Cara Delevingne insists her sexuality ''is not a phase''.

The 22-year-old model-and-actress - who is dating singer St. Vincent aka Annie Clark - dismissed speculation her current relationship will be the only time she is with a woman and said she is comfortable with who she is.

She said: ''My sexuality is not a phase. I am who I am.''

And the 'Paper Towns' star - who has previously been romantically linked with Michelle Rodriguez and Harry Styles - believes she is a better actress because of her relationship with her girlfriend.

She explained in an interview with the New York Times newspaper: ''Being in love helps, you know? If you're in love with someone, you can be with them like no one else is in the room. Acting is like that. It's like taking that feeling and turning it on so nothing else matters when you're looking in another actor's face.''

Despite being best known as a model, the British beauty has always wanted to act because she ''hated'' being herself so much.

She said: ''I always wanted to act, from when I was four years old. When I was younger, I hated myself, so I preferred being other people.''

Cara - who has previously spoken openly about her mother's drug addiction - also admitted she had spent years in therapy when she was younger and ''hated'' the sessions and didn't find them beneficial.

She said: ''I went through so much therapy as a kid, and I hated it, and because you get so used to saying the same thing over and over again, it just becomes a story.''