'I'd rather be the one who's bullied than the one who does the bullying': Lily Cole on being a red head, posing for Playboy and getting a double first from Cambridge
'I was bullied because I have red hair, although actually, I think I was bullied because some kids bully sensitive children,' said Lily Cole
How do you make sure that you don’t have any regrets when you are old?
For Lily Cole it meant posing for the very racy cover of French Playboy wearing little more than pigtails, a pair of socks and an expression of wide-eyed innocence.
The cover shoot, back in 2008, caused quite a stir. Some critics even claimed she should have been dropped by M&S, the high street store for which she was modelling at the time, because of it.
Four years on, Ms Cole isn’t about to start apologising: there are no regrets and she is happy she kept the promise made to herself when she was 20.
'If you ask me if I enjoy modelling, it depends on the circumstances,' said Lily
‘I remember my thought process at the time was, “Oh, wouldn’t it be wicked to be a grandma one day and have that cover hanging on the wall in your grandson’s garage…”’
She giggles, nose wrinkling prettily, clearly amused by the prospect. We’re sitting on opposite sofas in a suite at one of London’s finest hotels.
Cole, who is now 24 and does very few interviews, has agreed to meet to discuss her small but perfectly formed role in Snow White and the Huntsman, alongside Charlize Theron.
She is taller than one expects (five feet ten-and-a-half inches): her ethereal, quirky beauty (heart-shaped face, cornflower-blue eyes, alabaster skin) makes her unique in the flesh and the modelling sorority.
With her calf-high black boots and famous red mane tumbling around her slender shoulders, she is composed and answers questions thoughtfully but definitely and has a mischievous sense of humour, evident in her remarks about Playboy.
These days Cole is more actress and activist (most recently as an ambassador for Body Shop – more of which later).
She has undertaken only a select few modelling jobs in the past four years, partly because she went to study at Cambridge (from where she graduated a year ago with a double first in art history), and has started to develop her career as an actress as well as campaigning for a more ethical approach to business.
‘I don’t regret working with French Playboy and I wasn’t actually naked in any of the pictures,’ she says.
‘I think the media are so hypocritical a lot of the time, in the way they chastise something just so that they can print it again. But I had no idea that the shoot would attract so much attention.
'Having children and grandchildren would be a major part of my life,' said Lily
'It was hilarious because it came out the week I went to Cambridge: one of life’s funny ironies!
'I certainly don’t regret it. But I think if I was going to re-do it I would do the imagery differently.’
It must have come as a shock to her fellow students at King’s College – it’s not every day that a bona fide supermodel, reportedly worth £8 million, settles down for seminars on Picasso or Paul Klee.
But then Ms Cole has always, and I suspect always will, defy stereotypes.
Despite being blessed with surreal looks, she was never going to be packaged as the stereo-typical model with an IQ no bigger than her Jimmy Choo shoe size.
But how did she fit in at Cambridge? Wasn’t it odd going from rubbing shoulders with the rich and famous to the student life?
‘I did occasionally feel uncomfortable when I put myself in social settings, where you get a mix of people from different courses,’ she says.
‘At first I thought I wanted my own space and I rented a flat but I found it quite alienating.
'So I moved into the halls and I was much happier. It was amazing to be in that crazy old building. I’d walk through the halls every day and feel like I was on some weird Harry Potter set.
‘I don’t think I had a typical experience of Cambridge – I didn’t try to in a way.
'The first year I made more of an effort to go to the social events and meet people. I had a few contacts – friends of friends – that I met up with and became close to.
'By the second year I had my friends and then I treated it as a place to study. The people I spent most of my time with were totally cool and certainly didn’t treat me any differently because I was famous.’
There were moments when she considered packing it in.
From left-to-right: Lily's first Vogue cover (she was 15), with Gemma Ward in 2004; the controversial Playboy cover. 'I don't regret working with French Playboy and I wasn't actually naked in any of the pictures,' she said
‘It was difficult, especially trying to juggle my other life with it.
'And the workload is enormous – but I went there to learn and I loved what I was studying. It’s affected and changed the way I see the world and I’m very grateful I finished the course.
'There were times when I questioned whether I would finish. I would entertain myself with thoughts of leaving but I think deep down I knew that I wouldn’t and I’m so glad that I stayed and completed my degree.’
An anecdote she tells me about her final dissertation perfectly illustrates a creative and industrious buzz that hums around Cole like bees around a hive. The piece was on Mexican artist Gabriel Orozco, a sculptor, photographer and painter who often uses video installations in his work. She positively lights up when discussing him.
'I'm grateful that modelling has opened up a lot of different worlds,' said Lily
‘I took quite an unconventional approach but luckily it paid off. You have complete free rein.
'My dissertation was very philosophy-driven. I used art – and Gabriel Orozco’s in particular – to explore all the other degrees I didn’t do.
‘So there was a little bit of science in there, some philosophy and politics. I spent months thinking about it and researching it and I wrote so many notes.’
She winces at the memory.
‘At one point, I was a bit lost, but a friend of mine said, “Why don’t you make it into a collage?” I love making art and I thought that was a great idea.
'So it was a bit of an environmental disaster but I printed out about 200 pages of notes, cut them all up into pieces and laid them on my bedroom floor in this huge collage.
‘Then I spent a week putting that into a text. I went into a bit of a vortex doing it but I came out of the other side. I got a first, which I was very chuffed about.’
Its impact clearly stayed with her, as later this year she will host Lily Cole’s Art Matters, a series on contemporary artists, for the Sky Arts Channel.
‘Gabriel is going to be the first artist we’re filming,’ she says.
