“Shy! You’re gonna be in a shoot, babe! You’re gonna be a model.” Adwoa Aboah is beaming down at the tumble of curly ginger hair and big brown eyes crawling towards her in a tiger-print babygrow, her first child on the set of her very first photoshoot. The room melts at the scene – stylists, assistants, photographer and videographer alike all softened by our cover star’s maternal joy. At 33, and after more than a decade in the spotlight, the model-actor-activist’s smile has been seen on red carpets, in fashion campaigns and on TV. But it’s never shone quite as bright as this.
Perhaps that’s because – for most of us, at least – we’ve never seen her surrounded by so many of the people she loves. Today, on the shoot for her Glamour Women of the Year cover, the goal isn’t only to celebrate Adwoa; it’s also a portrait of the sisterhood that sustains her. There’s the gang who work with her on Gurls Talk, the charity for young women and girls she founded in 2015 and guided to non-profit status in 2023, inspired by her own journey with depression and addiction. There’s her longtime friend and new business partner, Georgie Wright, with whom she’s preparing to launch their new handbag line, The Veil, in October. And there’s her younger sister, Kesewa – “my air, my compass, my navigator,” as she puts it.
Modelling can be a lonely job. But over the years, while becoming one of fashion’s most recognisable faces – from Burberry campaigns to magazine covers – Adwoa has been steadfastly building something far bigger: community and connection. It’s present in her activism and her more recent venture into acting, including roles in Top Boy and in Lena Dunham’s hit Netflix show Too Much. More telling, though, is the way she shows up for and glows around others: listening and laughing at colleagues’ anecdotes mid-shoot, resting her head lovingly on her sister’s shoulder, scooping up her baby girl and bobbing around to niche disco tracks between takes.
Turns out, Adwoa’s magnetism can transmit virtually, too. A month or so after her Glamour shoot, the model finds herself on camera again, this time over Zoom to reunite with her OG modelling bestie and fellow British fashion icon, Cara Delevingne, who has agreed to interview her for her Glamour Women of the Year cover profile. Even while separated by the Atlantic Ocean – Cara in LA, Adwoa at home in London – the pair banter and giggle like kids at the back of the school bus. Having both entered the industry as teenagers and cheered each other on as they’ve bloomed through new chapters, there’s a friendship of deep trust, knowing and intimacy. And, typically British, it’s also full of sarcasm. – Olive Pometsey
Adwoa Aboah: Clara Televine? Cara Delevingne, it really is such a pleasure to meet you.
Cara Delevingne: [Laughs] Shut up! So, listen, I have an issue remembering how we first met. I thought it was at that place I always forget the name of, but maybe I’m wrong.
AA: No, that was later on – I know what you’re talking about. The first time I really remember meeting you was outside Storm [Management modelling agency] in Chelsea. You got in a box, cut out the arms and wore the box.
CD: What is wrong with me?! I reckon we met at 14, 15 – we need to have a 20-year anniversary.
[Adwoa’s partner, professional skateboarder and cinematographer, Daniel Wheatley, enters the frame, carrying their one-year-old daughter, Shy.]
AA: My Shy! Come and meet your auntie…
CD: Hi Shy, my angel! Happy late birthday, sweet one. Did you have a cake? Do babies eat cake? She’s so long. I’ve never seen a longer baby in my life.
AA: I know. All her limbs just hang out of the pram. She’s a giant.
CD: It’s so interesting watching a lot of my best friends have children, and how childbirth and motherhood changes you. I think it’s one of the best things that’s ever happened to you. How do you feel it’s changed you?
AA: I feel like a more elevated version of myself. It’s mellowed me out in a way I didn’t even think was possible for someone so highly strung. It puts everything into a new perspective. Obviously your responsibilities shift so massively – putting your time into things means something different; being away from home essentially means being away from your child. Everything has to be prioritised in a different way. But I feel a new sense of joy for things I probably would’ve looked past, because now I’m seeing them through her experiences.
CD: Like what?
AA: Going on holiday or being with other members of my family feels so different now. It’s so mad what new life brings to family dynamics. It’s a lighter energy. Our focus has shifted onto her – what she enjoys and what she wants to do. She’s going to be a monster, because we’re all just sitting there watching her, applauding as she picks something up, like, “Oh my gosh, amazing! She’s so cool!” [Laughs] We’re creating a fucking psychopath.
CD: It also makes everyone reflect on the fact we were all once children and how much everyone goes through. It’s a new understanding of each other and a forgiveness in a way. For you, someone that has worked so hard and finds so much joy in helping your community, where do you find time for yourself? Because to me, you seem more energised than you did before.
