What’s the most uncool thing about you? Can you recite every line of The Notebook, or do you wear the merch of a uni you never went to? Are you still mourning the loss of Carpool Karaoke? Do you have a weakness for halloumi or flash mobs, and caption Instagram posts: ‘My partner in crime’?
The embodiment of cool herself, Devon Ross’s self-confessed ‘uncool habits’ will make the rest of us hang our heads in shame. ‘I’m obsessed with jazz,’ she admits, ‘and I’m really obsessed with this guitar player, Charlie Christian. He played the first electric guitar that Gibson put out and invented a style of playing that Chuck Berry took from. He kind of invented rock ’n’ roll.’ Somehow, fan-girling over the forefathers of rock ’n’ roll feels different from knowing the fictional birthdays of Twilight characters.
The 24-year-old musician, actress and model exudes nonchalance. Born in Toronto, raised between Los Angeles and New York, her latest project has brought her to Zagreb, Croatia, where our ES Magazine cover shoot is taking place. She arrives on set with her mum — helpfully, Nineties fashion model, Anna Bauer — her ebony mullet spiking out at every angle like the love child of Patti Smith and Dennis the Menace. Her T-shirt pays tribute to one of her favourite bands, Sonic Youth, and she mimics the iconic illustration as she puffs on a roll-up.
She’s here filming an intense Second World War movie, Vindicta, directed by Dominik Sedlar. Her character, Hannah, witnesses her parents murdered in front of her and sets out to get vengeance. ‘I’ve always wanted to do something really serious, but it is intense,’ she says, in her weighted LA drawl that drags at the end of every sentence like syrup dripping from a spoon. ‘It’s a type of film I’ve never done before so obviously it’s a challenge, but it’s fun for me.’
The role will see her as the lead in her debut feature film — with only one previous acting credit to her name, the 2022 miniseries Irma Vep. ‘I was always the kid who was really loud, always performing. My first audition that I ever did was for Irma Vep. I got dropped in the deep end but I wouldn’t have it any other way.’
Being thrown in at the deep end is the perfect metaphor for Ross right now. Not only is she filming a movie but juggling modelling and making her first EP, too. The title of her debut single? ‘Swim’, a moody, soft rock song about jumping in too soon and drowning as a result. She is deliberately vague when I ask what she’s referring to: ‘It’s about life and changes. I’m 24 years old and everything is changing all the time.Change is always strange and takes getting used to, it’s about accepting new things and becoming who you are even more every year.’
I’ve always had a weird relationship with “It girl” because I always thought that “It girl” meant that you don’t do anything
That said, music was a change she was more than prepared for. Daughter to Craig Ross, lead guitarist for Lenny Kravitz (her godfather), Ross has been submerged in music since childhood. Whether in the studio, spending summers on the road or falling asleep in her dad’s guitar case, music not only shaped her personality but became an integral part of it. ‘I’ve been playing guitar since forever, all my friends were like, come on, this is ridiculous, put out your music already. It’s been a really long time coming.’
Spending her teenage years in Los Angeles only added fuel to her fire. ‘People get their licences at 16 and then you’re off going to the desert with your friends at the weekend. You grow up pretty fast. We’d go to The Roxy and The Whisky, legendary venues in LA that were our little playgrounds on the Sunset Strip. We learnt how to be independent pretty young,’ she says.
Her independence comes across throughout our conversation. Her confident self-assuredness almost surprises me — fooled by her grunge aesthetic, not to be mistaken for someone who prefers the shadows. She reminds me again of her independence when I ask if having a well-connected family has helped to get her to where she is today. ‘I mean, I’ve always been really adamant on doing everything myself. I’ve been like that since I started modelling, which I’m grateful for because I’ve learnt so much and had to work really hard because I didn’t want to use any of those [connections] and I still haven’t,’ she explains, referring to her mother’s successful career in high fashion. ‘Of course, I’m lucky that I can get help with certain things ifI want to, which is great. I have this music knowledge from growing up around it. I know how studios work, things like that. But I never really ever wanted to use any of that to get myself anywhere.’
During her early 20s, her high-profile connections spread to this side of the Pond when she began dating actor Earl Cave, son of Nick and Susie Cave. The fashion press was quick to dub them the ‘It couple of the moment’, and in interviews they spoke about hoping to one day work together. When I ask if that’s happened yet, Ross is keen to centre this moment on herself and no one else: ‘I think I’m going to focus on me.’
