A Guide to Moss & Freud, a New Film About Kate Moss and Lucian Freud

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Kate Moss’s relationship with painter Lucian Freud will be explored in a forthcoming biopic about the supermodel, Moss & Freud.

In the early 2000s, Moss famously sat for Freud, the grandson of renowned psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud, to complete a nude portrait while she was pregnant with her daughter, Lila. During the nine months it took Freud to finish the painting, the two developed an unexpected friendship and close bond with each other. The portrait eventually sold for £3.5 million at a Christie’s auction in 2005. Freud died in 2011 at 88 years old.

Ahead, we break down everything we know about the upcoming film.

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Kate Moss is producing the movie.

Moss herself will serve as the executive producer, with the support of the Lucian Freud archive, according to Variety. James Lucas—who previously won an Oscar for his short film The Phone Call—will direct.

“As this is such a personal story of mine, it has been essential that I be involved with James in all aspects as the project has developed,” Moss said, per Variety. “I am thrilled by the recent casting and excited that the film will begin shooting soon. I cannot wait to see it.”

Ellie Bamber will play Kate.

Ellie Bamber has been cast as Moss in the supermodel’s biopic. Bamber is best known for her roles in the BBC’s series Les Misérables, drama The Trial of Christine Keeler, and crime drama The Serpent, as well as Disney+’s Willow.

Freud will be played by Derek Jacobi, a BAFTA- and Emmy-winning actor who has most recently starred in projects like Gladiator II, Murder on the Orient Express, and Cinderella.

Kate has openly talked about her experience with Lucian.

Freud, who was famous for his raw depictions of the naked body, preferred to not paint famous people, even declining an opportunity to paint Princess Diana. But the artist decided to reach out to Moss after she told Dazed that one of her few remaining goals in her life was to be painted by Freud.

“Sitting for Lucian was an honor and incredible experience,” Moss said in a press release statement. “After watching The Phone Call, I knew that James would convey the emotion in the storytelling in a fitting way, one this memoir deserves. Having been involved in the project and script development from the beginning I am now very excited to see the film come to life.”

Moss previously reflected on what it was like sitting for Freud in a 2014 interview with ShowStudio. “He taught me discipline, because I could not be late,” she said. “If I was five minutes late, he would kick off. But only once I was five minutes late and he said, ‘Are you on drugs?!’ And I said, ‘No, I’m pregnant!’”

Besides discipline, Freud also imparted another permanent gift to Moss: a bird tattoo. “We decided to do a flock of birds,” Moss recalled in a 2012 interview with Vanity Fair. “I mean, it’s an original Lucian Freud. I wonder how much a collector would pay for that? A few million? I’d skin-graft it. I think we should talk to [the art dealer William] Acquavella.”

Expect plenty of fashion Easter eggs.

Moss is reportedly lending clothes from her own wardrobe for the project. In the first official movie still, Bamber can be seen wearing a red, blue, and white Union Jack jacket, which Moss originally wore down the runway for John Galliano’s Spring 1993 collection. (Moss last publicly wore the jacket during Platinum Jubilee celebrations for Queen Elizabeth II in 2022.)

Paparazzi photos from set in June 2024 also captured Bamber wearing the same blue sequined dress that Moss wore to her 30th birthday party in 2004. The piece was first worn by model and Bond girl Britt Ekland at the 1974 premiere of The Man With the Golden Gun.

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