AA: It’s so hard. I really do feel more energised, but that’s just the hustle in general. I’m exhausted by the idea that I’m going to have to work forever. If I think about that too much, I’m so tired.
CD: So tired! But the idea of retiring is far more scary to me.
AA: You’ve been working since you were 15, Caz! There’s no way you’re retiring. But yeah, baby brain is no joke. I definitely felt a little bit discombobulated and I couldn’t focus on anything. I feel more energised because I’m just excited about this new stage of my life. It’s teaching me so much more. I’d spent enough time thinking about myself. Now I get to think about someone else, it’s actually really refreshing.
CD: I also think it’s so special that you had a baby girl, because of how important women are [in your life]. Do you find it interesting that you started something like Gurls Talk and now have a little girl? How does it feel to bring her up in this world, but also be involved in that?
AA: Doing Gurls Talk, that’s where I feel really incredibly energised about changing, socially and culturally, what the world is gonna look like [when Shy grows up]. I’m interested in what she’ll teach me. What will that conversation be like when she wants to talk to me about alcohol? What will it look like when she comes to me after her first heartbreak? Or when she starts navigating her sexuality and gender, whatever it might be? I know what I stand for as an individual, but it’ll be interesting how that comes into play when I’m actually having those conversations directly with Shy.
CD: It’s probably helped and taught you so much already having Gurls Talk. I remember the journey you’ve been on. Making such an important change in your life [Adwoa went sober in 2014 after battling addiction and depression] and the community you built, it was one of the most inspiring things in the world. I honestly don’t think I would’ve been able to get sober without having someone like you in my life, who was an incredible inspiration but also non-judgemental.
AA: That’s what you’ll be able to give, when the time comes. That’s the light in the turmoil – you get gifted this immense sense of empathy. I’m not saying there’s not one ounce of judgement in me, but when I’m doing the work within Gurls Talk, I know how important it is to meet someone where they’re at – not wanting to necessarily solve everyone’s issues or give them some profound piece of advice. I’m not going to do that. What I’m going to do is have a frank and honest conversation. I’m not going to berate them.
CD: It’s the only thing that works. You just want to be a vessel for them to be able to be honest. I remember especially one of the most incredible conversations we had [with a group of friends] in Wandsworth. We all started talking about sexual abuse and assault, and none of us had ever talked about it in front of anyone. It was so crazy, because we’d been friends for so long and everyone was like, ‘Oh my God, I’ve had this experience…’ which is rare to do in a group of people, but it was so pivotal in that time.
AA: What’s kept us apart for so long works in everyone else’s favour. When we as a sisterhood come together, start talking and sharing, that only makes us stronger.
CD: And then when me and you hung out one-on-one [recently], it was like “Oh my God, we don’t do this enough.”
AA: We’ve known each other for so long and it validated everything I knew to be true about our relationship. It doesn’t need to be overly stimulated or have lots of distraction. To be just together and talk as grown ups is more than possible – and you don’t get that with all your friends. It’s fine that relationships go through ebbs and flows, but the ones you can call on – not even just in moments of crisis – and leave them feeling like your cup is full, those are what I’m really relishing at the moment.
CD: Even when we went to the Topshop fashion show [in August], it was such a different perspective. I felt like we were Eddie and Patsy from Ab Fab, but we’re both sober, walking around making stupid comments. We’ve been doing this for so long. How do you feel about your relationship to your job – not just fashion, but the industry? What still needs to change, especially after becoming a mum?
AA: It’s a funny one. The longer you’ve been in it, you understand the workings of the machine. Before, I took everything so personally. I kind of feel free from that a little bit. It does not mean to say I don’t take it seriously because I don’t think it’s worthy of my time. But I don’t allow it to affect my nervous system and my regulation like I did before. There are too many variables out of my control to allow it to affect my wellbeing. Rejection is still rejection. Politics is still politics. I have to have agency over my own personal self. If I rely on the fashion industry to give me that – for my self-worth to be attached to my relevance or how successful I am – I’ve failed already. I have to build that away from being a model.
CD: Yeah, it’s not really about you or me or us. I can’t tell whether it’s just being in your twenties and not really understanding that, and taking it personally because…
AA: Did you take it personally?
CD: Oh, so much. It was constantly chipping away at my core, but I let it do that. I had so much inner turmoil and stuff I didn’t love about myself, so it perpetuated that. It wasn’t the industry’s fault, because I hadn’t done the work. I couldn’t enjoy it because I couldn’t enjoy being in my own skin.
