The Stunning Transformation Of Suki Waterhouse
Few women can claim to be a true "It Girl" — and Suki Waterhouse is one of them. The London-born model-turned-actor-turned-singer is a person of many talents — and over the past few years, her rise to cult icon status has been unstoppable. After being scouted by a modeling agent as a teen, she moved to New York and quickly accumulated a group of seriously impressive girlfriends. Before long, she began working as an actor, too, picking up roles alongside some notable co-stars — there was "Love, Rosie," with Lily Collins and Sam Claflin, "Insurgent," with Shailene Woodley and Kate Winslet, and "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies," with Lily James, to name a few.
In more recent years, Waterhouse's ascension has only continued. With a role in the Amazon Prime hit "Daisy Jones & the Six," a debut album, and, as of 2023, her first baby on the way with boyfriend Robert Pattinson, Waterhouse seems to be winning in both her career and her personal life. But how did she get so far, so fast?
A childhood in London, bolstered by a love of performing
Suki Waterhouse was born in 1992 in Hammersmith, London — her first name is actually Alice. She grew up in Chiswick, an area in West London, with three younger siblings. Her father, a plastic surgeon, met her mother, a nurse, at work — as Waterhouse put it in an essay for Into The Gloss, "over decaying bone." Her parents were eccentric in their own way: "My mom's kind of a secret hippie."
From an early age, Waterhouse showed signs of being a natural performer — in fact, she was drawn to theater rather than modeling. "When I was younger, I was all about stage stuff — I was a theatre enthusiast; crazy for it," she told Wonderland Magazine. She was also drawn to music and got her first guitar at 13 in the hopes of starting her own band — though it never got off the ground.
The rebellious teenage years
As a teenager, Suki Waterhouse fought against convention — even then, she wanted to live life on her own terms. Unfortunately, this meant she was a little difficult when she was young. As she told SSENSE, she was "an incredibly angry teenager." She added, "When I think about my mom and what I put her through in my early teens, I cringe and I squirm. I was like this caged animal that was quite uncontrollable." By her mid-teens, she had already become a regular in the London club scene.
Waterhouse channeled some of her aggression into karate. Thanks to the influence of her father, she eventually got a black belt. "I was such a boy!" she told The Standard. "I was too busy rock-climbing and doing karate ... and knocking people out. It was good and taught me a lot of discipline. But I stopped when I got disqualified once for hitting a girl in the nose and knocking her unconscious. It was an accident but it was horrible."
15 marked an early start for Suki's modeling career
Suki Waterhouse's life was turned on its head when a model agent scouted her when she was just 15 years old. As she later confessed to Wonderland, she had been clubbing at the time: "I was out and shouldn't have been, really," she said. "Someone asked me and I thought about it for like a year." Eventually, Waterhouse decided to give modeling a try. She signed with Sarah Leon, who helped her learn the ropes. "She's an amazing agent and got me some early special bookings. We hit it off — I was quite lucky."
Even though Waterhouse was a natural at modeling, it wasn't always an easy job for a teenager — especially because modeling made her hyper-conscious of her body. "You don't have that much of a choice but to conform, and I think I struggled with that," she told Glamour UK, adding, "I think I also just felt like really insecure about my body at that age, as you do when you're 15."
2013 officially ushered in Suki's It Girl status along with several It Girl friends
A phrase commonly used to describe Suki Waterhouse is "It girl." It all began in 2013, when The New York Times officially used the term to describe her — since then, it's become her unofficial title. "It's cool to have that experience in your life of being called an It Girl," Waterhouse reflected to SSENSE years later. "I'll live with it." But being a so-called It girl eventually became something of a burden. "It definitely has weird repercussions," she added. "It sticks with you."
During that period, a big part of Waterhouse's It Girl lifestyle revolved around her It Girl friends. She was often spotted with models like Cara Delevingne, Clara Paget, and Harry Styles. She landed campaigns with Burberry, Forever 21, Sass & Bide, Superga, Ugg, and New Look, to name a few. In short, Waterhouse was everywhere.
