Once they have conquered the runway, some models look elsewhere for a fresh challenge. We count down our favourite top models turned actresses.
By Natalie Trevis
Cara Delevingne at the Cannes Film Festival in 2013. Photography by Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images.
Cara Delevingne
Star of Paper Towns, Cara Delevingne. Photographed by Rune Hellestad/Corbis.
Cara Delevingne is the iconic model of the moment. Runway star, cover girl and face of Chanel, Burberry and DKNY as well as brand ambassador for Tag Heuer; it’s hard to believe that she’s only 22. Not content with modeling supremacy, Delevingne has revealed herself to be the ultimate of triple threats as she uses singing and acting to transcend media boundaries with style. Who didn’t fall in love with her romantic crooning (‘CC the world…’) alongside Pharrell in Karl Lagerfeld’s film Reincarnation for the Chanel Métiers d’Art collection this year? And now it’s time for her to make an impact on the big screen. Inspired by her small and coyly executed part in director Joe Wright’s Anna Karenina, Cara went on to play student Melanie in The Face of an Angel by Michael Winterbottom, a film about the tangled web of the Amanda Knox trial (and one of MOJEH.com’s films of 2015).
With four films currently in post-production, including the gritty London Fields, a dark murder mystery about a clairvoyant femme fatale based on the novel by Martin Amis, Delevingne is making a serious transition into film in 2015. A starring role in Paper Towns is sure to be a highlight. Cara plays Margo Roth Spiegelman in this romantic comedy-drama based on a novel by John Green (he also authored The Fault in Our Stars), bringing her natural charm and warmth to a story about a childhood friendship that ends in a mysterious disappearance. ‘Delevingne’s audition blew everyone away (including me!) and she understands Margo profoundly,’ said Green. We’re also looking out for some serious costume moments from Cara in her cameo as an ethereal mermaid in Pan (starring Hugh Jackman as Blackbeard and Rooney Mara as Tiger Lily) and in corset-ready 17th century period drama, Tulip Fever. More than a flight of fancy, Cara looks set to make her thespian side a serious part of her multi-tasking career plan.
Lily Cole
Actress and activist, Lily Cole. Photographed by Camilla Morandi/Corbis.
When Lily Cole caught the eye of photographer Steven Meisel in the early noughties, her flame-haired locks and wide-set eyes brought a new kind of doll-faced magic to the fashion world. A beauty which evidently translates to the big screen. In 2007 the double-first Cambridge graduate and environmental activist made the jump into film with a role as the studious Polly in St. Trinian’s alongside Rupert Everett and Colin Firth. Her next major foray into the film industry saw her pair up with Heath Ledger (who tragically died during filming) as the doomed Valentina in The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, directed by Terry Gilliam. A role that Lily played with poise despite her relative lack of experience. ‘Lily is just incredibly intelligent,’ Gilliam told The Telegraph at the time. ‘She has an amazing look and grasps what is required so very quickly. If she wants a career as an actress, she has a brilliant future.’ With numerous other credits to her name, including several horror flicks (notably Mary Harron’s the Moth Diaries) and an upcoming role in London Fields with Cara Delevingne, it’s clear that Cole has said goodbye to modelling and a big hello to acting.
Liya Kebede
Liya Kebede at the Cannes International Film Festival in 2010. Photographed by Stephane Cardinale/People Avenue/Corbis.
Willowy and regal, Liya Kebede got her big break when Tom Ford booked her exclusively for his Gucci autumn/winter show in 2010. From there Kebede has consistently fronted luxury campaigns from Louis Vuitton to Escada to Dolce & Gabbana, joining the roll call of the highest paid models along the way. But the big leagues of modeling, launching a sustainable clothing line and running her namesake charitable foundation have not been enough to contain her star quality and she made one of her breakout appearances in The Good Shepherd in 2006, directed by Robert De Niro. Liya followed up with the poignant lead in Desert Flower, charting the true story of Waris Dirie, the Somalian nomadic child turned American model. In 2010 Kebede won the Trophée Chopard at the Cannes Film Festival, designed to acknowledge and encourage the career of up and coming actors, and last year Kebede starred in 419, a dark love story between French musician Mino and music lover, Grace, who becomes entwined with a Nigerian mafia organization. With each role as compelling as the last, Liya’s star power continues to grow in every direction.
For more models taking a leap of faith into the competitive acting world, look no further than tomboy model and Electricity star, Agyness Dean in Sunset Song in 2015; take in the dystopian beauty of Rosie Huntington-Whiteley and Abbey Lee Kershaw in the apocalyptic world of Mad Max: Fury Road (starring Charlize Theron and Tom Hardy); and catch Brooklyn Decker in road trip drama Lovesong.
And a few of our favourite supers who led the way…
Claudia Schiffer appeared in Zoolander and Love Actually; Elle Macpherson (pictured with fellow model/actress Christie Brinkley) played love interest to George Clooney’s Batman in Batman & Robin in 1997; Milla Jovovich made her breakthrough in The Fifth Element with Bruce Willis and went on to star in The Resident Evil franchise; Chanel favourite Shalom Harlow appeared in How To Lose a Guy in Ten Days and Vanilla Sky; Grace Jones (pictured with Brooke Shields) modeled, sang and acted her way through a prolific show business career, including acting roles in A View to A Kill and Conan the Destroyer; and Olga Kurylenko hasn’t looked back since her bond girl days in the Quantum of Solace. All images courtesy of Corbis.