AA: When people ask, “Would you let Shy model?”, it’s like – I’m sitting in my house right now because of what I’ve been able to achieve with modelling. I’ve been able to travel, I’ve met incredible people. I have a platform that I’m able to use to do other things in my life. So the answer is yes, but she has to make her own decisions. I wish I had gone into it with a better understanding of what it was going to entail, how hard it was going to be and that I needed to have a better understanding of myself to navigate it in a healthier way.
CD: You’ve also been able to create something alongside it that gives you purpose, fulfilment and a reason. I remember taking a photo in Central Park – I was in a ball gown and a bird shat on my head. That exactly describes [what this career is like]. You needed to do something else, which I think is interesting. You’re preparing to launch a new handbag collection, The Veil – how did that happen?
AA: It’s a project I’ve been working on for the last two years with my amazing business partner Georgie Wright.
CD: I love that you’re doing it with her – again, it brings it all back to sisterhood. How have you found it in terms of the new challenge?
AA: I mean, the financial plan, cashflow, investment… We’ve had to take agency over it, which is not something that comes naturally to me. It’s a collaborative effort – one that is ongoing and has many challenges and feels incredibly exciting, but takes a lot of work. I feel very certain in my own tastes…
CD: You have amazing taste, Adwoa.
AA: I know what I love and I know what I was missing. That’s what we’re trying to do with The Veil. The brands I love are a reflection of something that was missing, but they also feel reflective of the person that’s created it. With everything I do, whether it’s Gurls Talk, modelling, The Veil or acting, I want there to be some sort of synergy and authenticity. The Veil feels like another extension of – as cheesy as it sounds – myself. It’s another chapter of my life that I’m really excited to share. I really look forward to seeing how the girls wear it. I can’t wait for you to have one.
CD: That’s going to be incredible – I really can’t wait to see it. To segue to another hat you wear, I didn’t realise it was coming up to the ten-year anniversary of Gurls Talk, which is so crazy. [Back then] did you have any idea of what it would become, and what do you want for the future? It’s so strange that it’s more important now than it’s ever been – it’s like you had some sort of foresight.
AA: I suppose that’s the beauty of being young, isn’t it? You just go headstrong into things. I started Gurls Talk when I had a completely different head on my shoulders. There would have been so much more pressure if I’d started it now. I did it in this very guerrilla way, because I was just exerting a desperate need for community myself. I didn’t know about the stats and how it would logistically work. It was just, ‘Fuck it, I’m going to do it.’ I couldn’t have even imagined that this is where Gurls Talk would be. We’ve changed lots, but there’s so much to do.
CD: In this ten-year journey, what’s the most important thing you’ve learned from doing Gurls Talk, for your own mental health?
AA: Everyone goes on about self-love, but it’s not that for me. Knowing myself has been the greatest lesson of all time. To exercise curiosity has been another, which is what Gurls Talk has given me – to constantly look outside your box and look for the similarities, not the differences. It would be so big-headed and arrogant of me to think that I understand everything. But I do have the ability to, again, meet people where they’re at, and have empathy and emotional intelligence. Another one is to show up – and show up and show up. I show up for myself, for my friends, for my family.
CD: 100%. What does it mean for you, at this stage in your life, to be able to share a GLAMOUR cover with all these people – from Gurls Talk, The Veil and your sister, Kesewa – and taking stock of it all?
AA: It’s just a win. I’m not interested in being the king in my castle by myself. It all feels more worthwhile, more meaningful, when it’s a collective win – collective joy. That’s what it felt like: a celebration. There’s no Gurls Talk without the community. There’s no The Veil without Georgie. There’s no me without Shy. There’s no me without Kesewa. There was this era of the girlboss fad and sugar-coated mental health conversation, where it was all about ‘you’ – it became a very harsh and mean mentality. And actually, we are no one without anyone else. It’s a celebration of the beautiful community that I’ve been able to create.
CD: They’re what made you you.
AA: Exactly.
Photographer: Liz Johnson Artur
Stylist: Rebecca Purshouse
Interview: Cara Delevingne
Writer: Olive Pometsey
Hair: Jaz Hope Lanyero using Keracare and Dyson Beauty
Make-Up: Jenny Coombs using NARS Cosmetics
Nails: Michelle Humphrey at LMC Worldwide using essie
Production: YMI Studio
Producer: Yasser Abubeker
Videographer: Nathaniel Rodriguez
Line Producer: Celeste Doig
Photographer Assistant: Connor Tegan
Production Assistant: Gina Bell
Stylist Assistant: Jack O'Neill
Stylist Assistant: Matylda Sala
Hair Assistant: Anoushka Danso
Hair Assistant: CeCe Kwofie
Make-Up Assistant: Manabu Nobuoka
Make-Up Assistant: Viviane Melo
Nails Assistant: Amy Hide
Nails Assistant: Lauren Broe
