We reveal the secret plan to turn wild child Cara Delevingne from top model into the queen of Hollywood
SHE was the supermodel wild child more famous for being seen with packets of white powder during all-nighters with her famous friends like Rita Ora and Kate Moss.
But just two years on Cara Delevingne is set to usurp Jennifer Lawrence and become the new Queen of Hollywood.
It’s all thanks to a very strategic behind-the-scenes process to morph the 23-year-old from party girl to credible actress.
This month the hard work has come to fruition – she graced the cover of Vogue, stood shoulder-to-shoulder with A-listers at Comic-Con, shocked the world by spilling her Mile High Club secrets and took part in a live TV rap battle with James Corden.
It’s been timed to coincide with the launch of her bigger role yet in summer blockbuster Suicide Squad where her name is in lights alongside Jared Leto, Will Smith and Margot Robbie.
Today I reveal the secrets behind the incredible campaign to catapult Cara to global stardom.
A Hollywood insider close to the star revealed: “Cara made it big initially because everyone loves her and her energy is infectious. But her team don’t just want her being the supporting actress – they want her to rule the industry.
“This is a huge task and something many other British actresses have failed at. Even her friends like Sienna Miller are still struggling to fully lead a cast to a blockbuster hit.
“Right now Cara is on the path to becoming the new Jennifer Lawrence and that’s what they want from her.
“The whole of Hollywood is talking about her and what she’s doing. Suicide Squad is an obvious smash, but she’s not carrying that. It’s all the others.
“She’s also been working hard with her PR team to stand out alongside Margot Robbie who has grabbed a lot of attention.
“Margot’s everywhere and Cara’s been right behind her. Fortunately the two are great friends and Cara’s not about competition.”
Few could have predicted four years ago that Cara would go on to become the toast of Hollywood.
As her fashion career took off in 2012, she was pictured just as much on London’s party scene as she was strutting down catwalks.
She and her wing-woman Rita Ora – who she nicknamed her “wifey” – terrorised the city’s nightclubs and caused a stir by kissing each other in social media snaps.
But their friendship soon turned sour after a bitter fall-out.
The bisexual star was also linked to a series of famous men, including One Direction’s Harry Styles, Skins star Jack O’Connell and musician Jake Bugg.
And as with many high-profile fashion stars, the temptation of drugs was never far away.
In 2013 she was embroiled in controversy after being caught on camera dropping a bag of white powder outside her London home.
Pictures from her schooldays at £10,000-a-year Beadles, in Hants, also emerged appearing to show her smoking equally suspicious-looking roll-up.
As her wild partying hit the headlines week-on-week, it would have been easy for Cara to become the next Kate Moss – an international supermodel seen at photo-shoots and high-class parties, but one who rarely spoke in public.
But while Cara still enjoys a night out, she has been careful to reign in that side of her life and mature in order to take her career to the next level.
Our insider said: “When she was thrust into the spotlight she was riding a train she couldn’t get off but now she’s happy to have gained control of the momentum.
“She’s never going to ditch her social media power but she now knows what to give away and what to stop putting into the public arena.”
Cara has also changed her lifestyle to look her best in time for the promotion of her biggest role.
The source said: “She’s looking better than ever and that mainly due to the fact she now does yoga, has quit sugar and has curbed her partying ways.
“There’s also a huge machine working behind the scenes to ensure Cara doesn’t make a wrong move. A good agent and a PR team who know what they’re doing.
“Getting to Cara these days is hard – there’s only a few trusted in her inner circle and she’s been burnt by those she thought were loyal around her.
“She’s grown up a lot in the past few years – and she’s a young lady on the cusp of greatness now.”
Cara shocked her fans last year by quitting the industry that made her famous and giving up modelling at the age of 22.
The star made her first magazine appearance aged ten in a shoot for Vogue Italia, but her career took off in 2009 when she was scouted by top agency Storm Models at 17 after being spotted by the firm’s founder Sarah Doukas – the same woman who discovered Kate Moss.
But last year I revealed she had ditched Storm and turned her back on modelling in favour of the acting world.
When I interviewed Cara last year, I found her endearingly honest. While she travelled with a big entourage, she lit up the room and was open to saying what she really thought.
That included making it clear the world of stylish trendsetters simply isn’t for her.
She told me: “Modelling is my job but really I don’t care about fashion. I love it but if I had a choice I’d hang out in my pyjamas."
As for acting she said excitedly that “it’s what I felt like I was born to do”, adding: “I want to play strong female roles that girls can look up to and be inspired by.”