Her passion for art doesn’t stop at critical appreciation of the medium.
‘I paint – I tend more to abstraction – but not as much as I would like to because of time. I would love to do sculpture – I’ve toyed with the idea of fitting in a sculpture course.
'I like things hand-made. I made some jewellery with a friend recently. I’m still finding my way. I’m hoping to carve out a bit more time to do it but not with any intention of selling it. It’s just for me.
From a young age, Cole always stood out – and not only because of her flaming-red hair.
Born in Torquay, she was raised in London by her mother, Patience, an artist and writer. Her father, Chris, a boat builder, was not on the scene. At school she was targeted by other children.
‘I was bullied because I have red hair, although actually, I think I was bullied because some kids bully sensitive children,’ she says thoughtfully.
‘I was of the type who gets bullied rather than the one who does the bullying, which I’m glad about. I’d rather be that than a bully.
On studying at Cambridge: 'It was difficult, especially trying to juggle my other life with it'
'Red hair is an issue, particularly in this country.
'Teachers often let it happen because there isn’t a stigma around it in the way there is, quite rightly, about something like racism.
'Racism has a huge stigma attached to it and therefore it isn’t played out so carelessly.
‘Any form of bullying should be stamped on because children are so fragile and it affects them. It’s horrible.
'The names I was called – carrot-top, ginger, all the usual ones – sound quite trivial.
'Now I wouldn’t bat an eyelid. But it’s not so much the words; it’s the meanness behind saying such things to a child.
‘I remember feeling very insecure. When I’d meet people, I would think they wouldn’t like me – that was an actual thought process – because I’m a redhead. It’s absolutely absurd! The irony is that now I love my hair.
'Years ago, an older man with red hair, said to me: “All redheads go on the same journey. You’ll hate it when you’re younger and then when you are older you’ll start dyeing it because you’ll really want it back…” And I think there is that trajectory. It’s a wicked colour to be.’
The life-changing moment came at 14 for Cole, rather insalubriously outside a London burger bar with two friends when she was ‘talent spotted’ by a representative from the Storm model agency.
‘I was outside a diner when a scout from Storm came up to us and gave me his card and said, “You could be a model.”
‘I was a bit apprehensive. It was night-time and then this guy mentioned some of the girls they represented who I’d heard of – and I hadn’t heard of many models – so I thought maybe he was legitimate.
'A few days later my mum and I went to see them and they offered me some work.
'My life changed there and then.’
Two years later, Cole was gracing magazine covers worldwide.
‘If you ask me if I enjoy modelling, it depends on the circumstances. Modelling itself can be quite a boring job but there’s a lifestyle – meeting interesting people, travel – that comes with it.
'I’m grateful that modelling has opened up a lot of different worlds and created my life as it is right now. People do make assumptions about models. That’s their issue, not mine. It doesn’t bother me because I’m comfortable enough in my own skin – I know who I am.
Lily graduated from Cambridge a year ago with a double first in art history
‘I’m not modelling at the moment and whether I do so in the future depends on what comes up. I’m doing a project with Body Shop now but that’s a lot broader than just modelling – the modelling is just a few days’ work within a bigger project.’
Cole has become an ambassador for Body Shop’s Beauty With Heart campaign, with products produced from ethically sourced raw materials in the Third World through a Community Fair Trade Programme.
‘I’m really interested in looking at how you can implement change in capitalist business structures,’ she says.
‘You can have a huge effect globally when you look at production chains and consumer power. Body Shop approached me and it’s something I’ve been interested in for a long time.’
I hesitate to say the final string to her bow, but the reason we are sitting here today is Cole’s burgeoning acting career.
By the time she was 19, she had made her first movie, St Trinian’s.
Since leaving Cambridge a year ago, she’s completed three films: The Moth Diaries, Confession of a Child of the Century (with Pete Doherty, which premieres at the Cannes Film Festival this week) and the blockbuster Snow White and the Huntsman alongside Charlize Theron, Kristen Stewart and Chris Hemsworth.
A contemporary, action-adventure take on the classic fairytale (more Lord of the Rings than the classic Disney animation), Snow White and the Huntsman sees Kristen Stewart playing Snow White, who leads a revolt against the evil Queen (Charlize Theron).
Cole plays Greta, who falls foul of the ruthless queen with the soul-sapping appetite for beautiful young girls.
The role meant that Cole had to age into an old crone, a process that required 2am starts and seven hours in make-up.
Lily plays Greta, who falls foul of the ruthless queen (played by Charlize Theron) in Snow White and The Huntsman. The role meant that she had to age into an old crone and required seven hours in make-up
‘If I look like that when I’m 90, I’m screwed!’ she laughs.
‘Originally they told me they were going to make me look about 90 but they went way beyond that. I look 115. They sucked the life out of me. It’s really quite trippy when you see yourself like that.’
It also provided a thought-provoking glimpse into the future.
‘If I live to a ripe old age I just want to be able to look back and have no regrets. By then I’ll have grandchildren and they’ll be the most important thing.’
She is, reportedly, single after breaking up with her boyfriend of two-and-a-half years, American actor Enrique Murciano, 38.
Nevertheless, a family – one day – is definitely part of the plan.
‘Having children and grandchildren would be a major part of my life,’ she says.
And they will be able to look back and see the Playboy cover of Grandma in all her glorious beauty.
‘There will be the picture of the old woman I play in Snow White there, too, to remind the grandkids of how I was back in the day. I think you have to keep a sense of humour about these things…’
‘Snow White and the Huntsman’ is released on May 30
