The Slow Roll-Out Of Lourdes Leon, Designer, Dancer & Actress

Scrutinized since birth, the eldest daughter of Madonna clearly wants to be in the spotlight herself, as a designer, as a dancer, and as an actress. Madonna is acquiescing — within limits.

In a world where your daughter’s eyebrows become part of a national conversation, who can blame Madonna for wanting to be protective? She reportedly refusing to let her daughter take a part in The Secret Lives of Bees two years ago. “Madonna didn’t work ’til after high school, and she wants it to be the same way for Lourdes,” according to Star’s unnamed source. “She doesn’t want her to enter that harsh world.”

But two years later, she’s allowing her a role in her own movie about Edward VIII, which presumably offers more direct supervision. Lola, as she’s called, even backflipped in her mom’s own video last fall, and is enrolling in the Professional Children’s School following the family’s move to New York.

Material Girl, a line supposedly co-designed by Madonna and Lourdes, debuts at Macy’s this fall, representing Lourdes’ most visible outing yet. Madonna has repeatedly given credit to her daughter — who’s gotten tons of attention for her style for years — for the actual designing. (It helps when Mom is besties with Stella McCartney and Dolce and Gabbana). That said, Lourdes isn’t hitting the interview circuit yet. That’s still her mother’s job. Asked whether she was concerned about putting her daughter out there, she told the AP,

That is why I am here talking about the line and she is not. Eventually I will let her. I feel like she needs to get into high school and focus on her studies, her lessons. She got into the high school of the performing arts. She has a lot of work to do. I don’t want her to be distracted. She will eventually be able to talk about it. I am going to be happy when she does because she can speak much more clearly in and in a more informed way than I can about a line she is ultimately designing. I just stand in the background and go, “That’s cool. That’s not cool.”

It’s a delicate balance for a mother whose early career involved ruthlessly courting the spotlight. The clear aim would be to have a teen in the spotlight in the manner of Dakota Fanning rather than Lindsay Lohan. Or, since their parents weren’t famous, maybe less Tatum O’Neal, more… actually, it’s hard to think of an example of a well-adjusted celebrity progeny who followed in their parental footsteps. Am I missing someone here, or is it just that hard to find?

Madonna On Her ‘Material Girl’ Fashion Line With Daughter Lourdes [Access Hollywood]
Madonna Teams With Daughter Lola On Fashion Line [AP]

Related: Madonna Bags Film Role For Daughter Lourdes [Sun]
Madonna, Lourdes To Launch ‘Material Girl’ Line [AFP]

Earlier: Yes, That Is 12-Year-Old Lourdes In Madonna’s New Video
How Young Is Too Young For Plucking?