Before she was one half of an ‘It couple’ she was, and still is, labelled by most who describe her, an It girl. By dictionary definition, an It girl is ‘a young woman who has achieved celebrity because of her socialite lifestyle’. It’s no wonder, then, that someone working full-time in three professions would have trouble making peace with the term. ‘I’ve always had a weird relationship with “It girl” because I always thought that “It girl” meant that you don’t do anything. That you’re just this enigma who’s just there and doesn’t “do”,’ — she pauses — ‘but I feel like it’s changing now. Maybe that’s what it meant in the early 2000s, like, “Paris Hilton: It girl”. Like she is Paris Hilton and that’s what she does. But I don’t mind it anymore now it’s changing.’
Straddling several career paths may seem like a lot of work but for Ross, it’s everything she ever wanted. ‘I never in my life saw myself doing one thing. I love that I can wake up in the morning and be like, do I want to write a song? Do I want to do a shoot? Do I want to make a movie?’ Nevertheless, if she had to stay in one lane, there’s a clear winner: ‘Music is my truest self, because I have complete control over that. Music is just me, and I think that’s special.’
I wonder, with a web of music legends at her disposal, is there a nod of approval she craves above the rest? ‘My dad is my best friend. When he tells me he likes one of my songs I’m like, “God, yes”’ — she clenches a fist of joy — ‘he taught me everything I know about music. I would play my guitar in my room upstairs and he’ll be downstairs and he’ll text me, like, “Don’t rush that song, you’re playing it too fast”, things like that.’
As well as working with Kravitz, Craig Ross has featured on records with Mick Jagger, BB King and Eric Clapton. As a result, his daughter experienced some fairly memorable first concerts. ‘My dad took me to my first [Rolling] Stones gig when I was 14. I remember it like it was yesterday. That was my first “woah” moment. I remember thinking I can’t believe that they’re right in front of me and I can see the sweat dripping off their faces. Anytime that Keith [Richards] is right there is a great day for me.’
Her love for the Stones — and Richards in particular, whose name she has tattooed on her hand — runs so deep that it even prompted an infatuation with the band’s hometown: London. Specifically, 1960s London. ‘It’s like how people romanticise America with all the lockers and school buses and all of that. I grew up romanticising London,’ she explains, ‘it was the mecca for all the music and people I loved, I had photos of The Beatles and the Stones and everybody growing up, that was the mecca.’
My dad took me to my first Stones gig when I was 14. That was my first “woah” moment
It’s no surprise that she is now an honorary Londoner, residing between here and LA. And where better to embody the colourful spirit of the Sixties than Portobello Road, where she moved just over a year ago. ‘I love Portobello Market. I love wherever I can go out dancing to good music, which is hard to find sometimes. I mean, there’s Gaz’s on Thursday nights’ — the weekly blues night hosted at Soho’s St Moritz — ‘but sometimes it doesn’t start until 12 so I have to psych myself up to go dancing.’ Though she tends toremain in her ‘west London pocket’ — and buys most of her clothes from Portobello Market — lately she’s been exploring an unknown territory, Hackney: ‘I was staying in Dalston for a while, loved it. That little De Beauvoir situation, ugh. I loved it there.’
Perhaps The Rolling Stones’ recent album, Hackney Diamonds, served as inspiration. I ask her whether she thinks it’s possible for rock stars, who share the same spirit as those she is so heavily influenced by, to exist today. ‘I don’t think so. I love social media. I’m not going to be one of those people who shit on social media, I think it’s great if you can handle its ups and downs. But back then you could go to Capitol Records and give them your demo, or go to The Roxy and be like, “Here’s my demo, can I play here?” It’s just not that simple any more. It’s a lot harder to break into the music scene.’
As someone who could easily be pictured stomping down King’s Road in the early Seventies, does she ever think she was born in the wrong era? She laughs and answers without hesitation. ‘No! I’m sure the Sixties and Seventies were great, but there’s a lot of things that weren’t great. Women were treated horribly. I think people forget these things; you wouldn’t have had as much freedom as a woman as you do now. And there’s always room to grow still, but I think I was put in this generation for a reason.’
Whatever that reason may be, predictably, she has no desire for accolades — Oscars, Grammys, No 1 albums. Instead, her big dream is to keep busy. ‘I just want to go until I can’t any more. I want to go on tour, make albums, make movies. I want to make things for the rest of my life.’ I ask what she hopes the title of her eventual memoir will be. She thinks hard before her face twitches into a grin and she answers jokingly, ‘It girl!’
