I’ve always thought Cressida Bonas was and is a pretty girl, but this cover sucks, right? Bad lighting, bad angle, and Miss Vogue (a supplement with Vogue UK) made her look sort of dead-eyed and mouth-breathy. Still… Cressida Bonas is going to be a star! Harvey Weintstein thinks so. Cressida has already phased out the potential for royal life with Prince Harry and has phased in fame, films and modeling. She’s one of the new faces of Mulberry. She’s already shot her first film role in Tulip Fever. And now she’s on the cover of Miss Vogue.

Cressida Bonas’ star is on the rise. The 26-year-old, who famously dated Prince Harry for two years, has a blossoming Hollywood career, an impressive fashion portfolio and recently appeared on stage to critical acclaim in the hit play There’s a Monster in the Lake. The chance to take on another persona appeals greatly to the pretty blonde.

“I don’t really understand it; in real life I’m often so shy – paralysingly so,” she recently confided to Miss Vogue magazine, “But when I’m performing, it’s totally different. I feel free.”

Performance has long been a passion of Cressida’s; she graduated from Leeds University with a degree in Dance, before deciding to continue her training at The Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance in Greenwich. Mulberry, which has described Cressida as the company’s muse, recently cast her in a 30-second film after watching the video of her final dance from her time at Leeds. The company’s talent-spotters were “charmed by her movement”, a spokesperson for the fashion brand said.

Later this year, Cressida will make her film debut in Harvey Weinstein’s new movie Tulip Fever, alongside the likes of Dame Judi Dench and Cara Delevingne. The Hollywood mega-mogul has predicted big things for the burgeoning actress. “People will see what a fantastic actress she is,” Harvey has said. “It will be the first of many roles for her.” He went on to praise Cressida for “not taking advantage of any media profile.”

[From Hello Mag]

I’ll admit it, I don’t understand people who are all “I’m so shy” and then seek a career in front of the cameras, who search out the spotlight and fame at any cost. I’m sure those people exist, and maybe Cressida is one of them. But I don’t know… she doesn’t seem that shy to me. She’s reserved, for sure, but she seems at home in this phase of her life.

Hello Magazine also says that Cressida is “determined to support herself” instead of relying on her parents, although there are some rumors that Cressida’s family – while well-connected and posh – are not really all that wealthy. So, Cressida might be doing some of this out of financial necessity. But she did go back to a well-connected ex-boyfriend named Harry… Harry Wentworth-Stanley, the son of the Marchioness of Milford Haven.

Photos courtesy of Sean Thomas/Miss Vogue.