Madonna's daughter needed "complete independence" from her "control freak" mother.

Lourdes Leon

Lourdes Leon

Lourdes Leon was happy to pay for her own college tuition and her apartment because she didn't want her famous mom to have any more "leverage" over her, though she insisted she and her siblings - Rocco, 21, David, 15, Mercy, 15, and nine-year-old twins Estere and Stella - have been raised not to rely on "hand-outs" because the 'Ray of Light' singer was determined to raise her children differently.

She said: "We don’t get any handouts in my family. Obviously, I grew up with extreme privilege. There’s no denying that. But I think my mom saw all these other kids of famous people, and she was like, 'My kids are not going to be like this.'

"Also, I feel like if your parents pay for things, then it gives them leverage over you. My mom is such a control freak, and she has controlled me my whole life. I needed to be completely independent from her as soon as I graduated high school."

But the 24-year-old model is also thankful for some of the advice she's been given by her mom.

She told Interview magazine: "She said something to me recently that has really stuck with me. I’ve been so concerned with making a decent living, and wanting to live more luxuriously than I was when I first graduated and wasn’t earning a lot of money.

"She was like, “Remember, this s*** is not real. It’s not about the money or your face or how hot you look. It’s about what you’re bringing into the world and what you’re going to leave behind.' That always shakes me awake when I get too caught up in everything."

And Lourdes is very proud of her mother for being so influential and "ahead of her time".

Asked how she reacts when she hears Madonna's music, she gushed: "I don’t cringe. My experience with my mom’s music has changed so much as I’ve gotten older, because I’m increasingly able to recognise how influential and amazing this woman is, and how empowering to other women and ahead of her time she has always been.

"I didn’t fully comprehend that until I realised the importance of empowerment and what it means to be a woman. She’s probably the hardest worker I’ve ever seen. I didn’t inherit that, unfortunately. I inherited her control issues, but not her work ethic."

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