VANITY FAIR

THE RISE AND FALL (AND RISE) OF BECKY SHARP

She’s been a reality-TV star, a trophy wife, an Instagram sensation, a tabloid cause célèbre and now Becky Sharp is adding global philanthropist to her CV. Emily Swastz meets the woman who took on Lord Steyne and lived to tell the tale …

Free from both entourage and make-up, Becky Sharp strides into the garden terrace of the Beverly Hills Polo Lounge with a bright smile and her hand outstretched in greeting. Dressed in simple white blouse and black cigarette pants, red hair pulled back in a loose ponytail, her beauty is unadorned but no less radiant for it.

Over a large cappuccino (‘I seem to be the only woman in LA who does caffeine and full-fat milk’) and two croissants (‘I also refuse to give up carbs’) she’s refreshingly candid about her rise to the top and her shocking tumble from grace.

‘I’ve made mistakes, a lot of mistakes,’ she says with a rueful grin and a graceful wiggle of her shoulders. ‘But really, I only ever did three things that were unforgivable, and that was to be female, working class and ambitious …’