British fashion queen Lily Cole has put her promising acting career on hold to finally take up her place at a leading UK university.

The Torquay-born red head deferred her place at Cambridge University for two years to pursue her catwalk and movie career.

Cole, who has just finished filming on The Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus, will study social and political science at the university's King's College in October.

She told Daily Mail journalist Kate Nicholl: "I've just wrapped filming with Terry Gilliam on The Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus and I haven't got any more films in the pipeline.

"I'm focusing on modelling this summer, then I start at Cambridge. I'm really excited. It will be a big change, but I can't wait."

The 20-year-old, who is also the face of British retailer Marks and Spencer, has an impressive educational background, achieving A grades at A-level in English, politics, drama, history and philosophy and ethics.

Her catwalk career began in 2003 after she was spotted by leading modelling scout Benjamin Hart in a London hamburger restaurant.

Cole ran, fearing she was being chased by 'some dodgy guy' but after being asked to consider modeling, she accepted and was signed on with Storm Models, the mother agency of supermodels such as Kate Moss.

She was catapulted into the spotlight as one of the leading faces in the UK, featuring on the front covers of iconic fashion magazines such as Vogue, Citizen K, V and Numero.

In November 2004, the British Fashion Awards named Cole 'Model of the Year'.

The supermodel, who has been living in New York on and off for the last two years, has worked with many prominent photographers, including Craig McDean, Nick Knight, Juergen Teller, Arthur Elgort and Irving Penn.

Additionally, Cole has appeared in advertising campaigns for top designers like Chanel, Christian Lacroix, Hermes, Longchamp, Cacharel, Top Shop and Anne Sui cosmetics, as well as being the face for Moschino's iconic perfume I Love Love.

She even made this year's Sunday Times Rich List with an estimated net worth of around £6m.