Supermodel Jourdan Dunn joins the growing list of models who are in hot pursuit of an acting career — but only if she can be “flipping amazing”. Dunn explains in her June 6th interview with London’s The Sunday Times Style magazine that she grew up in West London with a very negative self image. Embracing self love has unleashed her best self.

Beth Fenton styles Dunn in Louis Vuitton for The Sunday Times Style cover, peppering the magazine’s ‘Club Tropicana’ fashion story with vibrant looks from Bottega Veneta, Chanel, Paco Rabanne and more. London-based, self-described artist and daydreamer Olivia Lifungula [IG] is behind the lens with her very first cover — and it’s a beauty./ Hair by Charlotte Mensah; makeup by Alex Babsky

Not messing around on the topic of her acting aspirations, Riley’s mom said: "I would love to do a really amazing cult TV series. Or a Marvel movie, because my son would love me. It's not like modelling where you can wing it and charm people and dazzle them with your looks, you’ve got to do the work. There are OK actors, there are good actors, then there are amazing actors. I want to be up there. I don’t want to be good or OK. I want to be flippin’ amazing!"

Jourdan Dunn speaks candidly in the interview being certain that Riley doesn’t embrace her own struggles with self-affirmation. "My self-talk when I was younger was so negative. The lessons that I'm learning, I'm making sure that I’m teaching them to Riley. Love starts with self. I will get mad at Riley if I hear negative self-talk like, 'Oh, I'm so rubbish!' I'm, like, 'Riley, Riley, don't say that!'"

New bouts of deep guilt in her adult life flourished when Riley, now 11, was born with sickle cell disease. "I had the support of my mum and everyone, but it’s not the same. Mentally, it was a lot. I was going through a lot of guilt and shame because I felt I’d given this to my son - I have the [genetic] trait - and I had to hold that in."

The top model sought assistance in therapy a few years ago, a decision that not only confronted her lack of self-love but also helped Dunn to focus on a life outside the world of being a fashion model.

While sickle cell can impact any race or ethnicity, Black people are infected at far higher rates. Riley had his first sickle cell crisis as a baby, requiring a blood transfusion and a trip to a nearby hospital. The condition causes lung conditions, fatal infections and strokes.

Jourdan Dunn is now a trustee of the Essenelle Foundation, providing mental health support to people with sickle cell and their families. Based on the foundation’s Twitter feed and Dunn’s references to early fundraising efforts supported by the fashion industry, the group appears to be new.

In 2020, Jourdan Dunn became engaged to rapper and designer Dion Hamilton. Read the entire story on The Times.