As a model, actor, writer and student at the University of Cambridge, Lily Cole really is doing it all.

The stunning redhead – who has actually had black hair since last autumn – recently spoke to Vogue.com about balancing her two passions in life; modelling and acting.

We at Talent Management feel that gaining experience in one area of the talent industry can often lead to opportunities in another – and Cole is a perfect example of that.

Beginning her career as a model at just 14, Cole was able to gain fantastic exposure and has since been opened up to some great acting roles, including St Trinian’s in 2007 and a leading role in The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus in 2009.

She is also is due to appear in upcoming films There Be Dragons and Marilyn Manson’s Phantasmagoria: The Visions of Lewis Carroll, and next month, will star in Cambridge University’s version of Chekhov’s The Seagull.

But, despite her success in acting, Cole says modelling hasn’t always helped her.

“I think in some ways yes [modelling has limited me], because I think it projects that whole model/actor cliché – and that put me off becoming an actress for a while despite that being my passion since I was really, really young,” she told Vogue.com.

“So to an extent I think that it might present a little bit of an obstacle but that said, on the flip side of the coin, I’m not so naive to the fact that it has also really helped me. I have a profile to be able to get the auditions and to perhaps have more options than if I had never modelled. So I am very grateful actually that perhaps it has enabled me to explore other avenues.”

If you would like to be an actor, why not try registering as a model to gain some great experience in the entertainment industry?