Suki moved to LA and entered the acting world with Love, Rosie
As Suki Waterhouse's fame grew, she began to explore new avenues, starting with acting. She moved to Los Angeles and began auditioning, where she landed her first role in a "Material Girl" episode in 2010. By 2014, she had scored a part in "Love, Rosie," a rom-com with Lily Collins and Sam Claflin. The film was a "massive deal" for Waterhouse, marking a major career transition. "I was 20 or 21, and I had actually never acted before," she said to Hot Press. "I was modelling at the time, but I ended up going to this audition and getting the role."
As Waterhouse continued acting, her career priorities changed — she was growing up. "When I started modelling, I was young and sort of a bit reckless — I wanted to make money and didn't really care about anything else," she told Wonderland. "Now I'm far more settled, and acting has become really important to me again."
Suki Waterhouse dated Bradley Cooper
In 2013, Suki Waterhouse began a highly publicized relationship with actor Bradley Cooper — the relationship drew a lot of publicity because of the 17-year age gap. One famous paparazzi image showed Cooper reading "Lolita" to Waterhouse. "I met him at the Elle Style Awards in London last year," she told Wonderland. "We were introduced and hit it off almost immediately. We were dancing at the after-party, and he asked me if I fancied going to a club."
Waterhouse also had relationships with Miles Kane, James Marsden, Nat Wolff, and Richard Madden over the years. As Waterhouse later told the Independent, she is a chronic romantic — and her romantic connections have all made a lasting impact on her life. In fact, they've become a sort of timeline for her. "I only really remember life by who I was in love with at the time," she said. "Or how long it took for me to recover."
Suki experienced depression after a breakup
The end of a relationship is never easy, but one breakup was particularly challenging for Suki Waterhouse. In fact, it actually took a toll on her mental health. As she told The Times, she had a "colossal heartbreak" during her twenties — although she didn't say who the ex-boyfriend was. "I was kind of depressed for a while," she went on. "It stuck around for a long time. I think it was the break-up and also just being in my twenties and in the f***ing trenches."
To make matters worse, her famous ex was often in the papers. Waterhouse ended up comparing herself to his next relationship. "You constantly read about how much more beautiful the new girlfriend is or whatever," she revealed. "That sounds silly, but when you're actually the one that's heartbroken, it's pretty rough." Luckily, over time, Waterhouse "healed" and moved on. But feeling depressed over a breakup in your twenties? Very relatable, Suki!
A number of significant roles supercharged Suki's acting career
Throughout the late 2010s, Suki Waterhouse's acting career continued on its upward trajectory. She landed roles in "Insurgent," "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies," "Assassination Nation," and "A Rainy Day in New York" amongst others. As her career went on, she took acting more and more seriously. "My burning desire is just to make good art," Waterhouse told Grazia in 2019. "Making a good movie is a miracle, it really is. It's such a mad soup."
Waterhouse went on to explain that she selected her roles based on who she would get the chance to work with. "'Time is the most valuable thing we have," she said. "Even if the movie turns out to be a piece of s***, which a lot of them do, it doesn't matter." It's no surprise then that Waterhouse has chosen to collaborate with numerous A-listers over the years — the long list includes Kate Winslet, Lily James, Timothee Chalamet, Poppy Delevingne, Sam Riley, Theo James, and Ansel Elgort.
Suki Waterhouse began a relationship with Robert Pattinson
Although Suki Waterhouse has had her fair share of public relationships over the years, as of 2023, she appeared to have found "the one" in Robert Pattinson. Waterhouse and the "Twilight" star were first spotted together in 2018 on a date in London. As Waterhouse later told Harper's Bazaar, she actually met Pattinson after six months of celibacy. "It turned out to be great. I got very clear and got very comfortable with being by myself — then I ended up meeting my boyfriend," she gushed. Since then, their relationship has only blossomed — though Pattinson and Waterhouse have mostly kept it quiet.
"I'm always incredibly excited when I see his name pop up [on my phone] or even a text, and I think he feels the same about me," she told The Times. "We've always got so much to say, and I find him hilarious." In fact, when Waterhouse went on tour in 2023, she explained that she would spend any days off with Pattinson if she could. The pair now live together in London and seem happier than ever. As she put it in 2023, "I'm shocked that I'm so happy with someone for nearly five years."