Cara was born into showbusiness and is a member of one of London’s most well-connected and well-off high society families.
She was brought up in Belgravia, one of the wealthiest and poshest areas on the planet and has two older sisters, Chloe and Poppy, who is also a high-flying name in the fashion industry.
Her dad, Charles, is a multi-millionaire property magnate and her mum, Pandora, is a former socialite and friend of the Royal Family.
Yet Cara quickly saw the dark side of money and fame.
Her childhood was rocked by her mum’s heroin addiction, which resulted in her leaving the kids at home because she was too ill to mother them.
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Today Cara’s personal life has never been more settled thanks to her relationship with US musician St Vincent.
The Sun broke the news that they were dating in February last year when they went public for the first time by kissing in front of guests at a Brit Awards after-party.
Now they are living together in Los Angeles and thought to be engaged after Cara got down on one knee at the top of the Eiffel Tower earlier this year – although their rows are famous amongst their group of friends.
A US source said: “Her life is with Annie in Hollywood these days. Annie’s recording and Cara’s acting.
“They’ve managed to not make their love the centre of their career – Annie was in the background alongside Cara at Taylor Swift’s recent birthday bash.
“But she didn’t cause a social media frenzy being in the pictures with each other.
“It’s already pretty extraordinary Hollywood has accepted Cara’s differences and her sexuality with such open arms.
“She’s never made her private life public and won’t start now. Studio bosses find that very attractive as they know the controversy of yesteryear won’t be back to ruin things.”
It helps that Cara has befriended some of the biggest figures in the industry too, including US pop superstar Rihanna and the Kardashian clan – particularly Kendall Jenner, who has become a close friend.
The source added: “Everybody enjoys spending time with her, everyone is incredibly protective of her and she gives her all in every social situation.
“From the Kardashians to Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell to Rihanna and Will Smith - they’ve all got her back.
“She’s made Hollywood feel like home so she isn’t home sick without her trusty family by her side.”
Tonight Cara returns to her hometown of London for the UK premiere of comic book thriller Suicide Squad – her biggest film role to date – in which she plays supervillain the Enchantress.
Next up for Cara is 17th century flick Tulip Fever alongside big-screen icon Judi Dench and her ex Jack O’Connell.
Then she will face her biggest challenge yet – her first major lead role in sci-fi movie Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, next to the likes of Ethan Hawke and John Goodman.
If that’s a success, Hollywood is Cara’s oyster.
A movie insider said: “Being a box office queen and bankable for the studios just doesn’t happen overnight.
“She’s got Valerian coming up and that’s a huge test to see how she performs at the helm.
“It’s not aimed at adults - it’s aimed at her core market - teen girls upwards...and that will be a big test to see if her fanbase go to see it.”
WORTHY OF TOP SQUAD
COMIC book heroes are supposed to jump off tall buildings, but Cara Delevingne’s leap into the big league is truly death defying in Suicide Squad.
This could have been a disaster movie - and not just because lots and lots of skyscrapers get blown up.
Somehow a small band of stars save DC Comics from its suicidal tendency to take itself too seriously and use too many characters.
Will Smith and Viola Davis are both class acts, but it’s Cara who really stands out.
For someone who hasn’t been around the blockbusters a few times she’s a natural when faced with swirling special effects and nonsense dialogue.
The trick is to make the ridiculous seem real and that’s not easy when you’re playing a 3,000 year old witch with a split personality.
Cara manages to make it believable that sweet-natured archaeologist June Moon is sharing her body with the truly evil Enchantress.
Essentially Suicide Squad is a sequel to the poorly received Batman v Superman.
With the Man of Steel gone the world needs others with special powers to protect us and chooses a motley crew of convicts to do the job.
They include Smith’s hitman Deadshot and Margot Robbie’s psycho Harley Quinn. Enchantress proves to be the least easy to handle of the bunch.
Thanks to her mysterious eyes Cara is captivating in this key role, which combines both romance and malevolent violence.
It’s not easy holding your own when starring alongside Oscar nominee Davis and easy charmer Smith.
Fans, though, are sure to be disappointed by the laughable lack of screen time given to the movie’s most anticipated baddie - The Joker.
We knew Batman would only appear fleetingly, yet the question here is “and where’s The Joker?”
Madcap Jared Leto’s lipstick lipped criminal mastermind is a trump card who is played far too early and then folds.
Thanks to Cara, Smith and Davis it’s a self inflicted wound rather than a fatal one.
MOVIE RATING: ★★★
CARA RATING: ★★★★★
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