Delevingne was born in Hammersmith, London, the daughter of Pandora Anne Delevingne and property developer Charles Hamar Delevingne.
She grew up in Belgravia, London, one of the wealthiest districts in the world.
She attended Francis Holland School for Girls in central London, until she was 16, before moving to Bedales School in Hampshire. She has dyspraxia and consequently found school challenging. In June 2015, in an interview with Vogue, Delevingne opened up in regards to the peak of her battle with depression when she was 15 years old. She said, "I was hit with a massive wave of depression and anxiety and self-hatred, where the feelings were so painful that I would slam my head against a tree to try to knock myself out." At age 16, after completing her GCSE examinations she moved to Bedales School in Hampshire, to focus on drama and music. After one year she dropped out and followed the career path of her sister, Poppy, into modeling.