Suki grew up a lot in her 20s
Suki Waterhouse turned 30 in 2022 — for the model-actor-singer, it marked a significant milestone. Looking back at the previous decade, she realized how far she had come. "Throughout my twenties, I'd never checked in with myself and how I was doing," she said to The Line of Best Fit, adding, "I looked back at everything that has happened in my life and started digging into it. I found I was still torn apart by a lot of things, and I wondered what I'd be able to let go of and move on from, and what would stay with me." Finally, Waterhouse began to release some of the shame that had followed her through her 20s.
In another interview with Glamour UK, Waterhouse explained that while she certainly learned a lot throughout her twenties, she still doesn't have the perfect self-care plan figured out. "I can rely on my inner strength to kind of keep me grounded," she admitted. "But yeah, I wish I could tell you that I meditate for 20 minutes a day and do lots of stretching, but I don't currently."
Suki Waterhouse released her first album in 2022
As Suki Waterhouse reflected more on her tumultuous 20s, she channeled her reflection through a new artistic medium: music. Although Waterhouse had been quietly making her own music for several years, in 2022, she finally released her first album, "I Can't Let Go." She had to get over some worries to put out the album.
"I always had a massive amount of anxiety around, like, am I allowed to do this?" Waterhouse confessed to SSENSE. "Am I allowed to put out music? Everyone will laugh you out of the building." However, she knew that she owed it to herself to be brave. "I said to myself, 'If you don't do this right now, you're never going to do it. And you'll always f***ing hate yourself because you didn't,'" she told the Independent.
As Waterhouse explained to Vogue, the album was deeply personal, inspired by moments in her life. She was also inspired by the poetry of Ariana Reines and the music of Camera Obscura, Julie London, Fiona Apple, and Sharon Van Etten." The album was met with largely positive reviews — clearly, Waterhouse had found yet another thing she was very good at.
Suki Waterhouse starred in Daisy Jones and the Six
In early 2023, Suki Waterhouse landed one of her biggest roles ever, playing the cool piano player, Karen, in the Amazon Prime adaptation of Taylor Jenkins Reid's "Daisy Jones and the Six." The 10-part series also stars Riley Keough, Sam Claflin, and Camila Morrone. The part helped her find her confidence. In fact, Waterhouse even went as far as to say that playing Karen gave her the confidence she needed to make her first album.
"Karen is very, very fearless and for her, the music and the songs come above everything," Waterhouse told Glamour UK. "She existed in this man's world, and she stayed. She's very true to herself and believes in herself a lot. Whereas when I signed on to 'Daisy Jones' and started rehearsing, I think I still lacked confidence to really put myself out there with music, go the extra step and make an album."
Suki Waterhouse went on her first tour
In 2023, Suki Waterhouse set off on her first-ever music tour. While she had been nervous about releasing her own music, she didn't have the same fears about hitting the road. "I've got a lovely band, and we're all women, which is so f***ing great," she said to Vogue. "It's so easy to be with all of them because we just chat girl stuff, there's no boys around, and I think that's kind of going to be the dream. And I also get to see America in a way that I really haven't before, stuck on the West Coast."
On tour, Waterhouse got to experience real connections with her fans for the first time. "Suddenly everybody that's there is singing back your songs to you," Waterhouse told Consequence. "That's a pretty remarkable moment... I [want us to] scream and kind of exorcise whatever we're going through together." Based on reviews of her shows, she seems to be a natural live performer.
Suki Waterhouse revealed that she was expecting her first child with Robert Pattinson
2023 really was a big year for Suki Waterhouse. It began with a role in "Daisy Jones and the Six," followed by a tour of her first album, and ended with the very exciting announcement that Waterhouse was expecting her first child with boyfriend Robert Pattinson. After rumors began to spread online about her pregnancy following a few paparazzi shots, Waterhouse officially made the reveal live on stage at the Corona Festival. "I thought I'd wear something sparkly to distract you from something else I've got going on ... I'm not sure it's working," she said (via X), gesturing to her baby bump as the crowd cheered.
We don't know too much about Waterhouse's pregnancy, but we do know that it's probably been on her mind for a while. Speaking of her desire to have children to The Times, she said, "You have to be like, 'I'm going be a sitting cow for a bit of time,' but it's going to be worth it.' I can't wait. I wish you could click your fingers to make it happen." Apparently, that wish came true.