‘I Told Her to Stay Far Away from That’ (Exclusive): Christy Turlington Reacts to Her Daughter Modeling

Christy Turlington’s daughter Grace Burns has been following in her mother’s footsteps on runways and in magazines — despite the supermodel's initial wishes against it.

In an exclusive conversation with PEOPLE on Friday, June 7, at the NewYork City luncheon for Through Her Lens: The Tribeca CHANEL Women’s Filmmaker Program, Turlington revealed what advice she gave her 20-year-old daughter about modeling.

“I told her to stay far away from that,” Turlington, 55, said.

"But she’s actually a storyteller, and I have a little bit of that in my work, too, as an advocate," she continued, seemingly referring to Grace’s recently released poetry book, Derived from Us.

“So in that sense, very excited, love her academic pursuits,” Turlington added. “The other part was a little harder to be excited about.”

Grace, who is one of Turlington and filmmaker Edward Burns’ two children, made her runway debut at the British Vogue X LuisaViaRoma show in Florence, Italy, in June 2023.

That year, the mother-daughter duo also appeared in a Carolina Herrera campaign.

Unlike her mother, who started modeling at age 14, Grace entered the industry later in life.

“I was officially allowed to begin modeling at 18; that was the age my mom always had in mind, and I wouldn’t have it any other way,” Gr -

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ace told HOMMES Magazine in 2022.

“I remember denying the interest to anyone and everyone because I hadn’t yet told her,” she added. “However, I’d longed to be 18 for some time. My first job was last January, after my birthday, after I had gotten into college.”

Grace, who balances modeling while attending the New York University Gallatin School of Individualized Study, has appeared in Perfect Magazine, MUSE Magazine and POP Magazine.

Turlington, a headline speaker at the Tribeca Film Festival, was at Friday’s event to continue spreading awareness for maternal health and her non-profit Every Mother Counts, which she founded in 2010 after the release of her documentary film, No Woman, No Cry.

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“I premiered my documentary here 14 years ago,” Turlington said. “So I have a soft spot for this festival, and I love this lunch in particular because I get to meet so many people.”

Other celebrity guests at the luncheon included Kerry Washington, Joey King, Ella Rubin, Jane Rosenthal, Camila Mendes and Katie Holmes.

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