“Never in a million years did I think that my dreams would also overlap with my mom’s,”
Hamlin tells PEOPLE of Rinna’s catwalk comeback while chatting about their heartwarming bond
Over the past few years, Amelia Gray Hamlin has been navigating her modeling career. So has her mom, Lisa Rinna.
“I think it’s been so beautiful for the two of us to be able to go on this fashion journey together. Never in a million years did I think that my dreams would also overlap with my mom’s, but we’re loving this for her,” Hamlin, 22, tells PEOPLE exclusively while chatting about her new partnership with Motorola.
At 16, Hamlin made her runway debut in 2017 during the Dennis Basso New York Fashion Week show and has since been taking the modeling scene by storm. In recent years, she’s walked for the likes of Chanel, Vivienne Westwood, Tommy Hilfiger and Miu Miu (just to name a few), but the budding mainstay is still “processing” all the opportunities coming her way.
“It’s been the most amazing two years I could have ever dreamt of,” she says. “I’m having a blast and I’m so grateful and I’m really happy. I just feel super lucky.”
And while Rinna, 60, is certainly no stranger to making a runway appearance or two, she’s recently been hitting her stride — or shall we say strut — in her golden years and redefining what it means to be a runway icon. (Earlier this year the actress made headlines as she took center stage at the Rotate presentation in a daring spaghetti-strap swimsuit and leopard coat.)
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“Being able to travel all over the world together at the same time has been this really nice opportunity for our relationship to grow,” Hamlin tells PEOPLE of how she and her mom have been riding this new stage of their lives side by side.
There’s also plenty of posing tips between the mother-daughter duo, which they’ll share with each other during their downtime. “We’ll go to dinner and I’ll ask her for advice and she’ll ask me for advice. Nobody understands this industry except for the people in it, so it’s been really nice for both of us to navigate this together.”
Rinna and Hamlin have also made their mark on the beauty space too.
The former Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star launched her beauty line — which boasts lip products, eye makeup and body care — back in 2020, and Hamlin even created her own lip kit for the brand!
“Rinna Beauty is so my mom. It’s so amazing and so beautiful,” Hamlin tells PEOPLE, adding that she’s learned a few things about herself and the makeup she likes to wear just by watching her mom dive into her own venture.
“I’m trying to figure out, as a woman, if I even like to wear lipstick (I definitely like lip liner). I’m slowly getting into the lipstick game. I think I can start appreciating it now,” she says.
“Now that she has this brand,” adds Hamlin, “it’s been really fun for me to understand what I like. Everyone is just so individual and so is how you choose to present them on a day-to-day basis. I think that’s what makes this brand so perfect for her.”
Whether it comes down to how she does her makeup or the way she commands the runway and red carpet with confidence, Hamlin owes it all to her mama.
“She’s the reason I am who I am. I am so lucky that that is the woman that raised me,” she says of Rinna. “To be exposed at such a young age to unapologetically love yourself with zero shame has just made me who I am today.”