Get to know ‘the model with the eyebrows’
Cara Delevingne has become inescapable, transitioning from runway to big screen
Cara Delevingne, star of Paper Towns, which debuted with $12.5 million (U.S.) at the box office last weekend, is one of those celebrities who is suddenly all over the place, out of nowhere. And unless you’re a teen, you may have no idea why. Here is a guide that answers the five most-frequently asked questions about this star of the moment: 1. Why is she famous?
Delevingne, 22, is a British supermodel-turned-actress. She started modelling as a tween and quickly became one of the most sought-after models around, working for brands from H&M to Chanel and Burberry. As she has described in interviews, however, her real goal was to become an actress. She had a brief appearance in Anna Karenina and starred in the Amanda Knox-inspired Face of an Angel, but even with her thin acting resumé she landed a major role in Paper Towns, the film based on John Green’s popular young adult book of the same name.
Obviously, it was a coveted part given that Green’s last film was the wildly successful The Fault in Our Stars. Director Jake Schreier told the New York Times that Delevingne was one of nearly 200 actresses to audition, but had impressive chemistry with the lead, Nat Wolff. Besides, he said, she embodied the free-spirited character Margo, who disappears after a crazy night of seeking revenge on some of her high school classmates for various wrongdoings.
In other words . . . she’s pretty odd in real life, too. A USA Today story detailed her bizarre behaviour on the set of Paper Towns, including dressing up as a hotdog and convincing the extras to participate in a dance video. Delevingne, according to Green, “is (bleeping) crazy.” 2. How did she become famous?
Some models never make it off the runway into the mainstream, but because of her wacky behaviour Delevingne has long been a tabloid fa- vourite. According to the New York Times profile, “Karl Lagerfeld (calls) Ms. Delevingne — known for making faces and sticking her tongue out — the ‘Charlie Chaplin of the fashion world.’ ”
Plus, she’s made headlines thanks to her relationship with Annie Clark, the singer-songwriter known as St. Vincent. In a cover story for the July issue of Vogue, Delevingne (generally not one to talk about her love life, including rumoured ex-boyfriend Harry Styles) told the reporter, “I think that being in love with my girlfriend is a big part of why I’m feeling so happy with who I am these days. And for those words to come out of my mouth is actually a miracle.” The Vogue story then implied that Delevingne’s bisexuality was a phase, which caused a controversy and petition for the magazine to apologize.
Delevingne is also known as an early member of Taylor Swift’s oft-Instagrammed #squad; she was one of the many supermodels featured in the famous “Bad Blood” video. 3. Will she still be famous, say, next year?
Seems likely: she has a small role in the drama Pan this fall and will make a splash in next year’s big DC Comics movie Suicide Squad. Oh, and she’s up for four Teen Choice Awards this summer, including Choice Female Summer Movie Star and Choice Female Hottie. Say you what you want about teens, they often zero in on the next breakout star. 4. Is there one fact I absolutely have to know?
Probably that for a long time she was well-known for very distinctive eyebrows. In fact, if you find yourself somewhere where you can’t Google her name, just say “the model with the eyebrows” and people will probably have a vague idea of who you’re talking about.
Last year, the Independent declared, “Until recently, Cara Delevingne’s brows — heavy, bushy and in surprising contrast to the rest of her delicately pretty face — were the most cited reason for her success.” 5. Seriously, how do you pronounce her name?
First name: Cah-ruh. Last name: Day-leh-veen. No need to be embarrassed if you didn’t know. As documented by a viral Instagram video taken at an elevator at the Met Gala last year, Reese Witherspoon had no idea, either.