Cara Delevingne reveals how she struggled as a teenager
Cara Delevingne may be a model, actress, singer and author but when she was a teenager, she had a tough time just like the rest of us.
She has just released her first ever novel, Mirror Mirror, a young adult novel about four teenagers in London trying to discover what happened to their friend after tragedy strikes.
It's ok not to live up to everyone's expectationsCara Delevingne
"I hope this book can show teenagers it's ok not to be good at everything and it's ok not to live up to everyone's expectations," Cara told Nick Grimshaw on the Radio 1 Breakfast Show.
"If you want to do something completely the opposite of what people want you to do, it's ok.
"It's ok to not know who you are as well."
Cara's first novel, Mirror Mirror, is out now
Cara says she can hardly remember what she was like as a teenager because she was "in my own head and a bit mad," but from what she does recall, she went through a fairly typical teen experience.
"In that moment I was like, 'everything is so hard' and I really don't think I appreciated much about my education," she says.
"I bottled up everything, emotions and all the stuff going on, and I just lost it.
"Also, with grades, if you don't get good grades I felt like I wasn't good at all, at anything."
Cara says her sisters were a huge inspiration during her teenage years, along with five women called Mel B, Mel C, Emma, Geri and Victoria.
I have two incredibly strong and amazing older sisters who I definitely looked up toCara Delevingne
"I have two incredibly strong and amazing older sisters who I definitely looked up to and music was definitely something I connected with," she says.
"They also were the people who got me into my love of music and acting, they were the ones who sat me down and introduced me to the Spice Girls and *NSync, all the greats.
"I loved Spice Girls. They really owned their sexiness and just being women. It was amazing."
"They are the ones who taught me."
However, being the youngest of three sisters, Cara says she felt pressure to live up to their successes at school.
"Both of my sisters did very well at school and were very good at exams," she says.
"I remember what both of them got for all of their exams because I was constantly thinking about it.
"My sister was head girl, so for sure I definitely compared myself to them."
Cara's novel Mirror Mirror is out now
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