Mommy's girl to Tommy's girl
(Filed: 16/04/2002)
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LAST week, at a candlelit dinner before the lavish opening of the new Tommy Hilfiger store in Manchester, all eyes were on Sonja Kinski.
Tommy world: Sonja Kinski with (l-r) Cat Deeley, George P Bush and Leah Wood
The 16-year-old daughter of actress Nastassja Kinski had flown into town with the American President's nephew, George P Bush, to act as an ambassador for the all-American brand.
As she sat there, quietly gazing into a glass of mineral water, she seemed oblivious to the effect she was having on everyone else in the room.
Whenever she looked up, blinking huge brown Bambi eyes, all small talk ceased. It was impossible not to be distracted by Sonja's striking resemblance to her mother, who is still considered one of the world's most beautiful women.
It is not just Sonja's dark brown eyes and full lips that make observers do a double-take. She has also inherited that enviable Kinski blend of vulnerability and smouldering sexuality that made her mother so unforgettable in films such as Cat People and Paris, Texas.
It is somewhat surprising, then, when she finally speaks, to find that she doesn't have her mother's husky German-American accent.
"Mom is very strict," Sonja says, in a soft Californian drawl. "She made me bring all my school books with me to Europe. It rained all the time in France and I had to study hard every day."
It is school, not modelling, that is foremost in Sonja's life, her nanny tells me, as she carefully moves a glass of champagne out of the teenager's reach.
Working for Tommy Hilfiger is an exception, because the American designer is a close friend of the family.
"I was hanging out with Mom at a big LA store opening," says Sonja, "and, suddenly, Tommy wandered by and stopped dead. 'You should be a Tommy girl,' he said. Since then, we've become great friends. Mom likes the clothes and so do I; they're fresh and young. I've spent the last year doing some work at the stores, but only in school holidays."
During a shop opening in Paris, Sonja was spotted by French Vogue and was given her first fashion assignment.
"The article was more about me than fashion," she says. "But I'm not interested in becoming a model or an actress. I want to be a painter."
Her mother may be relieved to learn that history isn't likely to repeat itself. At the age of 14, Nastassja met the then 42-year-old film director Roman Polanski at a party. The encounter led to her first modelling assignment and ultimately a love affair. He later made her the star of Tess, a role that won her the 1981 Golden Globe award for Best Actress.
"Tess is my favourite film," says Sonja, whose father is the Egyptian film producer Ibrahim Moussa.
Although her mother had an unconventional childhood - Nastassja's father was the actor Klaus Kinski and she appeared in her first film aged 13 - Sonja has had a relatively normal upbringing. "I go to an ordinary school in Bel Air and my favourite subject is art and painting. I love to paint with oils," she says.
"My mom and I have a great relationship. We live in our own little world. She's my icon and my mentor in every way imaginable. I talk to her about everything and we swap clothes. She's really into vintage and simple stuff, like jeans and T-shirts.
"Mom is not starry or typical of an actress at all. She doesn't even mix with other actors or go to parties every night. She prefers regular people. She's letting me do this modelling because I got stressed about my grades. She loves me having fun - and this is great fun."
Original Article: fashion.telegraph.co.uk