Cara Delevingne is encouraging others to follow in her footsteps and become sober.
The Only Murders in the Building alum, 31, began a 12-step rehab program in the summer of 2022. She hopes her recovery can inspire others to also turn their lives around.
“You’re not alone,” she told Variety at the Met Gala in New York City on Monday, May 6. “If I can do it, anyone can. But you need to communicate and be honest about it as much as you can — especially with yourself.”
Delevingne first opened up about her recovery in March 2023 in a cover story for Vogue. She recalled how her alcohol abuse began at a family wedding when she was just seven years old.
“I woke up in my granny’s house in my bedroom with a hangover, in a bridesmaid’s dress,” she explained to the outlet. “I’d gone around nailing glasses of champagne.”
At age 10, she was prescribed sleeping pills to manage insomnia. She was also diagnosed with dyspraxia, a disorder that affects movement and coordination. “This was the beginning of mental health issues and inadvertent self-harm,” she remembered. At 15, Delevingne suffered a breakdown.
In the Vogue article, the British actress/model detailed years of depression, which led to drug abuse.
“There’s an element of feeling invincible when I’m on drugs,” she said. “I put myself in danger in those moments because I don’t care about my life.”
Now, Delevingne said telling her painful story is important to help others in need.
“I think that’s what I’ve always done with anything in this business,” she told Variety at Monday’s Met Gala. “Whether it’s been being vocal about anxiety, depression, recovery, anything, it’s just you owe it to people to talk about your struggles, because being in this world is not perfect. No one is perfect. So to be honest, it’s the least I can do.”
Delevingne previously explained to Vogue that committing to the 12-step program was the key to saving herself.
“Before I was always into the quick fix of healing, going to a weeklong retreat or to a course for trauma, say, and that helped for a minute, but it didn’t ever really get to the nitty-gritty, the deeper stuff,” she said at the time. “This time I realized that 12-step treatment was the best thing, and it was about not being ashamed of that. The community made a huge difference. The opposite of addiction is connection, and I really found that in 12-step.”
Delevingne is currently starring in Cabaret in London — and is loving her role as singer Sally Bowles.
“I never want to do anything other than Cabaret,” she declared. “It’s the best show in the world.”
