Cara Delevingne makes history as the first openly lesbian woman to star on cover of Playboy magazine

A former Victoria’s Secret superstar has traded her angel wings for bunny ears, appearing on the cover of Playboy magazine for the first time.

British model-turned-musician Cara Delevingne has left the internet stunned after she was revealed as the cover star of Playboy’s 2026 summer edition.

The publication first teased Delevingne’s steamy shoot in a post on Monday, sharing a photo of her soapy torso with some tattoos visible.

New pictures of the shoot, released on Playboy’s social media on Wednesday, show the star was not afraid of stripping down for the infamous lifestyle magazine.

The 33-year-old was photographed wearing nothing but a black latex corset, using one hand to light a cigarette as she covers her exposed genitalia with the other.

“I’ve been naked before in shoots, and it always made me feel a bit gross when it was for someone else . . . but today I had so much fun, I’ve never felt more comfortable in my body and my sexuality,” she said of the Playboy shoot.

In another image, the I Forgot singer is seen wearing the iconic Playboy bunny suit — marking the first time a cover star has donned the classic bustier since Kate Moss in 2014.

The long-awaited appearance of the infamous bunny suit is not the only way this cover has made history, however.

Delevingne’s 2026 shoot is the first time in Playboy’s 72-year history that an openly lesbian woman has graced the cover of the men’s entertainment magazine.

“I don’t know if an openly lesbian person has done a cover of Playboy. . . I don’t know if that’s true, but in my head, I told myself that,” the star said in a leaked excerpt from the article.

“I’m also someone that when people say, ‘Are you sure that’s a good thing?’— I don’t love the rules, I like doing things differently.”

The 33-year-old Paper Towns actress made it a point to discuss the strictly heterosexual history of the magazine during her feature interview.

“Of course, Playboy is very much a heterosexual institution,” she told interviewer and author Ottessa Moshfegh.

“That’s why (this cover) felt like a bit of a ‘f*** you’ and a rebellious thing to do, and to have an incredible female-led creative team — a lot of them being queer — felt really fun and different.”

She may have made history with her print cover but Delevingne is not the only lesbian to work with the infamous publication — musician Kehlani appeared in Playboy’s second-ever digital edition back in 2021, although she did not come out until years later.

Fans online were quick to share their appreciation for the model’s spicy photoshoot.

“Cara looks FIERCE in that bunny suit, love seeing artists express themselves unapologetically,” one fan wrote.

“She’s so cool and Zoey (Grossman) is a great photographer — I can’t wait to see all the pics,” another fan praised.

“Playboy finally remembered what covers are supposed to look like,” a third commenter added.

Delevinge’s Playboy issue will be available for purchase from stores on July 28, with digital content from the shoot exclusively offered for Playboy subscribers.