Cara Delevingne Says Growing Up Queer 'Was Isolating And Hard To Navigate'

Cara Delevingne opened up about the dark side of growing up as a queer child and admits it was not an easy journey. In an interview with her elder sisters Chloe, 37, and Poppy, 35, the 29-year-old admitted that growing up queer was both "isolating" and "hard" for her to figure out, according to Elle.

Delevingne, who formerly dated "Pretty Little Liars" actor Ashley Benson, continued: "My sisters did their best to be there for me but it was something I had to go through myself to truly know who I was. I’m still on that journey and will continue to be for the rest of my life."

The model and LGBTQIA+ advocate then spoke about her identity in relation to her older siblings. "First and foremost I have always seen myself as a rebel, not as someone who wants to break rules but as someone who wants to question them," she said.

"I love the word 'naughty,' but only as an adult. To me naughty means someone who questions what they’re told. I think at this point I might be the naughtiest of the three of us."

The model, who identifies as pansexual, came out to her fans in 2018, per Variety. Even though Delevingne is at complete ease with her sexuality now, the model says it was a long and difficult road for her to get there.

She made the revelation while speaking to Gwyneth Paltrow on the "Goop" podcast in March 2021, saying that she grew up feeling "disgusted" by her sexual orientation as a result of growing up in an "old fashioned household."

"I grew up in an old-fashioned household. I didn't know anyone who was gay," Delevingne said. "I didn't know that was a thing and actually, I think growing up I was quite not noticeably, I wasn't knowledgeable of the fact I was homophobic. The idea of being same-sex [partners], I was disgusted by that, in myself. I was like, 'Oh my God, I would never, that's disgusting, ugh'."

She continued: "I do correlate the massive depression and the suicidal moments of my life [to that] because I was so ashamed of ever being that. But actually, that was the part of me that I love so much and accept," she said on the podcast.

Delevingne, who was raised in Wandsworth and Belgravia with her sisters, previously shared how her mom Pandora—a stylist and personal shopper who has previously opened up about battling with addiction and bipolar disorder— helped her with her identity.

'My mother gave me the gift of being able to be confused and tortured,' she told Elle UK.

The model and actor learned to embrace her true identity with grace and has been one of the faces of the LGBTQIA+ community in the entertainment industry.