage to my mother's timeless piece of art 'Frozen.' That piece has come up countless times in my life, connecting the two of us".[18] Leon also made her first major musical performance debut at IFEMA's Brava Madrid Music Festival on September 23, 2023.[19]