'The Idol' star Lily-Rose Depp on why she never rebelled against parents Vanessa Paradis and Johnny Depp
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: ‘The Idol’ is all set to make its grand debut on HBO on June 4 after shocking the Cannes with its bold content. A show that charts the life of a controversial young pop icon, played by Johnny Depp and Vanessa Paradis’ daughter Lily-Rose Depp, and her relationship with an LA-based club owner and cult leader who is played by The Weeknd. Lily-Rose Depp, 23, who is now busy promoting the upcoming show ‘The Idol’, recently shared a photo of herself wearing black lingerie where she channelized her inner diva that reminded the fans of her mother, and subsequently her relationship with the French model and actress.
As Lily shared her black lace teddy-wearing photo, fans could not help but be reminded of Paradis’ similar 2011 gothic photoshoot for i-D wearing black lace lingerie. While many deemed it to be a subtle homage to her mother Paradis, it brought to the fore the close relationship the mother and daughter share.
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'She’s taught me a lot about self-confidence'
Lily, who has already become the talk of the town for her portrayal of the bold and daring pop icon on-screen for ‘The Idol’, has also been inspired by her mother in this arena. Paradis, who was a breakout music star in 1987, when she was just 14, was slammed by detractors for showing explicit scenes in her song ‘Joe le Taxi’. She was also the face of a 1991 Lolita-esque Chanel ad., for which she received immense backlash. Lily told The Face, “People were truly horrible to her. It was a different time,” before adding, “Women weren’t as celebrated for being comfortable in their sexuality. My mum is a trailblazer, truly. She’s taught me a lot about self-confidence.”
She was also taught to embrace her nudity and celebrate it in cinema. In the same interview, Lily said that she is "not nervous bout stuff like that,” before adding, "I grew up being, like, topless on the beach. I was raised by a French mother who taught me that there was nothing shameful about your body."
'I wanted to be like Mum'
In a 2019 interview with The Sun, the ‘Tusk’ actress said having not-so-strict parents at home did not help her being a rebel, as she said, “My parents weren’t very strict. They’ve always trusted me to be independent and make my own decisions. There wasn’t really anything to rebel against,” before elaborating on, “They both left school when they were 15, so they can’t really say anything. I never thought of university as my goal.” Lily continued, "I’ve always just wanted to work. I didn’t have any incentive to keep doing all that work.”
However, she has always found inspiration in her mother, “When I was little, I wanted to be a singer, just because I wanted to be like Mum. Every little girl wants to be like her mum." In a hilarious anecdote, she shared her passion for modeling and make-up, in fact, found its way from her mother only, “I would try on all of her dresses and shoes, even though I was in diapers at the time,” before adding, “There’s actually a picture of me in a diaper wearing Chanel pumps.
But it was the mother who has always encouraged her to pursue her passion, “She is very natural, so she’d steer me in that direction,” said Lily before adding, “But the first time that my mum gave me make-up that I was allowed to wear, I must have been 12 or 13. I still have it. It was also her rite of passage to stardom, “And it’s also kind of symbolic, it’s like the turning of a page, becoming a young lady.”
In a February 2023 interview with i-D, ‘The King’ actress continued, "Whenever I see old photos of her, I'm like, 'Ugh. That's what I look like in my dreams,'" and added, "She'll send me photos of her when she was younger, and say things like, 'We're twins.' And I'm like, 'You're so much prettier than me.' She's so beautiful."
Lily-Rose’s mother’s influence on her and brother Jack Depp’s life is unmissable, as she, with her French upbringing and go-getter attitude instilled the same in her children. In an interview with Elle, Lily-Rose commented, "It was really cool for me and my brother to see our mom being the ultimate comforting and loving person, but also having such a rich, full life of her own, watching her go onstage and sing for thousands of people, and just be so in her own zone and in touch with herself and her art."