WITH her plunging sequin dress clinging to her every curve and her hair a mass of curls, Ellie Bamber took us all back 20 years.
The British actress has transformed herself into Kate Moss for an upcoming biopic about the supermodel, recreating her glamorous 30th birthday look.
Pictures yesterday showed the 27-year-old in the early Noughties get-up as she casually smoked a cigarette while on set in London.
Moss & Freud starts in 2002, when the catwalk queen sat nude for Lucian Freud, and details her infamous relationship with the artist, played by veteran actor Derek Jacobi.
Yet it’s little wonder that Kate’s famously debauched birthday party is set to be immortalised in the film, written and directed by Oscar-winning New Zealander James Lucas.
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Society magazine Harper’s Bazaar rated the bash number three in a top ten of all-time scandalous moments that also included all of Babylon, Sodom & Gomorrah and the last days of Rome.
Drenched in drink and cocaine, and filled with Britain’s biggest rock and rollers, the night became so wild that some guests reportedly had an orgy.
Rolling Stone Ronnie Wood fell off the wagon in spectacular fashion by downing a bottle of champagne, later describing Kate — once nicknamed The Tank for her hard boozing — as “a lovely nutcase”.
The event, on January 16, 2004, was organised by PR guru Fran Cutler — dubbed the “Party Rottweiler”.
Kate styled herself on the spoilt Gloria Gilbert from F Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Beautiful And Damned, which was the theme of the event.
It began innocently enough in posh London hotel Claridge’s, where Kate and her posse, including long-time best pal Sadie Frost and fashion designer Stella McCartney, got themselves ready in her suite with the help of an army of make-up artists.
She then slipped into the midnight-blue gown, originally worn by Bond girl Britt Ekland to the 1974 premiere of The Man With The Golden Gun, before she and her pals were chauffeur-driven to the main event.
Kate’s friends, Agent Provocateur co-founder Serena Rees and artist Sam Taylor-Wood, had thrown two adjoining parties at their homes, which shared a courtyard.
Guests included Kate’s then-boyfriend Jefferson Hack, artist Tracey Emin, the now late fashion designer Alexander McQueen and fellow supermodel Naomi Campbell.
A heavily pregnant Gwyneth Paltrow was also there with then-husband Coldplay singer Chris Martin — but they reportedly left early.
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Things are said to have got so raucous that neighbours complained and noise prevention officers arrived at the property at 1.45am.
But the supermodel refused to let it end her celebrations, with the party relocating back to Claridge’s.
A source said at the time: “As far as Kate was concerned, it was her day and no one was going to spoil it — especially Westminster Council.”
Spread across two suites on the seventh floor, guests queued to get in.
Writer Laura Collins was there that night and recalls seeing the late Radio 1 DJ Annie Nightingale waiting her turn along with Anita Pallenberg and Marianne Faithfull.
‘Pyramid of profiteroles’
Laura, author of Kate Moss: The Complete Picture, recalls someone asking the radio presenter what she did for Christmas, with Annie replying, “Mushrooms. And you?”
Inside, Kate treated guests to a husky rendition of Ella Fitzgerald’s Summertime, while knocking back bottles of bubbly, accompanied by Jools Holland on the piano.
Laura recalls the birthday girl even “unceremoniously chucked everyone out” before letting them back in.
And the two bathrooms were in regular use that night. She says: “Certain guests held back their hair as they bent to snort lines of coke off the bathroom’s pristine surfaces.”
The free-flowing Krug and Cristal champagne was handed out by scantily clad waiters.
As far as Kate was concerned, it was her day and no one was going to spoil it — especially Westminster Council
Source
But there appears to have been little in the way of food — with Laura recalling supermodel Naomi declaring “she was going to bed before she ‘f***ing died of hunger’”.
At least there was Kate’s birthday cake, a “towering pyramid of profiteroles dipped in, and glistening with, honey, toasted almonds, cream and rose petals.”
Laura recalls: “Kate blew out the candles to cheers and applause.”
But the real action appeared to happen in the suite’s second, smaller bedroom.
Laura recalls: “That door remained shut. That, one guest told me with a leer, was where the real party was happening.
“At one point a dark-haired woman flung open the door — behind her a flare of naked limbs and people entwined on the bed was visible, their faces obscured by her body.
“She swung around the room yelling, ‘Does anyone have a condom?’ I don’t recall if anyone came to her aid before she disappeared back inside.”
Guests — those who could still stand — later made their way on to the balcony to watch the sun rise before the party came to a close at 8am. But Laura recalls: “Kate was nowhere to be seen.”
It’s a world away from her recent 50th birthday celebrations, which were a much more sober affair — Kate is now teetotal, reinventing herself as a wellness guru.
‘Strain on family’
The fashion icon reportedly handpicked actress Ellie to play her in Moss & Freud.
Kate, who is executive producer on the film, previously said: “As this is such a personal story of mine, it has been essential that I be involved in all aspects as the project has developed.
“I am thrilled by the recent casting. I cannot wait to see it.” And the similarities between the two women — who last year posed together in a picture shared by Kate — go beyond just good looks.
Ellie was born in Surrey, about 45 minutes’ drive from the Croydon fashion icon’s birthplace.
As this is such a personal story of mine, it has been essential that I be involved in all aspects as the project has developed
Kate
She later went to Eagle House School and Wellington College in Berkshire on drama scholarships.
Like Kate, who was scouted as a model aged 14, the actress’s talent was spotted young.
Ellie was just 13 when theatre director Sir Trevor Nunn chose her to play Jenny in Aspects Of Love at the Menier Chocolate Factory, in South East London.
She has said: “Acting, for me, was therapeutic. It was a way of expressing yourself.”
At 19, Ellie got her big break in Tom Ford’s dark movie thriller, Nocturnal Animals.
She has made a name for herself playing complex women, including model and showgirl Mandy Rice-Davies in 2019 drama The Trial Of Christine Keeler.
Speaking in 2021 about what draws her to dark roles, Ellie — who has also starred as Cosette in the BBC series Les Misérables — said: “I am really interested in exploring the human psyche and how we, as human beings, work.
“I’m intrigued by all types of characters who have different types of flaws and [experiences of] human suffering. I am not afraid of getting too dark because I can separate it in my mind.”
For Ellie, fashion has also played a big role in her life, with the late fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld himself making her a Chanel “It Girl” in 2017.
She said: “I love fashion because it is an outward reflection of my mood of the day. It can transform you and take you to a different place — particularly with acting.”
And like Kate, who rarely gives interviews, Ellie is very private about her love life — perhaps unsurprisingly after her break-up with The Bodyguard’s Richard Madden made headlines in 2019.
Ellie, who is believed to be single, said a year earlier: “Being away puts a strain on family and friends.”
And with Moss & Freud set to make her an even bigger star, it looks like she will have much greater things to look forward to.
