Delevinge talked to Rupert Everett last week for London’s Women In The World Summit, revealing that when she was 15 years old she began to struggle with depression and thoughts of suicide.
The 23 years old, Delevingne, has lived many years in the spotlight. After being featured in a Burberry campaign in 2011, she became one of the most coveted faces in the fashion industry. She recently launched her film career, and regularly broadcasts snippets of her life to millions of social media followers. But when she sat down in a conversation with actor Rupert Everett at the Women in the World Summit on Friday, Delevingne was nervous.
She began the conversation by peeling off her black stilettos. “Sorry, I had to take my shoes off, ’cause I’m bloody scared,” she said.
Then she read a poem:
Who am I?
Who am I trying to be?
Not myself.
Anyone but myself.
Living in a fantasy to bury the reality …
Full to the brim with fake confidence.
Delevingne created this poem about a year ago when she was feeling depressed. She told Everett that she has grappled with her mental health since she was a teenager, when she,
“wanted the world to swallow me up, and nothing seemed better to me than death.”
At 17, Delevingne left school and decided to start modeling. It was an escape route that ultimately offered little solace.
“The thing with models is you get used,” Delevingne said. “I saw a lot of misuse from photographers, perverse photographers, to young girls … Poor girls who don’t stand up for themselves because they feel like you should be used, because that’s what models do.”
Delevingne was struggling. She was exhausted and overworked. Perhaps as a direct consequence, she began to develop a condition called psoriasis, which caused welts to sprout up across her body.
“At that time, I really wanted someone to stop me,” she said. “And no one did.”
“Would you have listened to them?” Everett asked.
“Yes!” Delevingne exclaimed.
It was supermodel Kate Moss who ultimately advised Delevingne to slow things down. And so Delevingne took some time off to write, practice yoga, and relax. When she returned to work, she decided to switch tracks and pursue a passion that had been fomenting since she was a child: acting.
Delevingne’s Career:
Delevingne’s rise to fame was quick, glamorous, and sensational. She has modeled for everything from Burberry and Chanel, to Topshop and Mango. She also won millions of social media fans (four million on Twitter and 20.6 million on Instagram, to be exact) by being openly and gloriously weird. Often, Delevingne would post pictures of herself in what is now her signature pose: eyes crossed, tongue lolling. She appeared in public in animal onesies and beanies that read “Homies” in the style of the Hermes logo. With her bushy brows and eternal goofiness, Delevingne proved to be an irresistibly refreshing face on the fashion scene, normally so stuffy and aloof.
