Did you know that the model and actor plays the drums?
BY SCARLETT COUGHLAN, IMAGE BY DREAMSTIME
The first thing that springs to mind at the mention of Cara Delevingne is the word “eyebrows”. After post-millennial trends shifted towards the over-plucked, the supermodel unabashedly and single-handedly shifted the tides of brow styles to make the thicker variety cool again.
But, beneath her bold countenance, there is much more to Delevingne. Having traversed into acting, appearing in films such as Suicide Squad, as well as TV shows like American Horror Story, it already seemed that the Londoner’s talents were endless. That is before the 31-year-old added yet another string to her bow as she went on to star in the critically-acclaimed West End musical, Cabaret. But what else is there to know about the queer icon?
She plays the drums
Delevingne first picked up a pair of drumsticks at 10 years old, having been strongly encouraged to do so by her parents (she had a lot of energy to dispel, apparently). Then, two years later, Delevingne became the drummer in a band called The Clementines. But her musical aspirations didn’t stop there. A singer and guitarist (and ukulele player, if you class that as being different to the guitar), too, Delevingne would still love to become a musician – if she is ever able to conquer her fear of singing in public and writing her own songs.
Her preferred term for her sexuality is “queer”
Despite being so open about her sexuality nowadays, Delevingne initially struggled to come to terms with the fact that she wasn’t straight. At age 20, however, Delevingne began to accept her sexuality and dated musician Annie Clark (known as St Vincent) for a year and a half. Since then, the way the actor-model identifies has shifted. First labelling herself as bisexual, then pansexual, Delevingne now feels most comfortable with the flexibility that the term “queer” affords.
She and girlfriend Minke have known each other for two decades
Delevingne may have been with her girlfriend, singer Minke (real name Leah Mason), for just a couple of years, but they actually met for the first time as children at Bedales School in Hampshire. After losing touch, however, the pair reconnected at an Alanis Morissette gig 12 years later.
Her debut novel came out in 2017
As well as being a talented musician, actor and model, it turns out that Delevingne writes books, too. Her debut novel, Mirror Mirror, which she created in collaboration with established author Rowan Coleman, was first published in 2017 and tells the coming-of-age story of four teenage girls. Since then, she has also contributed to the short story book, The Most Important Comic Book On Earth, a visual medium centred around environmentalism.
She has over 20 tattoos
We’ve all seen the lion tattoo on Delevingne’s finger – after all, it’s been captured in the myriad jewellery campaigns that she’s modelled for – but there’s a lot more ink where that came from. The majority of her tattoos were done by the New York-based artist Bang Bang, which includes a matching rose tattoo with her close friend, Selena Gomez. One of her most (unsuspectingly) meaningful pieces, however, is the “Made In England” stamp on her left foot, which she told Tatler, was done in response to the objectification she has faced working in the modelling industry, where she has sometimes felt like a doll or mannequin.
She’s an animal person
Amongst Delevingne’s other countless qualities, the model and actor is a lover of animals. Delevingne lore says that she adopted her late pet rabbit Cecil after working with him on a photoshoot. Meanwhile, she has two dogs, Leo and Alfie, who often feature on the model’s 41-million-follower-strong Instagram page. In addition, Delevingne has two cats – who were recently saved by firefighters from a house fire that engulfed the A-lister’s Hollywood mansion.
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