Leelee Sobieski’s Big Apple Baby: Daughter Lewi!
 Brian Doben |
For former teen star Leelee Sobieski, creating a nursery that her 8-month-old daughter Louisanna Ray — Lewi for short! — would find engaging was top priority.
After first considering a set of “frilly white bedding,” Sobieski, 27, and fiancé Adam Kimmel finally decided on a jungle theme. Why?
“If we were babies in a crib looking up, we’d like to see animals rather than lace!” she laughs.
And that’s lucky for Lewi, who owns at least three stuffed giraffes, including a self-standing 9-foot version.
“She touches it and she backs up laughing,” says Sobieski, who earned an Emmy nomination in the ’90s for the TV miniseries Joan of Arc.
 Brian Doben |
Unexpectedly, Lewi’s room — tucked away at the back of their Tribeca loft — is padded with plush blue carpeting, but not because her parents were expecting a boy.
Sobieski and fashion designer Kimmel simply “both like the color blue” she says. “We both had blue painted walls when we were little.”
 Brian Doben |
In terms of her baby’s personality, the actress admits, “When I was pregnant, I kept praying, ‘Please give me a lovable and loving, mysterious daughter that I can be fascinated by.'”
So far, her dreams have come true. Whether it’s little Lewi’s fascination with “loud, booming noises” or her scrutiny of every new face, Sobieski says, “I’m really seeing her curiosity come out now — she just looks so smart. If she laughs, I laugh. If I heard myself talking a year ago, I’d be like, ‘So boring!’ But that’s what happens. My baby is really fascinating to me.”
For more, check out the latest issue of People, featuring a 25-page celebrity baby bonus section.
 Brian Doben |
— Thailan Pham
